Shigesato Itoi on why Mother 4 is "totally impossible"

Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi has explained why he won't make a fourth game in his beloved Mother series.

"When I made [Mother] 3, I thought I could do it, so I did it," Itoi said in an interview with Japanese gaming outlet Game Watch Impress (translated via Kotaku). But when it comes to a new entry, he said it would be "totally impossible."

This is because Itoi simply doesn't have a brilliant idea for another entry and he doesn't want to drag the series on. "Among big-time popstars, if they, you know, put out ten albums, around the fourth album, they can't make very good songs," he said. "The albums sell, but everyone at the concerts wants to hear songs from those first three albums. Everyone."

"I'm glad that video games are not my profession," said the famous ad man and essayist. "If it was my job, I would've already made 4 and 5."

Instead we'll have to settle for Itoi's original three Mother entries and the upcoming unofficial fan-made sequel.