Editing EarthBound (section)

===Fandom===
{{Main|EarthBound fandom}}
A [[cult following]] for ''EarthBound'' developed after the game's release.{{r|Wired: Lindblom}}<ref name="GameRev cult"/> Colin Campbell of ''[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]'' wrote that "few gaming communities are as passionate and active" as ''EarthBound''{{'s}},{{r|Polygon: Quash}} and ''[[1UP.com]]''{{'s}} Bob Mackey wrote that no game was as poised to have a cult following.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p1}} IGN's Lucas M. Thomas wrote in 2006 that ''EarthBound''{{'s}} "persistent", "ambitious", and "religiously dedicated collective of hardcore fans" would be among the first groups to influence Nintendo's decision-making through their purchasing power on Virtual Console.{{r|IGN: Retro Remix}} ''[[Digital Trends]]''{{'}}s Anthony John Agnello wrote that "no video game fans have suffered as much as ''EarthBound'' fans", and cited Nintendo's reluctance to release ''Mother'' series games in North America.{{r|Digital Trends: Itoi teases}} ''IGN'' described the series as neglected by Nintendo in North America for similar reasons.{{r|IGN: Retro Remix}} Nintendo president [[Satoru Iwata]] later credited the community response on their online [[Miiverse]] social platform as leading to ''EarthBound''{{'s}} eventual rerelease on their Virtual Console platform.{{r|Polygon: coming to VC}} Physical copies of ''EarthBound'' were hard to find before the rerelease,{{r|Kotaku: Trippiest}} and in 2013, were worth twice its initial retail price.{{r|Wired: Lindblom}}

''Wired'' described the amount of ''EarthBound'' "fan art, videos, and tributes on fan sites like ''EarthBound'' Central or ''[[Starmen.net]]'' as mountainous.{{r|Wired: Lindblom}} Reid Young of ''Starmen.net'' and ''Fangamer'' credits ''EarthBound''{{'s}} popularity to its "labor of love" nature, with a "double-coat of thoughtfulness and care" across all aspects of the game by a development team that appeared to love their work.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p1}} Young started the fansite that would become ''Starmen.net'' in 1997 while in middle school. It became "the definitive fan community for ''EarthBound'' on the web" and had "almost inexplicable" growth.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p1}} ''Shacknews'' described the site's collection of fan-made media as "absolutely massive".{{r|Shacknews: EarthBotched}} It also provided a place to aggregate information on the ''Mother'' series and to coordinate fan actions.{{r|Shacknews: EarthBotched}}

The ''EarthBound'' fan community at ''Starmen.net'' coalesced with the intent to have Nintendo of America acknowledge the ''Mother'' series.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p1}} The community drafted several thousand-person petitions for specific English-language ''Mother'' series releases,{{r|Shacknews: EarthBotched}} but in time, their request shifted to no demand at all, wanting only their interest to be recognized by Nintendo.{{r|Ars Technica: epic}} A 2007 campaign for a ''Mother 3'' English localization led to the creation of a full-color, 270-page art book—''The EarthBound Anthology''—sent to Nintendo and press outlets as demonstration of consumer interest.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p2}} ''Shacknews'' called it more of a proposal than a collection of fan art, and "the greatest gaming love letter ever created".{{r|Shacknews: EarthBotched}} Upon "little" response from Nintendo, [[Mother 3 fan translation|they decided to localize the game themselves]].{{r|1UP: Posthumous p2}} Starmen.net co-founder and professional game translator Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin led the project from its November 2006 announcement{{r|Shacknews: EarthBotched}} to October 2008 finish.{{r|Kotaku: completed}} They then printed a "professional quality strategy guide" through ''[[Fangamer]]'', a video game merchandising site that spun off from ''Starmen.net''.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p2}} Unlicensed ''EarthBound''-themed merchandise produced by ''Fangamer'' contributors included T-shirts, a pin set and a mug;<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Lopez|first1=Alan|url=http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/10/feature_how_fangamer_changed_the_world_of_video_game_merchandise_forever| url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211111/http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/10/feature_how_fangamer_changed_the_world_of_video_game_merchandise_forever|archive-date=2021-11-11|title=Feature: How Fangamer Changed The World Of Video Game Merchandise Forever|date=October 26, 2019|website=Nintendo Life}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''[[The Verge]]'' cited the effort as proof of the fan base's dedication.{{r|The Verge: today}}

Other fan efforts include ''EarthBound, USA'', a full-length documentary on ''Starmen.net'' and the fan community,{{r|IGN: EB USA}} and ''Mother 4'', a fan-produced sequel to the ''Mother'' series that went into production when Itoi definitively "declared" that he was done with the series.{{r|Kotaku: M4 amazing}} After following the fan community from afar, Lindblom came out to fans in mid-2012 and the press became interested in his work. He had planned a book about the game's development, release, and fandom before a reply from Nintendo discouraged him from pursuing the idea. He plans to continue to communicate directly with the community about the game's history.{{r|Polygon: Quash}}{{refn|group=nb|For instance, Lindblom rejected a popular, or infamous, "abortion theory": that the game's final sequence is a metaphor for an abortion,{{r|Kotaku: Man Who Wrote}} with Giygas as the fetus.{{r|Kotaku: Trippiest}} He also provided a floppy disk whose recovered data provided extra context into the game's development errata.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Machkovech |first1=Sam |title='Deleted' Nintendo floppy recovered 26 years later, full of Earthbound secrets |work=[[Ars Technica]] |date=2021-06-04 |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/06/earthbounds-original-translator-parses-new-game-secrets-found-26-years-later/| url-status=live | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211111/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/06/earthbounds-original-translator-parses-new-game-secrets-found-26-years-later/| archive-date=2021-11-11 |language=en-us |access-date=2021-06-05 |df=mdy-all}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}} Books that have been written about ''EarthBound'' include [[Ken Baumann]]'s ''Earthbound'', by [[Boss Fight Books]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bossfightbooks.com/products/earthbound-by-ken-baumann|title=Earthbound by Ken Baumann: New Boss Fight Book on the SNES RPG Classic - Boss Fight Books|access-date=December 27, 2021|archive-date=December 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227195116/https://bossfightbooks.com/products/earthbound-by-ken-baumann|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''Legends of Localization Book 2: Earthbound'', by Clyde Mandelin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fangamer.com/products/legends-of-localization-book-2-earthbound|title=Legends of Localization Book 2: Earthbound - Fangamer|access-date=December 27, 2021|archive-date=December 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227195116/https://www.fangamer.com/products/legends-of-localization-book-2-earthbound|url-status=live}}</ref>