Uh huh. There was a fair-sized Earthbound fanbase before the Smash Brothers games came to be, and I only imagine the number of gamers who played Earthbound afterwards.

I think from a business standpoint, many Japanese companies underestimate the demand for quality titles when deciding to localize certain games for stateside release. To be fair though, it's quite obvious that outside of Japan, the typical licensed crap and franchise sequels dominate sales charts where fun, innovative games are left to barely make a dent. It's too bad.