Editing EarthBound (section)

===Sales and promotion===
[[File:EarthBound 1995 Ad.jpg|thumb|400px|right|''EarthBound''{{'}}s poor sales in the west were attributed to its satirical marketing campaign, based on [[gross-out humor]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=David |date=2015-04-15 |title=The totally radical history of game marketing in the '90s |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/totally-radical-history-game-marketing-90s/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=GamesRadar+ |page=7 |language=en |quote=But some ad exec must have seen a single picture of Master Belch and decided that ''EarthBound'' was nothing but gross-out humor, and decided to revolve the entire ad campaign around it. [...] There are a lot of reasons ''EarthBound'' tanked in the West, but a large part of it was due to this ad (and its accompanying Scratch-n-sniff cards). |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706183503/https://www.gamesradar.com/totally-radical-history-game-marketing-90s/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Oxford |first=Nadia |date=2017-08-31 |title=Super NES Retro Review: EarthBound |url=https://www.vg247.com/super-nes-retro-review-earthbound |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=VG247 |language=en|quote=Though Nintendo spent a lot of money on a great localization for ''EarthBound'', it literally blew the game's advertising campaign with ads about farts and poops. That was an immediate turn-off for newly-minted RPG enthusiasts (myself included) [...]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Khee Hoon |date=2019-02-01 |title=Piracy helped Earthbound become a cult classic |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/2/1/18205319/earthbound-snes-emulation-rom-mother-3 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Polygon |language=en-US |quote=The game's marketing campaign compounded the issue. It was unabashedly juvenile, filled with gross-out humor and self-deprecating proclamations about how "this game stinks," which were accompanied by scratch-and-sniff ads. These pages left a literal stench in gaming magazines. [...] Nonetheless, ''EarthBound'' still managed to inch its way toward cult status as the years went on and the ROM was traded among fans and shared online. |archive-date=December 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227095441/https://www.polygon.com/2019/2/1/18205319/earthbound-snes-emulation-rom-mother-3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Digital Trends: Itoi teases" />]]
In Japan, ''Mother 2'' sold 518,000 units, becoming the tenth [[1994 in video games|best-selling game of 1994]] within the country.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=1994年のコンシューマーゲームソフトの売上 |trans-title=1994 Consumer Game Software Sales |magazine=[[Dengeki Oh]] |publisher=[[MediaWorks (publisher)|MediaWorks]] |lang=ja |url=http://www.rnac.ne.jp/~zangel/1994.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010920123100/http://www.rnac.ne.jp/~zangel/1994.htm |archive-date=September 20, 2001 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref> ''EarthBound'' was released on June 5, 1995, in North America.<ref name="Wired: Lindblom"/> The game sold about 140,000 units in the United States,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Consalvo |first1=Mia |title=Atari to Zelda: Japan's Videogames in Global Contexts |date=8 April 2016 |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=978-0-262-03439-5 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tH3TCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225235521/https://books.google.com/books?id=tH3TCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |url-status=live}}</ref> for a total of approximately 658,000 units sold worldwide.

Though Nintendo spent about $2 million on marketing,<ref name="ONM review" /> the American release was ultimately viewed as unsuccessful within Nintendo.<ref name="Wired: Lindblom" /> The game's atypical marketing campaign was derived from the game's unusual humor. As part of Nintendo's larger "[[Nintendo marketing#Play It Loud!|Play It Loud!]]" campaign, ''EarthBound''{{'s}} "this game stinks" campaign included foul-smelling scratch and sniff advertisements.<ref name="Shacknews: EarthBotched" /><ref>{{Cite web |first=Luke |last=Plunkett |date=2013-06-26 |title="What The F**k Kind Of Game Is Earthbound?" |url=https://kotaku.com/what-the-f-k-kind-of-game-is-earthbound-580416562 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Kotaku |language=en |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706183507/https://kotaku.com/what-the-f-k-kind-of-game-is-earthbound-580416562 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[GamePro]]'' reported that they received more reader complaints about the game's scratch and sniff ad than about any other 1995 advertisement.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=When Ads Go Bad, Readers Get Mad|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=91|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=April 1996|page=12}}</ref> 

The campaign was also expensive. It emphasized magazine advertisements and had the extra cost of the [[strategy guide]] included with each game.<ref name="1UP: Vapor" /> Between the poor sales and the phasing out of the Super NES, the game did not receive a European release.<ref name="ONM review" /> Aaron Linde of ''[[Shacknews]]'' believed that the price of the packaged game ultimately curtailed sales.<ref name="Shacknews: EarthBotched" />