Earthbound designer Shigesato Itoi sent out a fairly simple tweet: "If you go to Fukushima, you can buy peaches like this." The remarks were accompanied by the above photo. Online, some people got pissed.

You can own a copy of Earthbound signed by creator Shigesato Itoi—the website Fangamer is putting up an auction for it on December 1. All proceeds go to James Hensiek, a big Earthbound fan who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

For years, players have been begging Earthbound (aka Mother in Japan) creator Shigesato Itoi for a new game. He's listening and has a definite answer: Not gonna happen.

Fun fact: Nintendo honcho Satoru Iwata was one of the main programmers on Mother 2 (aka Earthbound) for the SNES. Today on Twitter, Iwata uploaded this photo of a badass Mother 2 sukajan. The jacket, Iwata noted, was given out to the game's staff, and it was the thing he treasures most. Heck, I would, too. It's…

Two men in military garb. They bow slightly, and their hands make the universal motion for "go first". The text reads loosely, "After you, Prime Minister." This ad originally appeared in 1982.

During its heyday, Iron Chef had celebrities like Mother creator Shigesato Itoi on to taste its delicious looking and interesting meals. The show was a smash hit. And now, it has returned to Japanese television after a 13-year hiatus. And nobody's watching.

After a 13-year hiatus, Iron Chef is returning to Japanese television. The show, which originally ran from 1992 to 1999 in Japan, became a cult hit abroad after it was dubbed for Western audiences (see above).

Kotaku reader Riccardo whipped up this HD version of Mother's opening credits. It, like the game itself, is fantastic. If anything should get you excited about an HD Nintendo gaming system, it's this.

They may not be chart-toppers - indeed, the third game has never even been officially released in the West - but the Mother/Earthbound series of role-playing games are some of the most revered and cherished of all Nintendo games (at least among certain cliques).

You probably know who Hideo Kojima is. He makes Metal Gear Solid. But is he famous? Probably, but that doesn't mean mainstream Japanese celebs know who the heck he is.

Shigesato Itoi, who's perhaps best known in Japan as a copy writer and TV personality, already said that there will be no Mother 4. Making Mother 3 was no easy task. That doesn't mean there still isn't hope - however faint that might be.

On March 11, the Tohoko earthquake and tsunami left the northeastern part of Japan in ruins.

In the West, Shigesato Itoi is best known for the Earthbound series of role-playing games. He might challenge game conventions, but his wife Kanako Higuchi challenged Japanese censorship more, changing it forever.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Mario, reflects on the past 25 years of his creation in a new interview with fellow creator Shigesato Itoi, explaining how creating Super Mario Bros. and the Mario games that followed was the "easy" way out.

And it's not just any only $400 Mario sweater, but an officially licensed $400 sweater sold to you via the guy who created role-playing game Earthbound.