Any hopes that Mother 3 was in the process of being translated in English have just had their hopes dashed by Nintendo of America Treehouse Localization Producer/Manager Nate Bihldorff. In an interview with Planet GameCube, Bihldorff exclaims that he "wouldn't look forward to [a Mother 3 translation] in the immediate future," adding that none of the writers are currently working on one, though maybe some of the translators that do not work for him may be "in discussion."

It has been over seven months since the title was released in Japan, and in development for years prior -- if Nintendo was to bring the title over, the process would have already begun. That it would be a sure-fire hit, with a built-in audience of rabid fans, is just another piece to the confusing puzzle: why would Nintendo, as a for-profit business, not spend the time and effort to bring the title over?

The fan translation for Mother 3 has been ongoing since its launch.

[Via Starmen.Net]

The game that has been jokingly called "Almost Earthbound" is quite possibly one of the most unique RPGs to hit Nintendo's touchy-feely handheld. The impetus of Contact is that you're not in direct control of the main character. Instead, you act as a mysterious external force that helps out a young boy as he searches for the parts of a weird professor's downed spaceship. The bottom screen of the DS allows you to guide your character through some wonderful looking environments, while the top screen always shows the professor scurrying about and doing work in his lab. He constantly communicates with you, making odd remarks, providing useful information and generally hurling a wrecking ball through that pesky fourth wall.

Getting back to your character in the bottom screen, it's possible to engage enemies by tapping on them with the stylus and selecting the attack icon. Now, the battles are competely automatic with the exception of using the d-pad to dodge some attacks. Some will definitely be turned off by ths approach, but it fits in well with the game's exploration and its acknowledgement of the player as an entity in the story. The game makes pretty good use of the touch screen, with the special attacks particularly standing out. Essentially, you peel off  the attack command as if it were a sticker on your screen and then stick in back into an appropriate slot. Much like the rest of the game, it's a pretty fun and quirky experience.

Several new releases are sitting pretty in the Japanese charts this week, with newcomers holding the top three spots. Mother 3, described by Famitsu as the "Most Wanted" game in Japan back in March, unsurprisingly rocketed to the top with over 200,000 sales; a spinoff from the popular Dragon Quest VIII is in at number two, after selling 127,500 copies.

The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 23:

1. Mother 3 [GBA]
2. Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken [PS2]
3. Final Fantasy XI:  Aht Urhgan no Hihou [PS2]
4. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
5. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai [PSP]
6. Okami [PS2]
7. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
8. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
9. DS English Training [DS]
10. Pokémon Ranger [DS]

The corresponding hardware sales (cumulative sales for 2006 in brackets):