It was BOUND to happen eventually.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/33888
During today's Nintendo Direct live stream, Satoru Iwata has confirmed that EarthBound will be released on the Wii U Virtual Console later this year.
During this morning's direct, Iwata mentioned that there were many posts in the Japanese Mother 2 Miiverse community from fans in North America and Europe, clamoring for the game's release.
No release date has been set for the game, but Iwata confirmed that it would be out "later this year".
It will. A good part of the demand for old games is people who want a legal copy. If they can get a cheap, legal copy they drop out of the cart market and thus demand drops.
Who's cackling now?
Why is everyone freaking out about this? Why not Mother 3? That'd be a bigger bombshell.
Why is everyone freaking out about this? Why not Mother 3? That'd be a bigger bombshell.
There's also the fact that most people would have to buy a Wii U to be able to play (and buy) the VC release. There's a likelyhood that more people have SNES's or retro consoles (with SNES cartridge slot) than Wii U's at this point.It will. A good part of the demand for old games is people who want a legal copy. If they can get a cheap, legal copy they drop out of the cart market and thus demand drops.
I just seriously doubt there's a massive amount of people who just want to play the game that:
A) Care if it is legal.
B) Intend to keep it (i.e.: don't want to just borrow it from a friend or flip it after playing it).
C) Would go through the effort of tracking down (and paying for) an SNES copy (and potentially an SNES to play it on)
D) Would fit into all of those above slots *and* would still be willing and content to just download the VC Version.
From the classic games I've watched on eBay, they *rarely* go down in price when a newer version gets re-released. Sometimes, they even go up.
Why is everyone freaking out about this? Why not Mother 3? That'd be a bigger bombshell.If it came out here, I'd buy it. EB is the more popular title in the US and European countries though because of its previous release.
Funny, I thought people would freak out more over a sequel to the game they love and can still get very easily versus a game that was never released in the US (hence the whole point of OP Rainfall). I can play EB right now on my PSP. What I can't get is a true translated version of M3 that I'd love to have, and would have an appropriate amount of freaking out over.
@oblivion, you're splitting hairs. Knock it off.
Don't abuse me you child. Do as you are told.@oblivion, you're splitting hairs. Knock it off.
No, YOU knock it off. Where the **** were you when I had this conversation before? I've had this argument three times now. All I said is that I can fucking get EB on my PSP. That's it. Get off your fucking high horse.
Don't abuse me you child. Do as you are told.
No. Be quiet, son, or I may have to take off my belt. Ya got that, pal?Don't abuse me you child. Do as you are told.
Are you kidding me?
Don't make me break out my Leo gif again.+1
Hi, I'm "Oblivion", and I like to brag about how I can obtain illegal copies of games without paying for them. I hacked my PSP just so I could play old Nintendo games that are easily available on the Wii. I love pirating stuff because I'm too damn cheap to pay for it.
Realistically this shouldn't matter to me because, as I said, I already have the SNES cart and I'm not going to buy this because I don't need it. But I still found myself very excited when I saw the headline. The reason why is that I like the gesture. Nintendo has for years seemingly acted like this game never existed. Now they suddenly change their mind? It gives me the slim hope that Nintendo's attitude towards the series has changed. They know they dropped the ball on this so they're trying to make it right. I never expect Nintendo or any company to make no mistakes but I DO expect them to learn from them or correct them. Nintendo has finally made this right and even their method of doing it with that big "FINALLY" graphic suggests that they know they were dropping the ball on this.
...Woah their. That might be assuming to much.
Now not only can I play it on an HD set without it looking like ass,
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I never expect Nintendo or any company to make no mistakes but I DO expect them to learn from them or correct them.
Ha! Better than a SNES, at least? I think the art is clean and clear enough that it might look rather lovely. I hope? Regardless. :)...Woah their. That might be assuming to much.
Now not only can I play it on an HD set without it looking like ass,
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About. Damn. Time. ;D
I wonder if there will be any changes made...
So you hope that good sales of Earthbound on VC will send a message to Nintendo and encourage them to change their ways, but you aren't going to buy the VC release yourself to help make that happen. Thanks...for nothing. :@One's decision to buy or not to buy re-releases of old games in theory should be made on their own merits not on developer's promises to make more games in the series if it will sell well.
If this leads to Mother 3 and a new sequel down the line, awesome...Don't hold your breath for Mother 4. Shigesato Itoi has repeatedly stated that he won't make anymore Mother games. (http://earthboundcentral.com/2009/11/still-no-future-mother-games/) Yeah, Nintendo could make one without Itoi (probably with or without his blessing), but I doubt they would. The Mother series was Itoi's; I doubt Nintendo would make Mother 4 without him and anyone else trying to make it just wouldn't feel right.
But unlike Mother. Kid Icarus had things like Captian N to establish a broader personality and a presence in USA.Have you ever heard of this really niche game called Super Smash Brothers? I've heard there might be Mother/Earthbound ties to it.
If you're going to talk about Captain N. helping people know about Kid Icarus, then you can't overlook Smash Bros. helping people know about Eartbound. More people (now) know about obscure Nintendo characters from Smash than they do from Captain N. Hell, Captain N. itself is obscure now.I can take Smash Bros out simply because its for both of them.
Captain N? You mean that terribly animated cartoon from the 1980's that featured bastardized versions of famous Nintendo characters? Yeah, only people who grew up in the 80's remember that show.It sure is amazing how many of you instantly remembered it.
It sure is amazing how many of you instantly remembered it.
Earthbound is much the same way.It sure is amazing how many of you instantly remembered it.
I didn't remember it. I haven't seen a single episode of it. I know about it because I go to Nintendo sites like this one.
People in general do not know about Captain N. or the characters that are in it.
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Tanabe: Right. After we finished Mario Strikers Charged, we discussed what we would do next. I had heard that they wanted to make a new version of one of Nintendo's properties, and since Punch-Out!! has been consistently popular in America, they said that they would really like to make a new version.
Miyamoto: NOA has been asking for a new version of Punch-Out!! for a long time as well.
Iwata: What was the first thing Takeda-san or Miyamoto-san said when you discussed this with them after returning to Japan?
Tanabe: First, I went to Miyamoto-san and he told me to go get permission from Takeda-san first.
Iwata: Because he originally made the game. What was Takeda-san's reaction?
