At the Nintendo World Championships - a Nintendo-promoted video game competition - the Japanese gaming giant announced that owners of its Wii U home console will be able to download the classic EarthBound Beginnings game via its Virtual Console section of the Nintendo eShop, the console's digital marketplace.
Costing $6.99 (around Rs. 450), it's a steal for many a Nintendo fan looking to experience one of the more solid roleplaying games of its time more than two decades ago. And it's the first time it has had an official release in any form and shape outside Japan.
It's a highly acclaimed role-playing game set in a somewhat modern era (for its time in the late 1980s). The game released in Japan for the Nintendo Famicom with the title, Mother. This was in 1989. In 2003, it was released for the Game Boy Advance as a part of a compilation dubbed as Mother 1+2. The sequel, Earthbound saw a release on the Wii U via the US Virtual Console service in 2013. Both games are highly sought after by collectors the world over.
While the Wii U has failed to match the success of its predecessor, that's not stopped Nintendo from supporting it with a wealth of great titles. From first-party hits like Mario Kart 8 to funding the development of more mature fair like Bayonetta 2, it's a console that has something for everyone, even if you're not a dyed-in-wool Nintendo fan. It's Virtual Console storefront on the Nintendo eShop has been a godsend for many a retro fan looking to get their fix of old school games in a legitimate fashion, including games from bygone consoles like the MSX and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.