This game is the sort of game that should define the Virtual Console. It's considered a classic by most gamers, despite very few actually owning it. It has legions of obsessed fans and is impossible to find. Thousands of gamers have asked Nintendo to translate the sequel through insane, orchestrated call-in and email campaigns. The cartridge alone will set you back 100 bones on eBay.

Earthbound
Genre: RPG
SNES
Release date: 06/01/95



Earthbound was released close to the end of the SNES life cycle. It retailed for a bit more than a standard game since it came packed with a strategy guide. Most gamers did not know what the hell it was since most RPGs at the time were either based on fantasy or sci-fi. This RPG was set in the present in suburbia, no less. Many gamers passed it up not realizing that they were missing their only chance to play this game properly, meaning on a TV using their SNES. I still hate myself for not at least renting this game. I am seriously contemplating the purchase of Mother 1 + 2 on GBA just so I can play it on a console. If Nintendo doesn't release this on the VC soon, I may set up my Eee to play through my television and get some emulation going. (I really hate emulation.)



To VC or not to VC
Let's see... It's a hard-to-find, Nintendo-owned and published game. It fetches a prohibitively high price in the collector market and Nintendo does not make a single cent on those sales. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, it seems not to be so clear cut. Nintendo seems to hate the legions of Earthbound fans who constantly beg for more reasons to throw money their way.