While it may not be the first time Shigesato Itoi has mentioned that there will be no continuation of the Mother series, this is the first with a solid explanation. Itoi-san, a copywriter and lyricist by trade, is well known by the clamoring Earthbound fanbase as the director and lead designer of the games.

In a recent interview with Japanese publication GameWatch, Itoi-san went into detail about why he believes creating Mother 4 would have been "totally impossible" for him:

When I made 3, I thought I could do it, so I did it.

Among big-time popstars, if they, you know, put out ten albums, around the fourth album, they can't make very good songs. 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. If it was my job, I would've already made 4 and 5.

So, despite the US re-release of Mother (re-titled as Earthbound: Beginnings) and the incoming Japanese Virtual Console release of Mother 3, it doesn't seem that a new Mother game (with Itoi-san at the helm) is going to happen.