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The 1994 video game ''EarthBound'' is known for its cult following and fan community. Multiple video game journalists have written about the dedication of the game's fans in producing fan art and lobbying Nintendo for further releases in the series. The company has been largely unresponsive to their efforts.〔〔〔 Prominent fansites include Starmen.net and ''EarthBound'' Central. The former was started in 1999 and became the definitive community website. Their members organized petitions and campaigns to bring English-localized games from the ''Mother'' series to North America. One such effort included a full-color, 270-page ''EarthBound Anthology'' as a demonstration of consumer demand for further releases. After nearly a decade, ''EarthBound'' was rereleased for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, whereupon it became a bestseller. The fandom also spun-out other enterprises. When Nintendo did not release a localized version of ''Mother 3'', fans organized their own fan translation. The video game merchandising business Fangamer grew out of the Starmen.net community, and sells video game-related items online. A full-length documentary on Starmen.net and the fan community, ''EarthBound, USA'', is in production. And while the series creator has stated that he is finished with the series, a fan-created sequel, ''Mother 4'', is also in development. == Fan base == ''EarthBound'' is known for having a cult following,〔〔〔〔〔〔 which developed over time well after its release.〔 Colin Campbell of ''Polygon'' wrote that "few gaming communities are as passionate and active" as ''EarthBound'',〔 and ''1UP.com'' Bob Mackey wrote that no game was as poised to have a cult following.〔 ''Wired'' described the amount of ''EarthBound'' "fan art, videos, and tributes on fan sites like ''EarthBound'' Central or Starmen.net" as mountainous.〔 IGN's Lucas M. Thomas wrote in 2006 that ''EarthBound'' "persistent", "ambitious", and "religiously dedicated collective of hardcore fans" would be among the first groups to influence Nintendo's decision-making through their purchasing power on Virtual Console.〔 ''The Verge'' cited the two-year fan translation of ''Mother 3'' as proof of the fanbase's dedication,〔 and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata credited the community response on their online Miiverse social platform as leading to ''EarthBound'' eventual rerelease on their Virtual Console platform.〔 ''EarthBound'' was hard to find before the rerelease.〔 In 2013, prices for the game's cartridge alone were more than twice its retail cost at its 1995 release.〔 IGN wrote that the game became a "cult classic" for its unique RPG and psychedelic elements alongside its reflection on American culture,〔 and ''Eurogamer'' credited ''EarthBound'' "cute and funny modern-world styling of the Japanese RPG".〔 ''Kotaku'' hypothesized that fan favorite aspects of the game would include its "feeling of innocence, ... sense of whimsical adventure", "humor", "charm", "wonder", and "beautiful 2D maps".〔 Marcus Lindblom, the game's English localizer, cited its "cuteness, colors, and hallucinatory bits" as fan favorites.〔 Reid Young of Starmen.net and Fangamer credits ''EarthBound'' popularity to its "labor of love" nature, with a "double-coat of thoughtfulness and care" across all aspects of the game by a development team that appeared to love their work.〔 Digital Trends's Anthony John Agnello wrote that "no video game fans have suffered as much as ''EarthBound'' fans, and cited Nintendo's reluctance to release ''Mother'' series games in North America.〔 IGN described the series as neglected by Nintendo in North America for similar reasons.〔 Aaron Linde of ''Shacknews'' felt that Nintendo's "historic passive-aggression towards ''EarthBound'' fans () somehow anachronistic" in response to the outcries from the game's fan community.〔 He added that while the company is known for providing "the most personal experiences in gaming's history", Nintendo lacks the "bedside manner" required of contemporary game companies, and that he could not think of a "more deserving fan base" than ''EarthBound''.〔 Marcus Lindblom, who localized the Japanese ''Mother 2'' into the English ''EarthBound'', followed the fan community from afar and, in mid-2012, introduced himself at the Penny Arcade Expo Fangamer booth. When the game's Wii U re-release was announced, the press became interested in Lindblom's experience. Lindblom had planned a book about the game's development, release, and fandom as a Kickstarter project before a reply from Nintendo discouraged him from pursuing the idea. He plans to continue to communicate directly with the community about the game's history.〔 For instance, Lindblom struck down a popular ("infamous") "abortion theory" that the game's final sequence is a metaphor for an abortion,〔 with Giygas as the fetus.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「EarthBound fandom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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