10 Gaming Flops Much Better Than Their Reputations

Earthbound (or Mother 2: Giygas Strikes Back if you were in Japan in 1995) is almost the dictionary definition of a cult-classic. The JRPG puts you in the role of Ness (yes, Ness is more than just a Smash character) and his cohort of friends, tacking an array of situations and enemies. These moods can range from apocalyptic destruction to fighting literal piles of sick. The game beautifully balances the silly with the serious to create an iconic game. But in the US, it flopped. Hard.

This was down to its marketing campaign. Nintendo spent a lofty $2 million on possibly one of the most ill-advised advertisement campaigns in gaming history. Nintendo advertised Earthbound too heavily around its brilliant but obscure humour.

The "this game stinks" campaign focused attention onto Earthbound's very 90s toilet humour, which is the perfect foil against its darker moments but isolated makes Earthbound look crass and without thought. For US consumers, this tainted the JRP as a throw-away product not worth investing time or energy into.

Once again, time has been kind to Earthbound, and western audiences now hugely appreciate it for what it is. However, if Nintendo didn't bungle this launch, we could have had a western Mother 3.