Press coverage of the Satellaview

Since the beginning of 1993, numerous press sources (both first-party and third-party) have covered the Satellaview and its broadcasts. The various press sources are often divided into several sub-groups by modern Satellaview researchers in order to enhance critical evaluation of the claims presented. The two most common subdivision schemes relate to the proximity of the source's interest and the strength of the source's historical accuracy.

Coverage by proximity of interestEdit

In general, third party sources are considered the most accurate, first party sources are then considered to be of intermediate accuracy, and second party sources are considered to be of the lowest accuracy.

First party sourcesEdit

First party source material comes from press releases and promotional materials released by Nintendo and St.GIGA. Advertisements placed in third-party publications are good examples of this as these advertisements were created by Nintendo/St.GIGA who then paid for them to be published. Other examples include promotional posters from between 1995 and 2000.^[1][2] These materials often contain promotional language and may occasionally exaggerate, or alter emphasis (overemphasizing good qualities and avoiding discussion of shortcomings), and are therefore not considered to be the most reliable of information except insofar as they report on material for which there can be no bias-related incentive. Factual matters such as the names of designers and developers, and times when broadcast would be run, for example, are generally considered accurate.

Second party sourcesEdit

Main article: Community/Fan Projects

Second party (customer) reporting has generally been quite scarce and is generally considered to be fan material. It is not to be confused, however, with modern fan material which is generally considered quaternary third-party coverage.

Third party sourcesEdit

The most comprehensive third-party source comes in the form of Satellaview Tsūshin, one of Famitsu's now-defunct spin-off magazines devoted solely to the Satellaview and its broadcasts. This magazine is known to have been sold between 1995 and 1996 after which point publication ceased. Known issues include:

Second in quality to Satellaview Tsūshin, numerous Famicom Tsūshin issues are known to contain substantial Satellaview-related content.^[15] Famicom Tsūshin has today been shortened to Famitsu (ファミ通), and it is published weekly, monthly, and quarterly just as it was during the lifetime of the Satellaview. Thus, during the Satellaview years the weekly publications were called Shūkan Famicom Tsūshin (週刊ファミコン通信) and the monthly publications were called Gekkan Famicom Tsūshin (月刊ファミコン通信) rather than Shūkan Famitsu and Gekkan Famitsu. Famicom Tsūshin issues with articles covering the Satellaview include:

Numerous other period third-party sources exist in the form of one-off articles from generalist gaming magazines and articles in several different non-Japanese magazines including:

Finally, modern-day third-party coverage has also been noted in such publications as:

Coverage by strength of historical accuracyEdit

In general, the further in time from the period of Satellaview activity (1995-2000), the less accurate the information. Press coverage from between 1993 and 1995 is considered to be semi-speculative in nature as by that point the Satellaview had not been used, and press coverage from between 2000 and today is considered to be less accurate due to the scarcity of reliable information on the topic.

Primary sourcesEdit

Primary source material that is considered to be press coverage generally takes one of two forms:

• SoundLink Magazine broadcasts
• Kabe Shinbunsha

Secondary sourcesEdit

Secondary sources usually take the form of VHS recordings of original Satellaview game-play. Such material is exceptionally rare and is highly valued by recreation-minded fans that seek to restore dumped Satellaview ROM files to a playable condition as closely to the original as possible. Additional secondary source material comes in the form of Nintendo's and St.GIGA's own press releases and promotional materials such as advertisements and posters,^[1][2] however these first party sources tend to be of lesser value to recreationists as they tend to suffer from biases and exaggerations related to proximity of interest. Thus, for example, a Nintendo press release claiming to have at last achieved "true multi-player sensations" with the Satellaview is clearly seen to be stretching the truth.

Tertiary sourcesEdit

Third-party sources such as Satellaview Tsūshin and Famicom Tsūshin (both listed above under "Third party sources") tend to be the best examples of tertiary source material, however a fair number of modern articles may also be considered to be of tertiary historical accuracy if they concern information presented by an individual who was present during the Satellaview years. Among others, examples of such sources include:

• Nintendo Power No.202 (April 2006) - An English article containing an interview with BS Zelda programmer, Makoto Sasaki
• CONTACT Magazine. Vol.23 (August 2005) - A Japanese article containing an interview with Satellaview mascot designers, Masaru Nishita and Noriko Kitamura.

Quaternary sourcesEdit

Modern sources bearing only topical connection to the original Satellaview years, quaternary sources have been noted to contain occasional errors due to extrapolation and historical misinformation.

Among others, examples of quaternary sources include:

• Nintendo Power No.225 (February 2008)
• EGM
• C+ Magazine
• Atomix
• Famitsu

See alsoEdit

• TESW:Accuracy - The English Satellaview Wiki's guideline on accuracy of sources.

ReferencesEdit