Earlier today, Kotaku interviewed the current president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, about the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2. Because this was the first time that particular interviewer has seen him since 2005, he decided to take the opportunity to ask him about a certain RPG that several fans have been wanting to see get an international release for years. You know the one.
Here’s the transaction.
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Stephen Totilo: I would be remiss in not telling you that some of my writers would like to play another Advance Wars and they would someday like to play <em<Mother 3 in America… [Note: Iwata writes something down] … Whenever I ask Reggie about Mother 3, he says, ‘ask Mr. Iwata.'”
Iwata: [in English]: “Just yesterday, before I left from Japan, I met with Mr. Itoi, who is the creator of the Earthbound series. [laughs]”
Stephen Totilo: “Oh, I know. Are we ever going to get it?”
Iwata: “And, yeah, accidentally we were discussing that there are huge fans from Western countries for the Mother series [laughs].
Stephen Totilo: “So, someday? Someday?” [I stand up to shake his hand]
Iwata: “[laughs] Thank you. Great to see you!”
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While Iwata hasn’t answered whether or not we’ll ever see it outside of Japan, the fact that he acknowledged the presence of Earthbound fans in the West cannot be ignored. Earthbound is a series many people have been waiting to see resurface in the West, myself included. Hopefully, Iwata won’t stop at just acknowledging the existence of these fans. The eShop is already in place, Iwata. I think you know what to do next.
You can read the full interview for yourself here here.
