While EarthBound fans may be jubilant about the game making it to the Wii U Virtual Console, its creator, Shigesato Itoi, has taken to Twitter to announce there will be no future installments in the series.

When asked by a fan on the social networking site if he would consider making Mother 4, his response was simple - "impossible".

To be fair, we can't really complain. Two weeks ago, EarthBound - known as Mother 2 in Japan - wasn't even down for a digital release in the West, but Nintendo announced during its Nintendo Direct broadcast that it would be making its way to the Wii U Virtual Console after years of fans crying out for it.

The game - which is the successor to Japanese exclusive, Mother - will be available in Europe for the first time when it emerges on the Virtual Console.

What are your thoughts on this? Were you hoping Itoi would add further titles to the series? Let us know in the comment section below.