reason Nintendo began sponsoring a series of student networking projects to develop a network game that would let home consumers interact with each other over the satellite broadcasting system. The result of this networking project was the world's first integrated radio-game (or SoundLink Game) - BS Zelda. As a programming project, BS Zelda was considered by students to be exceptionally difficult due to the strict quality control imposed by Nintendo. The game was to have no interactive lag and no programming bugs of any kind. The project went through at least two beta versions prior to release.BS Zelda Beta Pics. Kenosha Online. Retrieved 18 July 2010. On final release the game was divided into 4 episodes each of which would be available for download only during a narrow 1-hour window. Simultaneously streaming "SoundLink" vocal files would be broadcast to players to provide an expanded fully orchestrated musical score as well as plot narration. These vocal tracks were far too large for the 8M ROM capacity of the Satellaview, however as streaming files they were only temporarily stored as RAM which was then over-written as the game progressed. Although players would not be able to play a true multiplayer game as only 1 player could be displayed in the overworld at one time, the goal of a sense of inter-player community was achieved by linking all BS Zelda players to a common real-world time-frame, by making in-game references to the idea of other players, and by including a game score and password system that allowed the publishing of ranking tables and the competition of players against one another for prizes awarded by St.GIGA. The serialized structure together with the strength of the Zelda franchise was intended to encourage Satellaview sales and viewership and to establish fan loyalty. First announced during an early July 1995 SoundLink Magazine broadcast of Hikaru Ijuin's , the official BS Zelda pre-release party was hosted by Hikari Ōta and took place during the August 3, 1995 SoundLink Magazine broadcast of Bakushō Mondai, and the first episode of BS Zelda was released on Sunday August 6, 1995 with new episodes broadcast every subsequent Sunday through the 27th. The game was re-broadcast on at least 4 subsequent occasions as reruns throughout the lifetime of the Satellaview. Broadcast dates Reception and legacy By all accounts, the popular reaction to BS Zelda no Densetsu was overwhelmingly positive. During the lead-up to