In the West, Shigesato Itoi is most famous as the guy who made the Mother games. But in Japan, his main job has been copywriting, including penning taglines for Studio Ghibli movies.

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.

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. Iwata uploaded this photo on Twitter overnight of a badass Mother 2 sukajan.

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.

Iwata Asks is one of the few, rare insights we have into the working processes of Nintendo as a company, and I've always found it fascinating. No company is more closed up about its games, but Iwata Asks is like a complete anomaly — often it's painfully open about the successes and failures of Nintendo as a company. The most recent Iwata Asks may be the most fascinating of all — a discussion about how being 'desperate' is important to good game design. And Miyamoto asks himself, is he a good boss?

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 clicks).

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 best known as a copywriter and personality in Japan, 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. People were displaced, missing or dead. News coverage reported on the devastation. But what company wants to be the official sponsor of a calamity like this?

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.

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 not just any only $US400 Mario sweater, but an officially licensed $US400 sweater sold to you via the guy who created Earthbound.