The popularity of the Barcode Battler was such that in 1992, a follow-up handheld called the Barcode Battler II (バーコードバトラーII?) was designed to provide enhanced functionality.
It featured an extended single player mode, a wider variety of game elements, and an output port designed with interface capabilities - a feature that Nintendo took advantage of in licensing the Barcode Battler II Interface unit. The BBII Interface allowed the Barcode Battler to be attached to the Famicom and Super Famicom (via an adapter) consoles similar to the way the Game Boy Player allows for interfacing of the Nintendo GameCube with the e-Reader. The functionality of the Barcode Battler II while on this connection was purely as a barcode reader and the gameplay depended purely on the game cartridge in the machine it was connected to.
Some time in 1992/1993, Epoch released the Barcode Battler II across the world, under the name of Barcode Battler. Essentially, the worldwide release differed from the Japanese model only in the design of the LCD screen — it had an English interface instead of a Japanese one. It still had the output port, but no games support outside of Japanese releases. Also, the artwork on the manuals and barcode cards differed to suit the Western gaming audience.
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