liiiiike omg! i was just going to blog about this but you beat me to it! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Well, seems like I will pass the next few weeks playing this on my PSP. Goodbye social life...

YES!!! So happi!

um i'm sorry to bring this up, but the act of modifying copyrighted material is copyright infringement aka "PIRATING".

Creating a translation patch isn't illegal, but the act of copying a legit copy so to modify with a translation patch is an act of piracy.

So all you self-righteous jackasses saying that you should pay for a "second hand" game because you don't condone piracy should shut the fuck up.

Just because you bought the original CART does not mean you have the right to modify it with a translation patch. To do it you must make a copy, and unfortunately you only have the legal right have in possession 1 copy of the CART.

If you don't believe me, read up on it. Nintendo has explicitly stated that owners of game cartridges do not have the right to make backups and is considered copyright infringement if you do so and are subject to fines and imprisonment.

Sorry thats how the current law works.


Amazing how doing something you think is harmless is actually a felony.

Let's see what all the excitement is about.

One more thing, I love the emulation and translation scene. Thanks to them I got to play tons of snes rpgs in highschool. I was one of those unlucky few who got a genesis instead of snes for christmas as a kid.

My point was that I hate it when people want to rationalize their actions. Playing games on an emulator is an act of piracy, live with it. Why do you think translation groups don't give access to pre-patch games, but just the patch? Because the patch itself isn't illegal to have in possession. Having a patched copy is illegal and is considered piracy.

Before anyone makes the stupid point that you can just patch the original cart, I want to say, you're an idiot. You can't do that. You actually have to make another copy. Do to how cartridges work, you can't patch the game while in the original cart. You can of course reprogram an empty cartridge, but hat again is an act of copying (PIRACY).

No matter what you do, you're committing Piracy.

Buying the game off of ebay doesn't benefit the creators or the copyright holders, only the douchebag selling the game at 10x the market value.

Basically you're paying someone so you can pirate a game. I don't know about you, but that sounds utterly ridiculous.

OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN

ease the fuck up, byrc. nick was using fucking sarcasm.

you see, people on this site use that kind of overwraught sarcasm as a clever jab at how much you legally need to cover your ass whenever you even mention something vaguely ilegal. in fact, everyone on the internet does it. it's a "thing."

welcome to destructoid, you're an angry nerd retard.

@byrc

We all know the related legal issues, but in this case many people just don't care. The battle to get a sequel to Earthbound in the states has been going on for years and it seems this is the only way most people are ever going to get to play this game.

I imported a NEW copy of Mother 3 from Japan. I'll buy a localized copy of Mother 3 if Nintendo ever releases one in the US. No one here is so disillusioned that they believe downloading a ROM and patching it isn't illegal. The suggestion of buying a cart is merely a moral choice in no way intended to save anyone's hide if the FBI comes knocking on your door.

Get over yourself and allow the people that have been waiting over a decade for an Earthbound sequel to enjoy this moment.

@byrc

http://www.betanews.com/article/House_Bill_Seeks_to_Exempt_Backups_from_DMCA_Violation/1172619649

As I understand it, it doesn't matter what Nintendo says; fair use states that making backup copies for archival purposes is legal, as long as copy-protection schemes are not violated. Last I checked, the cart media did not a copy-protection scheme employ.

Certain rights cannot be surrendered no matter what a EULA says (your soul, for instance, is still your soul, no matter how many times you sign into WOW :). However, a way to use those backup copies is not a guaranteed right.

Modifying a software that you own is also your right, as long as it is not for public display. Reselling that software, however, is not your right.

Releasing software to modify legally obtained software is not illegal. Releasing software to modify illegally obtained software is not illegal either. At least, not yet.

At the end of the day, we know that a large portion of the people who download this patch will not buy the game, nor donate to the fan translators (me? I'm waiting for Earthbound 2 for the VC). That doesn't make anything the fan translators have done illegal at all. The people around them, however, is a different story...

What this really will change (eventually, hopefully) is the spread of the idea that we live in a global community. Regions are artificial creations that only cause issue like this to exist, and perpetuating the artificial nature of them (as Sony has finally given up region-locking its games for the PS3, which makes importer's lives that much more legal) is just a really backwards way of thinking in a rapidly changing world. I may not benefit from this particular patch, but more power to those that put their time and effort into such endeavors.

Also, I don't believe the United States is under any obligation to protect the copyright for a work registered in Japan and not the US, unless the US registration of the copyright for Earthbound 2 included all future systems and such. AFAIK on that one.

Yay!

Awesome! I've been waiting for this, it should also keep me occupied during all those days I booked off work because of Little Big Planet.

I've never tried doing ROMs or anything on my computer, but I may just have to import this and give it shot. Just to see what all the fuss is about. :D

thank you very much ;)

Makes me so proud to be a member of Starmen.net. It's been a wonderful seven years!

I want!!!!
But first things first. I need to finish Mother 1.

Well, there's something for me to do while waiting for LBP!

Thanks for nothing Big N.

amazing. amazing. amazing.

Hey! Thanks for giving my blog cred! I'm so excited to play this, I'm trying to find the best emulator to play it on, haha.

Sweet, had been visiting their site weekly for updates for the last year...

I've barely put the game down since I got home from work yesterday, already on Chapter 3, heh.

As for emulators, VBA-M is the only one I've seen that can handle the fire scene early in the game without slowdown, although there is an issue with the music speeding up in the menus on occasion. It's totally playable though.

Already finished it three times. Now I'm waiting for my MOTHER 3 Handbook. Darn those delays!