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The poor sales of EarthBound are likely part of the reason that the Game Boy Advance’s Mother 1 + 2 collection was never officially released in the U.S. The RPG genre was also less popular in the U.S.

EarthBound’s stylized graphics (in part an homage to the 8-bit original, and in part mimicking the look of the clay Nintendo character figures featured in the strategy guide) did not compare favorably to other SNES games, according to critics of the time. While EarthBound's rising popularity in the years after its release has made the game and its pack-in guidebook collector’s items, including the guide added to the game’s price, which negatively impacted its sales. These are regarded fondly in hindsight but failed to resonate with the audience back then. The uniquely subversive marketing campaign for EarthBound made use of foul-smelling scratch and sniff stickers, and the game came packaged with an extensive strategy guide.

At the time of its 1995 SNES release, EarthBound was a commercial failure in the U.S., by Nintendo’s standards, which likely contributed to the large gaps between domestic releases. Today, EarthBound is a quintessential "cult classic." EarthBound has inspired computer RPGs like Undertale and Crossing Souls, and fan games like Oddity, which began as an unofficial Mother 4. The Mother trilogy games are among the most revered RPGs in Japan, but its popularity in the West came much later. Related: New EarthBound 64 Footage Has Been Discovered

Given the ease of emulating NES and SNES titles on the Switch, the long delay in adding the EarthBound games to the Switch seems to be a matter of calculated timing rather than overcoming technological hurdles. The Expansion Pack added Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 titles, along with DLC access for a few Switch games, but the service has a lot of catching up to do when compared to the Wii U’s selection of classics.

Where the Wii U had a robust selection of Nintendo classics from legacy hardware through its Virtual Console selection, Switch owners have had to make do with the small library of NES and SNES games included with a Switch Online membership. This month’s Nintendo Direct held great news for JRPG fans, including remasters of Front Mission and Chrono Cross, and the two EarthBound titles coming to Switch Online.