Special Stuff:
Recent News:
Links:
Random Post:

EarthBound Central Live: June 8, 2015
Popular Posts:
None foundApril 9th, 2009 | EarthBound, Images, Uncommon Knowledge
A while back, Nintendo Power started running polls in the magazine asking for the most wanted Virtual Console games. Every time it was applicable, EarthBound was always #1, with MOTHER/EarthBound Zero usually #2.
Until now, we never had an actual listing of these polls, so I’ve put them all together in this post. I didn’t realize that EarthBound had dominated that many polls. That’s pretty cool!
Nintendo Power Issue | Poll Type | Rankings | |
Volume 229 – June 2008 | Most Wanted | #1 EarthBound #4 MOTHER |
Pic |
Volume 230 – July 2008 | Most Wanted | #1 EarthBound #2 MOTHER |
Pic |
Volume 231 – August 2008 | Most Wanted | #1 EarthBound #2 MOTHER |
Pic |
Volume 232 – September 2008 | Most Wanted | #1 EarthBound #2 MOTHER |
Pic |
Volume 233 – October 2008 | Most Wanted | #1 EarthBound #2 MOTHER |
Pic |
Volume 236 – Holiday 2008 | Most Wanted SNES | Readers: #1 EarthBound Staff: #4 EarthBound |
Pic |
Volume 238 – February 2009 | Most Wanted NES | #1 MOTHER | Pic |
As you can see, because EarthBound and EarthBound Zero kept dominating the polls, the Nintendo Power folks decided to switch to other kinds of polls, usually console-specific. What’s most interesting about this is that Starmen.Net only really made efforts for the very first poll – EarthBound and MOTHER got so high on the other polls by themselves.
Anyway, I should actually make a static page about this rather than an update in the event future polls involving EarthBound get printed. But for now, I wanted to get this data organized and out for all to see.
Many thanks to KingDarian for the info and for the scans 😀
Other Related Posts:
37 Comments to EarthBound & Virtual Console Polls
Earthbound has obtained legendary status. There are probably a lot of people who voted Earthbound without knowing anything more about it than what little they’ve read in Nintendo Power (recent issues, even), just because it’s got a HUGE cult following and they’re curious.
What I REALLY hate is that these polls have nothing to do with what gets released whatsoever. I don’t even know if top Nintendo people are AWARE of these N-Power polls!
AWW SWEET Am I allowed to write this post about how awesome my RANDOM pic is!? Its almost like Mato wrote an article about this little natzi girl.. thing.
For its next issue(June ’09), Nintendo Power want’s the readers to vote for their favorite RPGs. Is Nintendo asking for it?
…the NP Staff wants the Wily Wars? SERIOUSLY? Out of all the MM games they could have picked… The Wilt Wars. Sheesh. I’ll agree with Terranigma; that’s another awesome game that nobody knows about…
Totally unrelated but I was looking up “business growth charts” in google images and this showed up around page 4:
https://kiddiecatalog.com/product.php?cats=2&sub=81&pid=1167
Maybe they just want the Wily Wars because the game has never came out in the U.S. They’re a lot of good MegaMans, but it would be cool to play one that I’ve never played before. I mean neither Galaxian or Galaga has come out for the virtual console, but Gaplus has.
![]() | Snakerope DX said on Apr. 9, 2009 |
Yay for EarthBound being NP popular!
![]() | Mato said on Apr. 10, 2009 |
Lothis: Cool, is it possible you can get a scan? If not, I’m sure someone else can help, but you were quick to comment so I thought I’d ask anyway 😛
My scanner does not work, so taking a picture was my only option. They came out blurry, this was the best 2 of the bunch I took.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u285/MysticShadow73/100_0832.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u285/MysticShadow73/100_0833.jpg
Also, Mato, check out my “EB Spotted in GameInformer” thread in Starmen.net Discussion – something new came up.
Does anyone have the email adress to vote for your favorite RPGs in Nintendo Power?
On the subject of Earthbound in magazine polls, this just reminded me of Mother 3’s ranking in Famitsu. I remember it was consistently in the top 20 back when it was in development for the Nintendo 64, and I’m pretty sure it still popped up there a lot after it got cancelled. We have the rankings for it when it got announced for the GBA in 2003 (over at http://starmen.net/mother3/history_development/in_the_media/ranking/ ), but it’d be interesting to see the whole thing. I think I tried to chart it out at one point, but there just wasn’t enough data when you went before 2002.
Lothis, maybe you could try taking a zoomed in picture of just the section with the np reader rankings?
My camera isn’t able to get a picture of small print like that that isn’t blurry. I took a BUNCH of pictures many different ways. I’m sorry. But hey, somebody with a scanner should be getting their May ’09 issue soon.
![]() | KingDarian said on Apr. 11, 2009 |
@Skulryk – the only way I can think of to compile such data would be to actually buy the Famitsu magazines from the time MOTHER 3 for N64 was announced to its cancellation.
Now that you mention this idea, maybe I should track MOTHER 2’s progress in the charts from the old Famitsus I bought a couple of years back. Maybe one day when I have a swimming pool full of gold coins I can buy all of the missing magazines that I’ll never be able to read. MOTHER fans make wise investments! 😀
@Tomato – I just got the latest NP issue and have a scan in the EBC board.
KingDarian try sending it into http://earthboundcentral.com/submit-news-info/
Sorry to rain on your parade guys, but they say earthbound has a VERY slim chance of coming out on VC. Starmen.net says that EB will not be released because of legal issues, namely the music by the Runaway Five and the Sky Runner scene. I’m really sorry:(. Go to Starmen.net for the entire story.
Yeah I’ve kind of been saying the same thing Hackster said back at the last EB and EB0 winning the NP polls,
To be honest I even said there wasn’t much point in putting up how well the games do on those polls because of the legal issues that are preventing them from being released, because all it really is is people begging for something they can’t have and it will just tick a ton of people off when they look at the issues and then see how much chance it has of coming out, not saying it might never, copyrights may change one day, but not anytime soon.
Still whenever I see them winning the polls and know that the legal issues are bigger than the fans and knowing that no matter how much it wins the polls those issues are still preventing Earthbound from ever seeing the light of day on the Virtual Console, I just get really depressed, not to a suicidal point but just a feeling sorry for Earthbound fans and people who want to play the series out of curiosity and might never get to.
In fact its rather frustrating to see it winning the polls but knowing its not enough. In fact I just get really upset whenever I see a poll winning news because of that when that should be happy news but its kind of hard to be when you see something like that yet knowing it’ll never happen, its almost like fans like Me are being teased.
They keep saying EarthBound won’t sell well, but it has been shredding the charts for a while now, what’s the deal?
Weird the games are in such high demand but they still haven’t gotten released, nintendo is missing out on a good oportunity.
![]() | Mr. Crosser said on Sep. 26, 2009 |
Well it looks like they removed the VC polls from nintendo power… Or at least for now lol
I think NOA staff knows its not comming out because they only put it on there list one.
Nintendo needs to put EarthBound and Mother a.k.a. Earth Bound Zero on the Virtual Console AND translate Mother 3 a.k.a. EarthBound 2. ALSO in EarthBound in FourSide their’s a building that has a sign that says “Meeting Room for EarthBound 2″ So why didn’t Ninten”do” release them on VC??
Come on Nintendo. All of the fans want it rereleased on the VC or DS. Oh and I want the Wily wars for VC too.
On the staff’s most wanted list, number 3 is super mario all-stars. Now that super mario all-stars is out on the wii, does that mean earthbound is now number 3?
Seriously, what else do NOA need to realize that Earthbound is really popular… may be as much as mario or may be more… maybe
@ZombiePaul I beleive It’s no longer runing but the addres is; vcpoll@futerious.com
Sniff, Mother 1 and 2 were the only top 5 of the readers most wanted list not to be released. CURSE YOU COPYRIGHT LAWS!
That’s quite a lot of polls o_o