Satellaview - Name

Name

The name Satellaview is a portmanteau of "Satellite" and "view," and the official abbreviation for the system is "BS-X". "BS" stands for Broadcast Satellite, a common name of one of the direct broadcast satellites in Japan.

Because the Satellaview was only released in Japan, there has been some confusion among English-speaking enthusiasts as to what the "BS" prefix means. As a result, a number of mistranslations have been introduced into common use today and are prevalent on English-speaking fan sites, most commonly either "Bandai Satellaview" or "Broadcast Satellaview." Another common mistake that can be found on English-speaking fan sites is the application of the "BS" prefix to all Satellaview titles. While it is true that a number of Satellaview titles do employ the "BS" prefix, the majority of them do not. The most standard method used to title Satellaview games used three formats for three different purposes:

• The "BS" prefix was only used for the Satellaview's SoundLink Games (e.g. BS Zelda no Densetsu). All "BS-" titles are SoundLink games, but not all SoundLink games bear the "BS" prefix.
• The "BS version" (「BS版」, "BS-ban"?) suffix was used solely for non-SoundLink Satellaview-original releases (e.g. Dezaemon BS Version (デザエモンBS版, Dezaemon BS-ban?)). Although all "BS Version" games are Satellaview originals, not all Satellaview originals bore the "BS Version" suffix.
• The original title was used for Satellaview ports and conversions (e.g. Zelda no Densetsu Kamigami no Triforce).
• A fourth variety of title using the "Satella-" (「サテラ」?) prefix was also common for the Satellaview (e.g. SatellaWalker (サテラウォーカー?)). These games were Satellaview originals that often took the form of Satellaview-themed quiz games or that related to the world of the BS-X BIOS, BS-X The City Whose Name Has Been Stolen.

As the Broadcast Satellite (BS) system was in use in Japan prior to the release of the Satellaview; the term "BS" may refer to programming prior to the Satellaview.