Recently, it was revealed that Nintendo is planning to release a new installment of the Mother series on the Game Boy Advance. We can now bring you some of the initial details for the game which have been released by Nintendo, and in particular, Shigesato Itoi, the producer of the series.

In a discussion on his personal site, Itoi detailed a number of his thoughts on why he decided to go ahead with the production of the game. Of particular interest was the following excerpt, in which he reflects on the remake of Mother 1+2 and its influence on the eventual rejuvenation of Mother 3 on the Game Boy Advance:

"When I had decided to convert Mother 1+2 to the Game Boy Advance, I realized there would be pressure to revive development on Mother 3 as well. Naturally, I was opposed to the idea at first. I wanted to create something truly special with Mother 3 and that's partially why it was delayed and eventually canceled. There were ideas to write a book or produce a movie based on the story for Mother 3, but those turned out to be impossible as well. Due to continued encouragement and for the fans who never gave up, I can finally say Mother 3 is going to happen on the Game Boy Advance. It will be based on my original story and development, and is progressing steadily. I'm sure people are wondering what they can expect and when it will be available. We hope to answer some of those questions in our next announcement."

Initially, Mother 3 was planned as a Nintendo 64 title, but it was canceled due to production difficulties and thought dead by many of its fans. However, as was hinted at in the recent commercial released in Japan, Mother 3 will indeed be reworked for the Game Boy Advance. To accomodate the reduced graphical and hardware capabilities of the portable system, a number of the features will probably need to be redone. Despite these changes though, the story of Mother 3 is expected to remain essentially unchanged from its designs on the Nintendo 64. Unfortunately, no mention of specific characters or plot details has been made at this time, so it is uncertain whether this game will continue the story of Ness or pick up with new characters.