What a time to be an Earthbound fan. Nintendo has announced that they are finally going to release the first Mother title here in the U.S., in the form of Earthbound Beginnings on the Wii U Virtual Console. This will mark the first time that we get an official English translation of the extremely popular RPG. Oh yeah, one more thing: it’s out today! How do you like that little surprise?

The game originally released on the Famicom in 1989 but unfortunately the U.S. never saw a localization, so this is kind of a big deal. Fans have basically been clamoring for a port for decades now. Of course, Earthbound, which is actually Mother 2, is already available on the E-Shop as well, so don’t hesitate to enjoy the first two installments in this classic franchise. Hopefully this also means that Mother 3 will eventually make its way over as well. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for their stream.

The Big N is definitely not holding back today, and to think they still haven’t had their Direct yet. Makes me think that they are extremely confident in the announcements they have stored up for their big showing this week. I expect a healthy dosage of AAA exclusives coming from their camp.

The only thing that could get me even more hyped is if they added these titles to the Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will be happening any time soon, but I’ll take what I can get. How excited are you about this news? What else are you hoping to see this week?

HT: VG 24/7