How does such a small franchise maintain a strong fanbase almost thirty* years later? And just what is it about fuzzy pickles and odometers that reel people into the games in the first place?
## Episode Outline
### Fandom Facts
**History and Origins:**
> The Mother series ... consists of three role-playing video games: the 1989 Mother for the Famicom, the 1994 Mother 2, known as EarthBound outside of Japan, for the Super NES, and the 2006 Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Written by Shigesato Itoi and published by Nintendo, and featuring game mechanics modeled on the Dragon Quest series, the Mother series is known for its sense of humor, originality, and parody. The player uses weapons and psychic powers to fight hostile, everyday objects, aliens and brainwashed people. Signature elements of the series include the lighthearted plots, the battle sequences with psychedelic backgrounds, and the "rolling HP meter": as player health ticks down like an odometer (damage doesn't instantly subtract HP), players can outrun the meter to heal before dying. While the franchise is popular in Japan, in the United States, it is best associated with the cult following behind EarthBound.
> — [Wikipedia - EarthBound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_(video_game_series))
**Names**
Sometimes fandoms have a definitive name (e.g. "Whovians") other fandoms... struggle. Here are some of the names that [the community has come up with](https://earthboundcentral.com/2012/03/what-are-earthbound-fans/):
- Starmen
- Motherheads
- Momma's Boys
- Mother Lovers
- EarthBounders
- Boundies
- Eagleandians
**Search Data:**
In a surprise twist, unlike most of the fandoms that we have covered on the show, [EarthBound fandom has been almost constant](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F01282w,%2Fm%2F01s7_9) (it's only decreased a little bit since 2004). The most notable spike in interest occured in October 2008, which likely coincides with the release of the unofficial English fan translation by the StarMen.net community.
The top ten countries for _EarthBound_, by search volume, are as follows: Japan, United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Chile, Jordan, Australia, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden.
The top ten countries for the _Mother_ series, by search volume, are as follows: Indonesia, United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Pakistan, and Australia.
### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/thesimpsons) Famous Last Words
What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?
**T:** I want to know more about starmen.net
**G:** Is anyone drawn to EarthBound because of it's contemporary, American-ness?
**Z:** Itoi has gone on record to say that there will be no more Mother games... are fans making continuations of the series since there will be more more official releases?
### Main Discussion
**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD
### Spotlight? [The Minch Foundation](http://www.minchfoundation.org/)
> A Charity for People Like Us
>
>You are a successful businessman. People owe you a hundred thousand dollars or more. But when have you ever taken time out to give back to your community?
>
>— [The Minch Foundation](http://www.minchfoundation.org/#our-story-1-alex)
A division of Golden Aloysius Heavy Industries, you might know them for the EarthBound Bash or their Strategic Partnerships Enabling Network Dynamics (S.P.E.N.D.) awards presented at Camp Fangamer most recently awarded in 201X to Bill Gate, Elong Musk, and Mr. Uber.
### Spotlight?! Camp Fangamer / EarthBound Baaaash!!
There _was_ (is?) a cool event related to EarthBound, but it may be defunct? It's hard to find permanent information. In 2014, there was an event called EarthBound Baaaash!! which raised over $20k for [Speak your Silence](https://speakyoursilence.org/#), a charity "to inspire people to prevent sexual abuse and assault by sharing their voice for those...
