In the midst of all this news surrounding the Wii U, we got one more nugget of information, and it’s a juicy one. Earlier today, Satoru Iwata made a special announcement on Nintendo’s website regarding the Mother franchise. Starting on March 20th, not only will Mother 2 be released on the Wii U’s Virtual Console, but it will also be marked down to 30 yen as part of Nintendo’s special 30th anniversary promotion of the Famicom, according to a translation done on NeoGAF.
Shigesato Itoi also talked about making Mother 2, which was also translated by NeoGAF.
“Here and there, people I’ve met on different occasions have told me,
“I first heard of you by playing the game Mother, Itoi-san.” This wasn’t just when the game was released, but also long after the fact.All kinds of people have gone around the playground called Mother, telling me of their recollections of a tiny safety pin, shards of colored glass, dried leaves, and so forth. When I say,
“Wow, you really remember that well,” then say,
“I loved every nook and cranny of that world,” as their eyes light up.
“Me too,” I say.”
It’s worth a reminder that this game never saw a release on the Virtual Console in any region, including Japan. Both Iwata and Itoi have acknowledged the sizable international fanbase this title received. It would be absolutely insane to not release Mother 2/Earthbound internationally. And if you thought that we at Operation Rainfall could cause a storm about Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower, wait until you see what the folks at Starmen.net can unleash.
