10 Video Games That DELETED YOUR SAVE
3. EarthBound (1994)
Video game developers and publishers have been implementing ingenious anti-piracy measures for several decades, yet few – if any – have been as devilishly and amusingly bold as that of revered SNES RPG EarthBound.
Simply put, bootleg versions included far more frustratingly random enemies to tackle – maybe even triple the standard amount – as well as ominous warnings (such as “It is a serious crime to copy video games”).
What’s even worse, however, is what goes down when Ness and company reach main baddie Giygas: the game freezes, forcing you to restart it. Upon booting it back up, you discover that your journeys have vanished.
What a bummer, right?
To be fair, it took almost an entire year for EarthBound to arrive in North America following its August 1994 premiere in Japan. Plus, it was difficult to play legally during the 2000s due to it not being available on then-modern consoles or in certain territories.
Thus, finding illegal methods to experience it was damn near mandatory.
Nevertheless, Nintendo made it clear that in their minds, piracy is always a problem and never justified.