[Drago]

What the title says, basically. Sorry for another Nintendo thread :p

Mother 2 is coming to the Japanese VC, and it would have been a perfect time to also finally rerelease it in America (and maybe eventually Europe)... but nothing.

I know there are copyright issues but the big issues are relatively easy fixes (music, enemy name, slight text changes). Is the game forever doomed outside of Japan? :'(

Also, is it safe to assume that the VC release in Japan is what Itoi was talking about when he said Mother re-release?

[Lambtron]

It will probably be re-released. Just because it wasn't announced today doesn't mean it won't come out.

I'm sure they'll drop it when the Wii U VC launches, for full price. And sell a ton of copies.

[PhoReal]

I am almost certain we will get an Earthbound game on the Wii U in some form. Be patient.

[MoogPaul]

From the other thread
"If NOA goes as far as to show the new Monolith game and an SMT/FE cross over game, the fact that they dont talk about Mother at all should speak volumes."

Better open your wallets or flush away your morals if you want to play this bad boy.

[Linkhero1]

No.

*hugs copy of Earthbound*

[Taco_Human]

Itoi said something Mother related was in the works. That's all we know.

[serplux]

I think that Earthbound's a given at this point, especially with all of the backlash Nintendo has gotten from its fans for it. The real question is whether Mother 3 will be released on the VC at some point.

[Smell E. Butz]

I am almost certain we will get an Earthbound game on the Wii U in some form. Be patient.

Oh yeah? What else do you know?

[friskykillface]

No. *hugs copy of Earthbound*

*steals your copy and hugs it*

:P.


nah it aint' coming here ever, i gave up lol

[Jucksalbe]

Rereleased? I wish it was ever released here. Never had a chance to play Earthbound.

[PK Gaming]

So Mother 2 is finally getting released on VC huh

pity we won't see it

[serplux]

From the other thread "If NOA goes as far as to show the new Monolith game and an SMT/FE cross over game, the fact that they dont talk about Mother at all should speak volumes." Better open your wallets or flush away your morals if you want to play this bad boy.

The Mother fanbase is extremely rabid. They're not going to give it away for 30 cents in a promotion.

[jooey]

Also, is it safe to assume that the VC release in Japan is what Itoi was talking about when he said Mother re-release?

I... wh...

[Hematocryal]

Kimberley Wallace from G.I. is hoping for that... Who knows though! Keep the fingers and toes crossed. That's all that can be done.

[toythatkills]

Nintendo loves ruining the lives of people asking for Earthbound so much that they invented a whole new service for Wii-U just to make people ask for Earthbound some more.

It's never happening.

[SteveWinwood]

Maaaaaaybe.

[nckillthegrimace]

The Mother fanbase is extremely rabid. They're not going to give it away for 30 cents in a promotion.

Pretty much. It'll be the standard SNES $8 or perhaps even more. At least we get Super Metroid for $.30.

[Winterfang]

I never understood the love for EarthBound. I beat Mother 3, when the translation came out and it's pretty neat with the monsters design, (I like the wobbly robot and kangashark) and the almost rip-off music but I don't know, gameplay wise is nothing to write home about.

But hey, opinions and all that. I wish they release it to the west, people had being clamoring them for years, it's just common sense.

[Anth0ny]

From the other thread "If NOA goes as far as to show the new Monolith game and an SMT/FE cross over game, the fact that they dont talk about Mother at all should speak volumes." Better open your wallets or flush away your morals if you want to play this bad boy.

Basically.

It's sad, really. They can't even upload a fucking ROM to their store for a passionate fanbase.

[SteveWinwood]

Basically. It's sad, really. They can't even upload a fucking ROM to their store for a passionate fanbase.

Because they're worried they'll get sued a bunch. It sucks a lot but I see where they're coming from.

[Rash]

The Mother fanbase is extremely rabid. They're not going to give it away for 30 cents in a promotion.

I agree that it makes sense not to give the game away like that. But this goes for both regions, in my opinion.

People outside of Japan having to pay a ton of money to play the game in its original form, while Japan gets re-releases including a Wii U VC version with Gamepad compatibility for a mere 30 cents, is absolutely crazy considering American EB fan demand. It's like a kick in the balls.

I think most of the fanbase would absolutely love to pay even the import price of $9 to play a legally-safe VC version of Earthbound. No one asked for it to be 30 cents, they just asked for it, period.

Obviously we're not entitled to the game. We as a nation failed it in the first place. You can also say that Nintendo failed with their marketing campaign though, and passionate fans are just paying for it years later. After Operation Rainfall being an eventual success, there was some hope that Mother would be revived outside Japan but you can just never tell anymore.

[Kusagari]

Nintendo of Japan needs to edit the original a little bit to fix the copyright issues.

I don't blame NoA, I blame NoJ for apparently not bothering to do this so the west can get the game.

[Zeer0id]

Mother 2 was never released on the Wii VC, right?

Whatever allowed them to finally put it on the Wii U VC in Japan should mean it's possible everywhere. Just a matter of "when". It'll probably take a bit longer since presumably the build they're re-releasing now isn't an exact ROM dump, so some minor localization work may be required.

[Wiz]

I think it's possible. Now would be a great time to reintroduce the Mother series to a new generation of gamers. It WILL require some effort localizing/fixing up the aspects of the game that are no longer acceptable for today standards, but that shouldn't stop them from bringing it outside of Japan.

[Rash]

I always figured that the game didn't have any legal issues in Japan. Don't they have different copyright laws or something?

I don't know why it took so long to get Mother 2 out on the VC in Japan, but you have to remember that it did exist on the Mother 1+2 GBA cart that was released there many years ago. This is what leads me to think that the game doesn't have any restrictions over there.

That said, the legal problems with Earthbound in the US are easy fixes, according to that article on Earthbound Central.

[Into]

No, there is clearly some sort of copyright issues that they do not want to, or cannot resolve. Most likely the former

This was the moment it should have happened, but it is just further confirmation that there are issues in getting this to NA and Europe.

[batbeg]

They should release it for free as an apology to the fanbase for the awful treatment and to drive hype for the 3ds compilation.

[Seven Force]

Is the original game on Wii VC in Japan? Kinda weird that they'd skip straight to 2 when they usually release series in order on VC.

[BroBuzz]

Is the original game on Wii VC in Japan? Kinda weird that they'd skip straight to 2 when they usually release series in order on VC.

Nope. A demo is on the masterpiece collection in Brawl but that's it.

[Like the hat?]

There's no way they would give away such a highly requested game in the US for thirty cents. Let's wait until the official VC announcement. Maybe it'll be a surprise reveal at e3?

a man can dream....

[RawkHawk2010]

I never understood the love for EarthBound. I beat Mother 3, when the translation came out and it's pretty neat with the monsters design, (I like the wobbly robot and kangashark) and the almost rip-off music but I don't know, gameplay wise is nothing to write home about. But hey, opinions and all that. I wish they release it to the west, people had being clamoring them for years, it's just common sense.

If you're playing it for the gameplay, you're playing it for the wrong reasons.

[WiiRevolution1]

I'd say theres a 95% chance that its coming to NA since Mother 2 was never released on Japanese Wii VC.

Bravo NOA. I can finally play this game. its about damn time.

There is no excuse now. They will do it. I demand it.

I am honesly surprised that this thread isn't bigger. I figured it would be blown up by now...

[Rash]

There's no way they would give away such a highly requested game in the US for thirty cents. Let's wait until the official VC announcement. Maybe it'll be a surprise reveal at e3? a man can dream....

It's not an unreasonable dream, actually. Just because the 30 cent promotions aren't exactly the same doesn't mean that EB can't still be released. It was just chosen as a promotional title for Japan while Punch-Out and F-Zero were chosen for the US.

As a fan and someone who used to frequent the Starmen.net community, I can say that most fans of EB and the Mother series in general would pay a fair VC price for these games. 30 cents is too kind of a gesture, even. It was just shocking to see that Japan gets the game for 30 cents while we don't get it at all. Mother 2 as part of the Japanese promotion almost seems like an intentional punch to the gut. Again, no one's entitled, but I would have preferred to see EB's release more as an "eye for an eye" sort of deal instead of nearly giving it away in one region.

This is what it's like to take such a thing personally. Maybe Nintendo just didn't know how much it would sting. If I just knew the game would come out in the US, I'd be extremely kind for that.

[MaverickHunterX]

Nintendo of Japan needs to edit the original a little bit to fix the copyright issues. I don't blame NoA, I blame NoJ for apparently not bothering to do this so the west can get the game.

Good point, but was this the thing preventing it from being rereleased worldwide? I mean, is the Japanese release going to be edited for the copyright issues?

[The Hermit]

No way in hell. Give up already.

They even edited out the demo in Brawl. They really don't want/can't release it here.

[JazzmanZ]

I hear Itoi is possibly doing something about it.

[LiK]

I hear Itoi is possibly doing something about it.

I hope so

[Foxtastical]

I never understood the love for EarthBound. I beat Mother 3, when the translation came out and it's pretty neat with the monsters design, (I like the wobbly robot and kangashark) and the almost rip-off music but I don't know, gameplay wise is nothing to write home about. But hey, opinions and all that. I wish they release it to the west, people had being clamoring them for years, it's just common sense.

Games are more than the sum of their parts. The first section of the game had me with wet eyes. However, that might be due to certain events in my life affecting how I viewed the game.

[Kajiba]

I pray it does. Game really needs to come here in some form again.

[Diddy Kong]

I hope so :(

[MisterHero]

I was hyped for a possible remake but I don't think Itoi is that commited for such a project. :(

[Eusis]

I hear Itoi is possibly doing something about it.

This is why I'm cautiously optimistic rather than feeling defeated: there actually IS a ray of home, however small it may be.

Though it'd probably help if fair use leaned a bit more in favor of blowing off stuff like what was in Earthbound. Ah well.

[Pikma]

It won't.

[idlethreats]

This is why I'm cautiously optimistic rather than feeling defeated: there actually IS a ray of home, however small it may be. Though it'd probably help if fair use leaned a bit more in favor of blowing off stuff like what was in Earthbound. Ah well.

All signs point towards Itoi's recent comments being about Mother 2 coming to the Japanese Wii U VC, and since that was specifically nixed from Nintendo of America's Direct today...yeah. No Earthbound for us :-( :-( :-(

[Rash]

There's no definitive proof that Earthbound won't come out. At this point I've accepted the slight possibility that Mother 2 merely works as a good game for the VC promotion in Japan, while Earthbound doesn't in other regions. Maybe they're saving EB for later, or are working out the legal kinks. Until Nintendo says exactly that EB is an impossibility, I will hold out hope.

[ChosenPredator]

Imagine nintendo announced earlier today that instead of the zelda remake in HD it was earthbound this forum would explode.

[Kyonashi]

I'm hoping the reason it wasn't talked about today (other than the JP eShop) is because that was a Wii U direct and the Mother 1+2+3 re-release is coming to 3DS. A man can dream...

[Gunloc]

If the issue holding back the re-release before was music, that would affect all regions. So the fact that it's being re-released in Japan seems to indicate that it would also be eligible for other regions.

[Starwolf_UK]

I also wonder if the fans dug themselves in a hole about this. As in Nintendo had minor qualms about some legal issues (maybe the Beatles references and the Yellow submarine) only for starmen.net to find about 500 different acts of copyright infringement (including various music ones).

Something I'm curious on. Does anyone know if Mother 1+2 on GBA changed the red crosses on hospitals? That was 1 important change for the American release of Earthbound and the Earthbound zero changes were all in Mother 1 GBA.

[backlot]

This is why I'm cautiously optimistic rather than feeling defeated: there actually IS a ray of home, however small it may be. Though it'd probably help if fair use leaned a bit more in favor of blowing off stuff like what was in Earthbound. Ah well.

Don't want to burst your bubble or anything but I'm pretty sure this Virtual Console release was what Itoi was talking about.