You’ve been Lawyered!  The latest rumor on the street is that Earthbound is not, and never will be, released on virtual console, at least not in North America.  While I personally would like to believe that Nintendo just likes putting the screws on us over in the west, the truth seems to be much more boring.

The soundtrack for Earthbound does a lot of sampling of the work of other artists.  Now, mind you, it’s cranked down into a midi version, and I’m pretty sure you don’t need to pay royalties when you make a midi version of a sample of the Monty Python theme song, and then screw with the tempo.  Something about fair use.

Anyhoo, Nintendo of Japan is reportedly extremely uncomfortable with it regardless, and is also unwilling to release a version with different and definitely legal music in it.

Maybe someone should tell them that witholding products from the market that are in demand is why people install emulators on their Wiis and stop paying for VC content entirely.

You can read the full story on Starmen.net here.