Jesus...it's like I just got punched in the gut.

Honestly, that made me cry a little, less for the fact that it involved video games, but that despite the fact she was having fun doing something she always wanted to do, she still thought of her kids...

Wow.

:(

O_O

wow, that affected me far more than I thought it would have. Excuse me while I call up my dad.

I saw this earlier and definitely cried.

Jesus. This really hits hard for me. My mom was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis several years ago and has been getting worse ever since. She stopped taking her vaccines because they made her too tired in the morning and she needed to go to work. Now she has trouble walking and will probably need a cane or walker soon at the age of 46. And since my parents recently divorced, she spends a lot of time alone.

It just reminds me of how one day she saw me playing Zelda on Wii and began to ask me about it. She always liked epic stories like Lord of the Rings or Narnia or whatever, and I guess Zelda caught her attention. She also asked a lot about Guitar Hero when she heard me playing a Rolling Stones song, her favorite band. She never really took any passing interest in games before, so I just kind of blew her off. She hasn't asked about it since but I know she's been playing the Wii by looking at the play log.

This comic really did something to me. I think I'll actually try talking to her and maybe even connect with her over the games, as nerdy as it sounds. My family's always been kind of emotionally detached and I guess I should try to fix that any way I can.

And the story was so sad, so touching that Albi began to cry... dragon tears.

Which as we all know turn into jelly beans!

That was one sad story, I almost cried.

Add me to the list of criers.

Wow. :(

Damn you Joystiq! I don't read this site to cry.
Damn you elders, stop dying!

I don't want to ruin it here or anything as it is indeed a sad and moving story, but the "mother" in Animal Crossing is the fictional Nintendo "mother". I played AC a ton and I got all those things from "Mom" and my mom never picked up a game controller in her life. Those gifts and letters he says he got in AC are sent to all players.

Oh Lord.

She...she still sent him presents. I was half-expecting some letter like "When you read this, I'll be gone..." but what really happened was just as - if not more - saddening.

I need to go lie down.

Good looking out, saw this on digg this morning and didnt know if it was real. thanks for clearing it up. makes it that much more sad.

What got me is that the NPCs noticed she went missing. I know its just a simple bit of coding, but it would still rip my heart out if it were me playing.

What were you thinking when you posted this? Nobody wants to be made sad when they read a video game site.

Please exercise some editorial sensibility and keep this sort of article off your site in the future. Thanks.

That's exactly what I was thinking Jason but the more I think about it, the more I don't think a gamer would go to all this trouble to convey this message if it wasn't really the mom. I think he'd be able to tell the difference but hey, maybe not.

Nevertheless, a nice tale with a genuinely 'real' message, at the very least : ].

My friend showed me this earlier, but now I know it's real. All I could say then was :'-( and that hasn't changed now.

I'm wondering if this was originally in Korean, though...

Thank you very much for posting this joystiq.. dont listen to the idiots who dont have a heart and dont want to see something like this. it's related to video games, thast all you need to post.

this really touched me and i cried a bit. i showed it to my mom who has been wanting to play wii , but i dont have time to play with her.. and she had very teary eyes and had to wipe them. we didnt even have the sound on, just the story did that. im not ashamed to say i gave her a big hug and told her i loved her. sometimes you dont know what you have before it's gone. thank you.

i wondered the same thing...

All the letters from "Mom" are a part of the game! What is wrong with all of you. And yes, the NPC's asking where you have been are a part of the game and happens to ALL players.

ALL players get the "Mom" gifts and letters. ALL players have NPC's saying "where have you been", and "we miss you". This IS NOT SPECIAL TO JUST THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY. ALL THE STUFF HE SAID HAPPENED WHEN HE SWITCHED ON AC HAPPENS WITH ALL PLAYERS, NOT JUST HIM.

Get it together people.