[ahmad]

http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/704/704589p1.html
No More Mother
Series producer has no plans for part 4.


by Anoop Gantayat
May 3, 2006 - The biggest release in Japan last week was a Game Boy Advance title. Nintendo released Mother 3, the latest installment in the popular Mother serier, over a decade after the second installment was released for the SNES (the series is known as Earthbound in America). The game went on to sell over 200,000 units in its first week.


Success like that would usually suggest a sequel is on the way. But not this time. Series producer Shigesato Itoi revealed today via an interview posted at his blog site, that he has no plans to make Mother 4. When asked if he won't be making games anymore, Itoi responded "Not Mother 4."
News of no more Mother is unfortunate indeed, considering the quality that the series has maintained over its three installments. However, fans of the series should note that Itoi's response leaves open the possibility of working on future games, even if they may not be Mother titles.

[Error]

:(

[Mashing]

Amir0x suicide in 3...2...1

[Cardiaque]

That about wraps it up for Nintendo.

[Ghengis Cohen]

And that son is where terrible fanfiction comes from.

[LakeEarth]

[Skilotonn]

Amir0x suicide in 3...2...1

Poor guy, I feel for him already...

[genjiZERO]

that's kinda hardcore :lol :lol

[Laurent]

AH
AH
AH
AH
!!!!

[Amir0x]

As a last gift, Nintendo must translate Mother 3 for America.

Otherwise, they have no other chance to redeem themselves. They will always be stuck in shitty oblivion. :(

[Illuminati]

Noooooooooooooo
oooooooooooo!

[Pellham]

given how long it took mother 3 to come out, is this really surprising to anyone?

here's to hoping we see some Shigesato Itoi's bass fishing on Wii though!

[Wink]

Maybe he'll change his mind? after another decade

[Angels of a Wing]

All this really meens is that we probally won't see Mother 4 until the year 2020... either that or Nintendo simply will have someone else work on it instead.

[CO_Andy]

Are you telling me Mother 64DD ain't comin' out?

[Cdammen]

Are you telling me Mother 64DD ain't comin' out?

It did... *cough* Mother 3 *cough* ;)

[bluemax]

Are you telling me Mother 64DD ain't comin' out?

It did come out, as Mother 3 on GBA.

[dasein]

Maybe he'll change his mind? after another decade

If he's still alive, that is

[Kobun Heat]

All this really meens is that we probally won't see Mother 4 until the year 2020... either that or Nintendo simply will have someone else work on it instead.

There's about as much chance of that as there is of Bloomsbury having somebody else write Harry Potter books after J.K. Rowling finishes the last one.

[Ranger X]

zzzzz

Just change the producer. Like if the franchise was owned by this guy or something LOL
I don't see a problem and you guys seriously shouldn't give a fuck.

[Kobun Heat]

Just change the producer. Like if the franchise was owned by this guy or something LOL I don't see a problem and you guys seriously shouldn't give a fuck.

Itoi isn't the producer -- he's the writer, and he's famous in Japan. Not nerd-famous like Miyamoto, famous famous. Household word famous. Mother without him is literally like the scenario I described above.

He probably doesn't own it outright, but Nintendo wouldn't even consider doing it without him.

[Ranger X]

Itoi isn't the producer -- he's the writer, and he's famous in Japan. Not nerd-famous like Miyamoto, famous famous. Household word famous. Mother without him is literally like the scenario I described above. He probably doesn't own it outright, but Nintendo wouldn't even consider doing it without him.

Imagine if it's the same guys as usual that are working on the game except for the writer. Seriously, i think a writer can be replaced even more easily than a producer (depending how far he puts himself in the project of course)

Talented writers can make a story and narrative that are Earthbound style i'm sure.
And if the game is popular anyway, he may be convinced to make another one just by the smell of cash...

[chespace]

Itoi isn't the producer -- he's the writer, and he's famous in Japan. Not nerd-famous like Miyamoto, famous famous. Household word famous. Mother without him is literally like the scenario I described above. He probably doesn't own it outright, but Nintendo wouldn't even consider doing it without him.

Yes, my wife, who does not play games, and doesn't give a shit about Mother, reads Itoi's books.

[Kobun Heat]

Imagine if it's the same guys as usual that are working on the game except for the writer.

Imagine if I was right and you were wrong.

Let me say this again: it is the equivalent of pulling JK Rowling from the Harry Potter series. Whether or not they could is entirely irrelevant. Mother is popular because it is a creation of Itoi.

[CO_Andy]

Not entirely over for the franchise: We'll still see it in Smash Bros.

[BobTheFork]

Meh, not suprising.
I waited through so much just to finally have 3 released.
I glad its out, and thats enough, well a NA version,

[Ranger X]

Let me say this again: it is the equivalent of pulling JK Rowling from the Harry Potter series. Whether or not they could is entirely irrelevant. Mother is popular because it is a creation of Itoi.

I just think Mother fans are jumping to fast on the doom train that's all.
But i have to tell you i seriously doubt your comparison here. Changing the writer for a book and a videogame is totally different.
There's no way Earthbound approaches what a book does in matter of narrative and story + subtleties and whatever anything that truly makes us "feel" the author.
The only game i know that i MAY notice if it's not the original writer could be Metal Gear Solid. And that's because Kojima's is doing ALOT more than writing, the game is reflecting him alot more.
I'd be pleased if someone can tell me how far Itoi was implied into Mother, if it's only the story or primarily the story i'm still leaning on the "he's replaceable" side.

[DarknessTear]

I just think Mother fans are jumping to fast on the doom train that's all. But i have to tell you i seriously doubt your comparison here. Changing the writer for a book and a videogame is totally different. There's no way Earthbound approaches what a book does in matter of narrative and story + subtleties and whatever anything that truly makes us "feel" the author. The only game i know that i MAY notice if it's not the original writer could be Metal Gear Solid. And that's because Kojima's is doing ALOT more than writing, the game is reflects him alot more. I'd be pleased if someone can tell me how far Itoi was implied into Mother, if it's only the story or primarily the story i'm still leaning on the "he's replaceable" side.

[A Link to the Snitch]

given how long it took mother 3 to come out, is this really surprising to anyone? here's to hoping we see some Shigesato Itoi's bass fishing on Wii though!

That's not exactly an accurate argument, seeing as how it went from the N64 to the N64DD (or vice versa) to the GBA. The GBA game didn't take all that long to complete.

[gjb-sensei]

Maybe he'll decide to create an entirely new RPG series...

[SailorDaravon]

Imagine if I was right and you were wrong.

:lol :lol :lol

For some reason this is the funniest thing I've read in months.

:lol

[bud]

If we all listen very carefully, we might amirox cry.

[JoshuaJSlone]

I'd be pleased if someone can tell me how far Itoi was implied into Mother, if it's only the story or primarily the story i'm still leaning on the "he's replaceable" side.

The Mother 2 credits list Itoi as producer, director, writer, Mr. Saturn font concept, and voice samples.

As a side note, I see Satoru Iwata is credited as program director, programmer, and co-producer.

[jGuru]

You're lying :)

Denial

[Tyrone Slothrop]

That about wraps it up for Nintendo.

:lol :lol :lol

[Kobun Heat]

still wrong

I realize that Mother is a special case, which is why I've gone to some lengths to explain it rather than just sit back and assume that it is obvious. Mother came about as a game that was written by Itoi; that is its primary reason for being and the reason it sells. Dude's name is on the box.

In the credits for 3, Itoi is listed first, as "Story, Scenario, and Message." The game has three producers and two "progress supervisors," none of which are Itoi, which cements the impression in my mind that Itoi probably couldn't produce his way out of a paper bag.

But that is tangential. Mother games are like Itoi books; if he's not writing them there's no point. The end. For more, see Power-Up, pages 78-80.

[Ranger X]

I realize that Mother is a special case, which is why I've gone to some lengths to explain it rather than just sit back and assume that it is obvious. Mother came about as a game that was written by Itoi; that is its primary reason for being and the reason it sells. Dude's name is on the box. In the credits for 3, Itoi is listed first, as "Story, Scenario, and Message." The game has three producers and two "progress supervisors," none of which are Itoi, which cements the impression in my mind that Itoi probably couldn't produce his way out of a paper bag. But that is tangential. Mother games are like Itoi books; if he's not writing them there's no point. The end. For more, see Power-Up, pages 78-80.

Nice. Maybe i didn't catch all the details and subtleties of Earthbound but i did like the game with a completely neutral mind having never witnessed any Itoi's book.
And on this stand point, i don't see what would be so hard to imitate. I'm sure Nintendo could pull off another awesome Earthbound that feels and plays Earthbound.
To continue my MGS example, maybe it's like MGS vs Twin Snakes. To me it's instantly noticeable Twin Snakes is a fad but people that started with that game or don't really know Kojima seem to like the game very much.
Anyway, i understand what you say but as with pretty much anything else really, it's possible to "reproduce" Earthbound. (and MGS too even if i would probably notice it's not Kojima...)

[Pellham]

Ranger X, jesus dude, give it up already.

Here i'll throw in another hypothetical situation so that you might be able to finally understand why we are right and you are wrong:

Imagine that say, Stephen King, wants to make a video game. An RPG. He calls it Father and gets Nintendo to publish/develop it. He writes the story, directs it, does all of the same hats that Itoi does for his Mother series. Father is a huge hit and everyone associates the game with Stephen King. But of course since Nintendo published/developed it, its owned by Nintendo. Stephen King decides enough is enough after Father 3, and goes back to writing novels, having retired the series. Do you think Nintendo would want to continue making more Father games?

[Ghengis Cohen]

Nice. Maybe i didn't catch all the details and subtleties of Earthbound but i did like the game with a completely neutral mind having never witnessed any Itoi's book. And on this stand point, i don't see what would be so hard to imitate. I'm sure Nintendo could pull off another awesome Earthbound that feels and plays Earthbound. To continue my MGS example, maybe it's like MGS vs Twin Snakes. To me it's instantly noticeable Twin Snakes is a fad but people that started with that game or don't really know Kojima seem to like the game very much. Anyway, i understand what you say but as with pretty much anything else really, it's possible to "reproduce" Earthbound. (and MGS too even if i would probably notice it's not Kojima...)

It seems you're missing the point. Of course anything can be imitated to a degree, and in many cases the result would be hard to tell from what it was imitating, especially in a project with the intrinsically collaborative nature of a videogame. The problem is Mother would not exist outside of Shigesato Itoi's involvement and in that regard it would be more apt to call it "Shigesato Itoi's Mother" since it is clear that the project belongs (if not in law, in spirit) to Itoi and even Nintendo allowed him to handle the publicity for the game through his website.

[Koomaster]

You can imitate the Mona Lisa, but it is NOT the Mona Lisa.
/discussion

As long as he's not leaving the industry to design playgrounds, I'll allow Itoi to develop whatever game his heart desires! :)

After the English Version of Mother 3 is released!

[Terrell]

Didn't Itoi also say that Mother 3 would never happen after it was canned on the N64? I mean, just because he doesn't see it happening NOW doesn't mean that the mood wouldn't hit him just right and have him end up writing another game scenario for Mother 4.

[Mac the KNife]

Amir0x suicide in 3...2...1

I really hope they reconsider. Or at least bring Mother 1&2 and Mother 3 out in the US for GBA.

[Archie]

As a last gift, Nintendo must translate Mother 3 for America. Otherwise, they have no other chance to redeem themselves. They will always be stuck in shitty oblivion. :(

This is a post I can get behind.

[Lee N]

Haha, I looked at that and my brain interpreted it as a series of spoiler-tags. Then I saw the guy falling down.

Truly a WTF!?-moment.

[LakeEarth]

Its only black like that to hide the fact that the whole thing is ripped straight from Prince of Persia.

[jj984jj]

Oh, misleading topic title a bit, I thought this meant that there was no way Mother 3 was coming over here.

Anyway, if Itoi wants to try something new after so many years of Mother, then that's fine with me. He's a talented writer, he shouldn't be constricted to something he doesn't want to do to satisfy some fanboys. I just hope he writes for another video game sooner or later.

[imastalker co.]

Amir0x suicide in 3...2...1 Poor guy, I feel for him already...

pssh, atleast he got 2 awesome ass sequels.

[A Link to the Snitch]

Anyway, people, you're overreacting! Clearly, Mother is still alive - he said "not Mother 4". Didn't say anything about, say, Mother 0!

:D

[ahmad]

Anyway, people, you're overreacting! Clearly, Mother is still alive - he said "not Mother 4". Didn't say anything about, say, Mother 0! :D

:lol or remakes

Or mother party

or mother trucker..... o wait

[daegan]

For more, see Power-Up, pages 78-80.

Is it wrong that I did exactly that?