Mattel Electronics was the first organization to do 3rd party tie-ins for sports franchises, and looked to do the same for space games, of which Space Battle was the first. Early Intellivision prototypes feature a "Battlestar Galactica" game, which is why the strategy screen and combat screens and sounds are 90% like the 1970s TV series. Mattel’s subsidiary failed to get the correct deal at the last minute, and the company had to reduce the name to simply "Space Battle".