Mother 3, the third game in the Mother series, is a beloved RPG from Nintendo. English speakers may know the series as Earthbound, and the third game in the series being localized for English has been on a wishlist for many gamers. While the game has been available in Japan since 2006, North American players have had to rely on unofficial translations to experience the game’s unique narrative and engaging gameplay.
In a recent documentary, Mother 3 creator Shigesato Itoi expressed his support for an official English localization, stating, “I would love for people in the U.S. to play Mother 3.” (Thanks IGN) While it’s nice to want, it’s a much more complicated process to translate the game for Western audiences.
Although Itoi is enthusiastic, there are still obstacles to overcome before an English localization can be started. The complexity of the localization process has been a key factor for Nintendo’s reluctance, according to Itoi. Nevertheless, Itoi remains optimistic that a solution can be found. It’s always possible to play fan-made translations, but they won’t be as good as those created by professional translators.
Shinichi Kameoka, Mother 3’s producer, also said he wanted to see the game released in English-speaking markets. During an interview with Nintendo Everything, Kameoka described making the game and his opinion that it’d be good to see an official English localization.
The ultimate decision regarding an official English localization rests with Nintendo. Unfortunately, we’ve already heard that they don’t really think the series needs one. Reggie Fils-Aime, the former president of Nintendo of America, addressed the long-standing question of why Mother 3 never received an official Western release.
In a Eurogamer News Podcast interview, Reggie clarified that the game’s sensitive themes were not the primary reason for its absence in Western markets. Instead, it was primarily due to business considerations and the prevailing market conditions at the time.
Nintendo may have made your favorite games as a kid, but at the end of the day, it is a business. It needs to make money, and working on something like this is expensive. The price of localizing a game needs to also come with the income potential. Unfortunately, Earthbound is not the most popular Nintendo series and likely won’t break even if you take in the cost of marketing.
I like Nintendo, but I wouldn’t pay to play a series that old. It seems like Nintendo believes there are more people like me. If you want to see localization, you’ll likely need to drum up a lot more potential for new audiences. In this case, I think it’d be a good idea to try for a remaster or remake, but that’s just my opinion.
