EarthBound Beginnings NES
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| Date | Avg Price | Low | High | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-05 | £45.25 | £45.25 | £45.25 | 1 |
| 2026-04-04 | £45.25 | £45.25 | £45.25 | 1 |
| 2026-04-03 | £45.25 | £45.25 | £45.25 | 1 |
| 2026-04-02 | £45.25 | £45.25 | £45.25 | 1 |
| 2026-04-01 | £45.25 | £45.25 | £45.25 | 1 |
| 2026-03-31 | £45.25 | £45.25 | £45.25 | 1 |
| 2026-03-30 | £44.98 | £44.98 | £44.98 | 1 |
| 2026-03-29 | £44.98 | £44.98 | £44.98 | 1 |
| 2026-03-28 | £44.98 | £44.98 | £44.98 | 1 |
| 2026-03-27 | £44.98 | £44.98 | £44.98 | 1 |
| 2026-03-26 | £44.98 | £44.98 | £44.98 | 1 |
| 2026-03-25 | £44.98 | £44.98 | £44.98 | 1 |
Screenshots
Game History
EarthBound Beginnings, originally titled Mother in Japan, was developed by Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory, with Shigesato Itoi as the creative director and writer. The game was produced by Nintendo and released for the Famicom console in Japan on July 27, 1989. It would not see an official North American release until 2015, when it appeared on the Virtual Console for the Wii U, nearly 26 years after its initial debut.
The game's Japanese launch was modest in commercial terms, selling approximately 400,000 copies. This relatively weak performance was partly due to the Famicom's declining market presence in Japan as the Super Famicom's release approached. Critical reception in Japan was mixed, though the game developed a devoted cult following over time. The lack of an English localization in the 1980s meant North American audiences remained unaware of the title for decades, contributing to its obscurity outside Japan until the Virtual Console release brought it to wider international attention.
Today, EarthBound Beginnings holds significant value among collectors and gaming historians for multiple reasons. It is recognized as the spiritual predecessor to the beloved EarthBound series and is appreciated for its unconventional approach to early RPG design, featuring contemporary American settings rather than traditional fantasy worlds. The game's rarity and late official English release have made original Famicom cartridges highly sought after by collectors, commanding substantial prices on the secondary market.
An interesting aspect of the game's development is that it was originally conceived as a Disk System title before being converted to a cartridge. The game also stands out for featuring Shigesato Itoi's distinctive writing style and humor, which became hallmarks of the Mother series. The extended gap between the Japanese release and official English localization is notable; fans had relied on fan translations for decades before Nintendo finally made the game officially available in English through the Virtual Console, allowing a new generation to experience this foundational work in Japanese video game history.