(Arino Kacho is currently recording the episode of GameCenter CX where he is trying to beat EarthBound. Most games can be beaten in one sitting, but role-playing games take more time. Shigesato Itoi sat in on recording for the second day.)

—Arino, we’ve got a special guest for you today!

Arino KachoOh, Itoi!

ItoiHello there.

—Our special guest today is Shigesato Itoi.

Studio(Claps)

Arino KachoWow, it’s really you. Thank you so much for coming.

—Okay Arino, please explain to Itoi where you are.

Arino Kacho(Shows him the TV)

I’m here right now. Do you recognize it?

ItoiAh, it’s Moonside.

Arino KachoYeah! I just got transported to Moonside.

ItoiIt’s an alternate world of a town that looks like New York City. I created Moonside because I wanted to make a world where everything was crazy. Oh, I see your main character’s name is Peepee — that’s what I name him, too. [Standard name: Ness]

Arino KachoOh, you had the same idea? (Laughs)

ItoiPeepee, Panties, stuff like that.

Arino KachoOh, Panties, I didn’t think of that. I picked my other names from the default selection. You might not be the person to confess this to, but I wish I could change the name of my character. Playing with a main character called Peepee really takes the wind out of the emotional scenes. (Laughs)

ItoiIt’s hard to feel a deep emotion behind the words “What’s wrong, Peepee?”

Arino KachoI’m still missing one character in my party.

ItoiYou’re still missing Poo, I assume? From Dalaam, the place that’s like Tibet.

Arino KachoAh yeah, that’s the one. The shiny-head guy.

ItoiI see. If you don’t have him yet, you’ve still got a ways to go.

Arino KachoWhat?! So I won’t finish today? I’ve gotten 3 of the 8 sanctuaries so far.

ItoiIt’d be tough.

Arino KachoDuring our last recording session I played all morning long, but I didn’t save a single time. When I died right before noon, I ended up all the way back in the beginning. (Laughs) There was no auto-save back when EarthBound came out.

ItoiYeah, that was back when you had to make sure to keep saving the game.

Arino KachoI figured I was fine so I hadn’t saved, but I guess you need to call Dad, huh?

ItoiYou know how you get a phone call from your dad after playing for two hours?

Arino KachoOh, yeah I know that one! What is that?

ItoiI call that the Two-Hour Dad. [A system in EarthBound triggers a phone call from the hero’s dad during long, uninterrupted playing sessions in order to suggest taking a break.]

Arino KachoHe kept asking if I wanted to take a break, and I kept saying no. I thought it was going to force me to quit if I said yes. Finally, I mustered the courage to answer yes, and nothing actually happened! He just said, “Make sure you take a break!”

ItoiYes, Two-Hour Dad just gives you a warning.

Arino KachoI was afraid it would force me to turn off the game.

ItoiNah, I wouldn’t do something so mean. But after Two-Hour Dad, Nintendo implemented a similar system in other games — bringing up a message after a certain amount of time to suggest the player take a break.

Arino KachoWow, so this is where it all started! Nowadays games encourage breaks once an hour.

ItoiOh, it changed, then. Iwata (Satoru Iwata, former President of Nintendo) was a huge fan of Two-Hour Dad, and once he was president he kept putting it in different games.

Arino KachoOh, so Iwata kept it going.