 The cartridge was auctioned and the ROM uploaded to the Internet, where it unofficially became known as "EarthBound Zero".Roughly 26 years after its original Japanese launch on June 14, 2015, moments prior to the Nintendo World Championships, the publisher hosted a video message from Shigesato Itoi in which he announced that the English version of "Mother" will be officially released for the first time on the Wii U’s Virtual Console service, now under the title "EarthBound Beginnings".The title was made available for digital download from the Wii U eShop in North America and Europe later that same day, coincidentally as the protagonist from the third entry, Lucas from "Mother 3", was released as downloadable content for "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U".