Satellaview

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The Satellaview is an add-on to the Super Famicom. It allowed the download of games through the satellite radio network of St. GIGA. While the Satellaview was not the first game download service, it is the most well-known of its time and was the first to offer original download-only titles alongside full retail title downloads, as well as the first to offer downloadable content.

Three Zelda games were released on the Satellaview: BS The Legend of Zelda, BS The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods, and BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets. The first two games were a game based on The Legend of Zelda and a downloadable version of A Link to the Past respectively, while the third game was an all-new adventure taking place a few years after A Link to the Past.

Some Satellaview games used a feature called "SoundLink", which consisted of voice and later music streamed to the console via satellite radio. BS The Legend of Zelda was the first game to utilize the feature and heavily relied on its transmitted content.

The Satellaview hardware worked in tandem with a BS tuner, obtained with a St. GIGA subscription. Games and other data were broadcast in "radio shows" lasting for a set amount of time. The same data was often rebroadcast for several days in a row before it was made unavailable. While most games worked after the initial download without a radio connection, SoundLink games required a constant radio connection. Such games do not work today without modification, as the Satellaview service was shut off in 2000.