Space World
The "EarthBound" fan community anticipated a sequel, and a North American release of "Mother 3" was announced as "EarthBound 64". Nintendo displayed a playable version of the game at its Space World 1999 trade show, where IGN described the development's progress as "very far along" and half complete. Having followed a period of media silence, the announcement there of its conversion from 64DD disk to cartridge plus mission expansion disk was taken by IGN as a sign of further delay or cancellation of the 64DD altogether. In April 2000, IGN estimated the game's development as "safe to assume that the game is nearing its final stages of completion". The company struggled to find a firm release date, and was expected to release in Japan before a North American version would be considered. At the time, the 64DD was only released in Japan. Nintendo did not show the game at the 2000 Electronic Entertainment Expo, though IGN expected to see a finished version of the game at Space World 2000. "Mother" producer Satoru Iwata canceled the game altogether prior to Space World 2000, as announced by Itoi on August 20, 2000.