One more issue I take with the Starman report. It claimed that a source said the ESRB rating was a mistake, yet no more than 30 seconds ago, it still remained. How silly is it that, were it a mistake, that they woudln't have taken it down, even now?
My theory is that it is rated, it is sitting on standby, and that there is some special occasion that we're not thinking about for it to come out on. I highly doubt an organization as professional as the ESRB would just leave that up for so long.
It was not a mistake on ESRB's part, but Nintendo's, supposedly. The rating's lingering presence is no reflection on the ESRB's professionalism. I don't see why Nintendo would take it down. Doesn't hurt to keep there in case they can reach a compromise between NoA and NoJ on a way to censor the copyright material without hugely altering the game.
...and torture fans some more with thoughts of a game that they can't come out with? I'm sorry, but that would make even less sense. The ESRB goes through the game and gives it it's appropriate rating. If Nintendo had no intentions to release the game at the time, why even send it out for rating if they knew it would have a legal issue or two? Nintendo is a business, I've said it before, and they're main goal is to make money, and to make money you have to maximize productivity. If there was no intention to release EarthBound, we'd have gotten an official statement about it so they'd not have to weave through the hordes and hordes of requests via email and write-in letters.so they can get to the others. Weaving through that stuff takes time.
Side-note, how exactly is the ESRB rating Nintendo's mistake? I'm finding it harder and harder to believe Starman's story by the minute.
Of course, another argument could be that they're just keeping the carrot dangled out so we'll keep buying their other products while we wait with false hope, but I like to think Nintendo has more class then that... they're not Sony or Microsoft, after all.
Nintendo isn't torturing anyone. It's your own decision to escalate the issue well beyond proportions. It's only a game. The ESRB rating isn't hurting fans except the ones who have problems discerning the difference between video games and matters of importance. It wouldn't be "maximizing productivity" to take down a rating that isn't hurting them one bit. Who knows, maybe they're still working on sorting out these issues, and they don't want to have to pay to resubmit it later. Earthbound is far from the only series to have crazy fans who associate not getting what they want with torture. Nintendo isn't going to change its practices because of that.
As for your question of how it happened on "accident," I don't see how that could be more simple. One department in charge of VC games submitted it when a memo didn't get through from legal saying, "No, don't submit it yet." Things happen. If you think Nintendo is perfect just because they're a business, I suggest you look at the shop channel and sort by genre. They may make great games, but that doesn't mean their non-game-development departments are packed with geniuses, too.
I'm not saying they're perfect because they're a business, I'm saying they're professional. If this WERE a mistake, I don't see why it just doesn't get taken down if there were in fact no intention to release it. Seems kind of stupid, to me. If there are no plans, take it down, and if you can bring it out later, put it back up. That's my issue. I mean, the Turtles arcade game got taken down after a while, but not EarthBound yet. Why?
Having the game rated isn't free. Why would they take it down only to have it rerated later at their expense? After all, as you've so wisely pointed out, they are a business. Why take it down in the first place? It doesn't hurt anything. Maybe they are still trying to solve the issues and hope to get the game out eventually. That wouldn't mean Starmen is wrong. They can only explain why the game hasn't come out yet by their account. Nothing they've said proves it won't ever come out, but it makes perfect sense for the time being, and no one has offered a remotely more compelling and thorough argument to the contrary that explains its continued absence in all regions despite being one of the first games announced for the service.
That's my issue. I mean, the Turtles arcade game got taken down after a while, but not EarthBound yet. Why?
I hate to get off-topic, but the reason why Teenage Mutant NInja Turtles II: The Arcade Game was removed from the Virtual Console is due to Konami losing the right to the classic TMNT games, being reverted over to Ubisoft. Therefore, they had no choice but to pull the rating down. Which makes me surprised that they haven't pulled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the Virtual Console either. Nintendo still owns the license to the Earthbound/Mother franchise and despite unconfirmed legal issues, they do not have to pull it down unless ordered by the ESRB or someone who feels offended by the similar contents the game has with musics and pop culture.
Strangely, I find myself agreeing more with Adam on this subject.
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Topic: UNofficial discussion if Earthbound will be made available on the Virtual Console.
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