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Earthbound Coming to Wii U Virtual Console in NA / Europe

Super Metroid 2.

Super Metroid HD.

Metroid Prime 4, 5 & 6.

Nothing but Metroid.

All made by Retro x Irrational Games.

This just got me to thinking that of the (long, longshot) possibility of Platinum maybe doing a Metroid offshoot... IOW, Metroid: Another M done totally right.
 
I also sort of preferred how Earthbound felt more dark in terms of how abstract and psychological it could get. Mother 3's a far more coherent and dramatic story, but the final game doesn't have anything that touches the final Giygas encounter.

Unless (technically spoilers for M3 I guess?)
you count that scrapped part where Lucas has a mental breakdown over Claus you can find on youtube

I still love both, but they have distinctly different feels to one another. Mother1/E0 is the only game in the trilogy that's blatantly worse.

Mother 3 can get PRETTY abstract and psychological and dark, though. The entire
mushroom trip
is a good example of that.
 
Mother 3 can get PRETTY abstract and psychological and dark, though. The entire
mushroom trip
is a good example of that.
'Aborting' Giygas >
1000 rat corpses

I'm aware the former's just a (likely false) fan-theory, but it still gives a neat perspective on the whole thing.
 
I'm very happy for those of you that will be playing for the first time. Such an unforgettable experience.
 
I've been waiting as well. I havn't pirated or emulated a game in years, not since my early teens. I doubt we're the only ones. With so many high quality releases on the console front, I havn't felt the urge or need to.

I've always wanted to play Earthbound. The general online attitude towards it has been so inspiring. The comics, fandoms etc. are all in line with some of the best. I live in the UK, and so have never had any legal way (outside of importing) to play this game.

I'm very excited.

I'm in Belgium so I'm in the same boat. :)

And actually, with the recent way Nintendo (especially NOE and Satoru Shibata) is keeping a close eye out for feedback from the fans, we have a very good possibility that if this game sells in high numbers we'll see Mother 3 released later on for either the 3DS or Wii U VC as well.
 
LOL I was waiting for this.

250+ dollars for a 20 year old RPG that can be nabbed in minutes via emulation

L O fucking L bro(s)

Would you rather pay $250 for the cartridge? I'd rather reward Nintendo with money than rather pay oodles of cash and this news lets me do so.
 
I want it on my 3DS. And Mother 3. But my jaw literally dropped at this news, unbelievable, StarMen.net is probably losing their shit.

And although I just posted this for the new 3DS Zelda news....

m-bison-yes-o.gif
 
Put your tin foil hats on.

Is there any chance this is a sign Nintendo is making a new Mother/Earthbound? Or maybe sales of this could dictate such a decision? Thoughts?

New Mother isn't happening without Itoi, and he said Mother 3 was the last one.
 
New Mother isn't happening without Itoi, and he said Mother 3 was the last one.

Sakurai said the same about Smash. Now I do realize Smash Bros is way bigger than Mother, but I don't think is completely out of the question a new Mother if Nintendo pushes its strings. Of course the game has to sell very well to begin with.
 
Considering the standard resolution of the SNES was about 256x224, lower resolution than the 3DS' 400x240, I can dream of a beautiful possibility.
ao7qEQ4.jpg
 
Sakurai said the same about Smash. Now I do realize Smash Bros is way bigger than Mother, but I don't think is completely out of the question a new Mother if Nintendo pushes its strings. Of course the game has to sell very well to begin with.

Itoi isn't a game developer though. He's a writer and the Mother series is based on his experiences growing up.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's far less likely than another other Nintendo series to get a new entry.
 
Just out of interest, do we have any idea if any changes have been made? I feel like a lot of the music in this game is just a lawsuit waiting to happen.
 
And I'll have a contest topic also when we figure out the gifting shit

If it's just an all-purpose "Fans give away copies of Earthbound" thread, I'll chip in a copy or two when the time comes to people who've never played it. The game really is something special and I'd love to be the guy that introduces someone to it.
 
If it's just an all-purpose "Fans give away copies of Earthbound" thread, I'll chip in a copy or two when the time comes to people who've never played it. The game really is something special and I'd love to be the guy that introduces someone to it.

We can combine forces and make a mega giveaway. It'd be nice actually if we can get a handful of neoGAFers to do this with me, because the flood of goodwill would cause an Earthbound LTTP megaflood on GAF lol
 
No he didn't.
And even if he did it's apples and oranges: Smash Bros is a crossover fighting game that's sort of doing whatever seems cool, whereas Mother's a more intimate creative work. While you can have others take over the reins for either, it's not going to be as good for a more creative work that's dependent on story, whereas the crossover concept could more easily be better done juggled between people.
 
There were times where EarthBound fluctuated into the top of my favorite games of all time, until further replays of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII, of which are the only games it falls behind in my mind.

It's a special game.
 
And even if he did it's apples and oranges: Smash Bros is a crossover fighting game that's sort of doing whatever seems cool, whereas Mother's a more intimate creative work. While you can have others take over the reins for either, it's not going to be as good for a more creative work that's dependent on story, whereas the crossover concept could more easily be better down juggled between people.
Not to mention Smash has always been pretty dynamic in terms of the developers behind it; first two games were HAL, Brawl was Game-Arts and SSB4 is Bandai-Namco. It's nowhere near as big a deal to Nintendo who the bulk of the dev team making Smash Bros. are as it probably would be for a story-driven series such as Mother.
 
I never played this at all never had a chance to explore this series

how late in the year will this release?

If it was out now when there are so few games to play I would love to dive in but if this comes out during the holidays I doubt I will give it a far chance although I am glad it is coming because of the fans of this series wanting it so badly
 
A potential smart thing to do now (non-collector wise), sell your Earthbound cartridge and save the money for a WiiU then pay for a digital copy of Earthbound.
 
If it's just an all-purpose "Fans give away copies of Earthbound" thread, I'll chip in a copy or two when the time comes to people who've never played it. The game really is something special and I'd love to be the guy that introduces someone to it.

This has been a dream I have had since virtual console was announced. I figured most Earthbound fans would feel the same way.
 
how late in the year will this release?

Iwata said in the video that it would be out by the end of the year, and furthermore that the release date would be announced at a separate time. So I'm guessing not for a while, unfortunately. It's a shame, especially since it looks like Wonderful 101 is going to slip even later given the silence on that front, but at least we know it's coming this time.
 
Iwata said in the video that it would be out by the end of the year, and furthermore that the release date would be announced at a separate time. So I'm guessing not for a while, unfortunately. It's a shame, especially since it looks like Wonderful 101 is going to slip even later given the silence on that front, but at least we know it's coming this time.

okay thanks

I really don't mind W101 and Pikmin 3 delays anymore if it means the games will be better for it.

Lego City is a good game but I would love to delay it a year to get rid of those loading screens

I think if Earthbound was a meaningless localization they would have just given us the SNES dump as is but was this not the game with songs that needed to be changed or was that Mother 3?

I do hope it means a new game in the series is coming if it means selling a few more Wii Us
 
okay thanks

I really don't mind W101 and Pikmin 3 delays anymore if it means the games will be better for it.

Lego City is a good game but I would love to delay it a year to get rid of those loading screens

I think if Earthbound was a meaningless localization they would have just given us the SNES dump as is but was this not the game with songs that needed to be changed or was that Mother 3?

I do hope it means a new game in the series is coming if it means selling a few more Wii Us

Oh, I'll take a better game later over a game that lacks polish but is released earlier, for sure!

There's an article here that details some of the possible issues that Nintendo might have with Earthbound and why, though I don't know what they'll actually change for this re-release. I'm not an expert on Earthbound and the Mother series by any means, but I've read enough about them by now to be pretty happy with the news today!
 
I also sort of preferred how Earthbound felt more dark in terms of how abstract and psychological it could get. Mother 3's a far more coherent and dramatic story, but the final game doesn't have anything that touches the final Giygas encounter.

Unless (technically spoilers for M3 I guess?)
you count that scrapped part where Lucas has a mental breakdown over Claus you can find on youtube

I still love both, but they have distinctly different feels to one another. Mother1/E0 is the only game in the trilogy that's blatantly worse.

Really?!?

i've never seen a video like that before, do you mind linking it to me?
 
Very excited to play this. I love Mother 3 but still have not played Earthbound. Looking forward to it. Hopefully I have a Wii U by the time it comes out.

Also, congratulations to the folks from Europe! I'm excited you guys are FINALLY getting it.
 
I only just played it recently so not too excited about it in the 'playing' sense but I'm VERY excited in the ZOMG YES! sense.

Finally!!!

Grats guys what are we gonna pine for now?
 
Fantastic news. It's about time this amazing game is easily (at least legally) accessible. I got my copy on the SNES about a year before the prices for carts began to reach obscene levels. Can't wait to dive back in.
 
Earthbound is considered to be an extremely excellent game.
It is extremely rare in NA and was unreleased in Europe.

The game was released with a marketing campaign that resulted in ads everywhere and there were tons of copies of the game all ovee the place when it came out.

If the game is actually rare they must have destroyed the unsold copies or something. Which may be the case as the game seemed like it bombed pretty badly.
 
Everyone seems to be enjoying their disc ROMs of current games. "Just a ROM" is an absurdly reductionist view of a creative work.

I think most are dismissing it because the game has been out forever.

In all honesty this game should have been on VC ages ago.
 
The game was released with a marketing campaign that resulted in ads everywhere and there were tons of copies of the game all ovee the place when it came out.

If the game is actually rare they must have destroyed the unsold copies or something. Which may be the case as the game seemed like it bombed pretty badly.

Apparently it sold 140,000 copies in North America. Which is not rare... it's just that the demand for it is considerably high nowadays.
 
Not to be a cynic, but buying Wii U for earthbound still costs more than an SNES and an Earthbound cartridge.

I kid, I kid.

Congrats to those overseas who'll get to play the game.
 
I think most are dismissing it because the game has been out forever.

In all honesty this game should have been on VC ages ago.

In a limited print run last appearing on a console that came out two decades ago.

It's still a game, and we'll have a sanely priced legal channel in which to re-acquire the game for old fans and new buyers alike.
 
Apparently it sold 140,000 copies in North America. Which is not rare... it's just that the demand for it is considerably high nowadays.

I thought it sold something like 50-60k where did you get this number? Though that figure would be around a typical first shipment, from what I understand it never got a second shipment, I got a copy a couple years after release at a walmart for 20 dollars.
 
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