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Home Page > Mother > Earthbound : NoA and EarthBound - The Red Blimp

Does Nintendo of America hate Earthbound?

Note: This article was written a few years ago in response to annoying fan whining about Nintendo of America supposedly hating the Mother series. I found the accusation to be so completely ridiculous that it merited a very long essay in response. In recent times, the Mother fanbase has calmed down and so this essay is not really necessary. I am, however, keeping it up for viewing (despite actually being... not my best work) just because it is an excellent example of what happens when I get very wound up about an issue. Mother 3 had not been translated into English when I wrote this essay, and we still had hope for EarthBound on the Virtual Console. Keep that in mind as you read this rather angry article!

Among the Earthbound community, it has been common to hear that the reason for Mother 3 not being released in the States is because Nintendo of America (NoA) hates Earthbound. They claim that the company is to blame for the game's sales (according to said fans, the game sold well and NoA had no right to complain) because of a minimal advertising campaign. Is this really true, though? Was the game's poor marketing the cause of its apparent failure? Does Nintendo of America hate Earthbound?

Let's go back in time to a point where the Super Nintendo Entertainment System wasn't around. Let's take a look at Earth Bound, set to be released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This game, a translation of Mother, was ready to be released. However, the higher-ups at NoA decided that the game's release would be unprofitable and Earth Bound failed to be released.

Some fans protest this decision, saying that the game should have been released. Recall that RPGs had not yet hit America with full force (if they weren't popular when the later Earthbound was released, they were probably as popular as Betamax in Mother's time). The executives also figured that with the release of the SNES would cause most people to box their NESs. Had Earth Bound been released, it likely would have done poorly (Earthbound's campaign, ridiculous as it was, was at least advertisement. It didn't seem that any advertising was to go along with Earth Bound's release) and we would never again hear from that series (although there is no consensus among fans as to which game of the trilogy is the worst, most agree in that Earth Bound's gameplay, with its random battles, is the worst). In the long run, it was smart of NoA not to release the game (either way, the cartridges for the unreleased English prototype was leaked out, and we got to play the game).

Now let's focus on Earthbound (SNES). As we all may or may not know, NoA had the highest of hopes for this little game. They packaged the game with a player's guide that resulted in an appealing large, colorful box (many who bought Earthbound recall being attracted by the box's size). The game received ads in the kiosks of game stores, where a looping segment of the game's intro (when you didn't press start at the 'press start' screen) played along with an overdub of a man describing the game and what you do in it. The ad was criticized by fans as being inaccurate (the game is said to have '8 levels') and unappealing (no battle footage was shown, and since Earth Bound was never released, no one had any idea who Giygas was or any connection from it and Giegue). As silly as it was, it was a ad, and few games at the time received advertisement. Though not very informative, it let passerbys know of the game's name.

The other ad is constantly attacked by Earthbound fans and cited as the reason for the game's economic failure. It was a scratch-and-sniff that appeared in Nintendo Power (and coupons). The infamous slogan that accompanies it read 'This Game Stinks' (it was actually some other text before it, followed by 'Because this game stinks'). The description of the game was fairly accurate, but the focus of the ad was pointing out all the grotesque stuff in Earthbound (Welcome to Earthbound, the only game with B.O.).

Fans say the ad was immature and negative. However, 'Because this Game Stinks' is not the same thing as 'Don't buy this game'. Stink, although used to say that something is of bad quality, obviously also refers to smell. When the ad is read, the slogan makes perfect sense and unites the talking pile of puke on the page (Master Belch), the 'Stink Away', and the scratch-and-sniff. I sincerely doubt that 'This Game Stinks' was ever used out of context or in a serious ad (if it was, in say a TV ad or a poster at store, please inform me). The game's target audience was children, and this was a time when atomic wedgies and farts were funny. I doubt that the majority of the viewers would be turned off by a slogan talking about smells when that was the center of the entire ad.

Some still argue that the ads were poorly thought out and a recipe for disaster. This argument is often used in conjunction with the idea that Nintendo didn't want the series to succeed or didn't care. The Player's Guide that accompanies the game refutes that idea. The guide is one of the most entertaining to read, even if you never need it. It treats each town as a tourist destination, complete with information about the population, average temperature, and the number of dogs. It features mockups of the newspapers that each town features (Twoson Tribune is an example, along with a made-up one for Winters High). Maps of all the caves and mazes that point out where to find hidden items or how to exploit certain things about the game were there. It was like it was written by a team of professional but devoted fans, and those who have read the guide tend to agree that it was funny and useful.

NoA obviously expected Earthbound to sell great amounts, and made a big investment. They made a player's guide, a big box to go with the guide, and ads (this all cost Nintendo money). Nintendo may have over-manufactured expecting huge demand. As one can expect, a game expected to be a best-seller selling moderately well doesn't bode well for the folks at NoA. It probably didn't make as much of a profit as expected, which is a great disappointment for NoA.

Speaking of profit, why didn't Earthbound sell as much as expected? Some people blame the graphics, which looked lifeless and dated compared to prettier releases. Others say that it was the combination of being an RPG and being released near the end of the SNES's lifetime that did it. There are those who point fingers to the ads, and then there are the conspiracy theorists who think that NoA has a thing against Itoi and lied about the number of units sold to give the idea that the game failed and therefore cause the general public to go against any new installments. Many people forget one important factor. There is a large possibility that the reason for the game's sales was that people didn't like Earthbound. During my first play-through of Earthbound, Onett was a huge turn-off, being boring, uninvolving, and too difficult. It was only after advancing to Twoson that the game became enjoyable. Even among fans, it is generally agreed that the game's charm lies in its quirky humor and story, not in the gameplay. The liking factor is often discounted from lists that state reasons for the game's economic failure.

Let's get back to that conspiracy theory: did the game sell poorly? Let's bring up some sales figures. Earthbound sold around 140,000 units for the time it was at retail stores. That doesn't sound bad, right? Now, Chrono Trigger sold 280,000 units, twice as much as Earthbound. Final Fantasy III sold 520,000 units, almost quadruple the amount that Earthbound sold. Starfox 64 sold 300,000 cartridges within 5 days of release. Pokemon Red sold 4.83 million and Blue sold 5.02 million. The biggest seller for the SNES, Super Mario World, sold 20 million units (it came bundled with the SNES). 140,000 over a long period of time seems small compared to 300,000 in five days or 520,000 units. Presumably, the game made around $9.8 million if each cartridge cost $70, but remember that the money also had to go towards paying off the costs of having to purchase more materials to make that bigger box and guide, not to mention pay off the costs of advertising and the paychecks of employees. $9.8 million could be an accurate estimate of how much money the game made, but it is not an accurate indicator of the profit that Nintendo reaped.

Now, what other Earthbound game never made it to the states? The predecessor of Mother 3? Earthbound 64. Although the game was never finished and obviously not translated, I can't help but feel that this game's fate influenced NoA's opinion of the Mother series. The series seemed unreliable and unpredictable, being involved in a mess of cancellations and poor sales. We didn't hear from the Earthbound series for 10 years. Wouldn't it make sense for NoA to assume the series was done and not bother anymore?

Mother 3 was released in 2006, and was at the top of Japan's most wanted games list. Amazing, right? You think a game this wanted would also be a hit in America. However, American and Japanese tastes are different (we can't say anything about European tastes because games always arrive late there). Metroid is popular in America, and the Prime series was successful here, whereas the series was regarded coldly in Japan. F-Zero is supposedly often talked about in Japan, but I've yet to hear anybody mention it outside of SSB here in America. Although more Japanese RPGs have penetrated the mainstream now, it could be possible that there are some at NoA who are still stuck in the 90s, and think that such an oddball, out-of-the-ordinary RPG such as Mother 3 wouldn't succeed. “If Earthbound didn't succeed back then, what makes you think that Mother 3 will fare better?” A message was once issued stating that if Earthbound did a good job on the Virtual Console, then the localization of Mother 3 would be considered.

No attempts have been made at localizing Mother 3 so far. Some thought this would change with the release of Super Smash Bros: Brawl. Lucas was in, and some thought due to a vague line in the Dojo!! (up until now) that he was Ness's replacement. A leak in one of Nintendo's videos later confirmed him to be a returning veteran. An update in the Dojo!! revealed that Masterpieces, a feature that allowed you to play short demos of famous games represented in Brawl, would be available. Earthbound and a Fire Emblem game were not listed, but were present in the Japanese site. As the games listed in the Masterpieces were all available or were going to be available in the Virtual Console, it was a worrying time for Earthbound fans. Earthbound was going to be on the VC, but only in Japan? It seemed like a cruel trick by NoA to prevent Mother 3 from coming across the pond – Earthbound couldn't perform well on the VC if it wasn't on the VC.

However, we don't know why Earthbound was removed from Brawl. Perhaps it was removed for some arbitrary reason, but will show up later on the VC (maybe for optimized sales so that it is released at the peak of the Mother 3 hype?). Anything about this is speculation.

In reality, most of the assumptions made by some fans of the Mother series about NoA are speculation. The affinity that NoA has for Earthbound and its comrades is unknown. It is important to remember that NoA is not a single person making decisions; NoA is a division of Nintendo made up of a president and executives and employees. There could be a person who despises the series and there could be another dying to localize it. There could be other things getting in the way of the series' progress. 'NoA hates the series' is not a valid explanation for any Mother or Earthbound related issues.