South Korea Is Getting Animal Crossing: New Leaf Before North America And Europe
Posted by Damien McFerran
Grumble, grumble
Animal Crossing: New Leaf is doing pretty brisk business in Japan, a fact which makes us western players all the more anxious to get our hands on it.
So far, Nintendo has refused to give a solid release date for the game in this part of the world, instead vaguely stating that North America will get it "Q1/Q2" and Europe "Q2".
Just to rub salt into the wound, it has been confirmed that South Korean 3DS lovers will get to play the game on the 7th Feburary. There will also be a special limited edition Animal Crossing: New Leaf 3DS XL/LL bundle released on the same day.
Commence ranting....now!
[via acnewleaf.com]




























#1
RupeeClock said:
Will the game be in Korean, or will it be released in English/Japanese?
Oh how I would love to start the game now though.
#2
AyeHaley said:
It seems it is translated...
Wow, previous AC games must have sold a lot in Korea. Oh Nintendo..
#3
Hong said:
As someone who prefers Hangul, I may pick it up while I am in Seoul.
#4
mumof3kids82 said:
lucky ducks lol i want this game now
#5
WhiteKnuckle said:
****!
#6
datamonkey said:
There seems to be a big push from companies releasing stuff in Korea these days, is there an emerging market or something?
#7
Pikminsi said:
Lucky -_-
#8
rjejr said:
oppa New Leaf style
#9
Axed84 said:
Ugh, seriously? I don't mind South Korea getting it first, but what I AM starting to mind is how Nintendo refuses to just lock down a release date for NA/Europe, regardless of when that release date will be.
#10
ajcismo said:
Probably easier and less time consuming to localize for Korea than NA and Euro markets. I can't imagine how many changes have to be made to a game like Animal Crossing so it makes sense in different cultures.
#11
MrSRArter said:
Korea always gets everything last so I'm fine with this.
#12
ClassicSonicFan said:
Well Korea is always last so that's okay. But Japan gets everything before we do so that's annoying.
#13
OldMan-Tech said:
WHAT!?!?!?!??!?!?!?
#14
6ch6ris6 said:
why are you all so negativ?
at least we are getting it before north korea xD
#15
Geonjaha said:
Whoever is working on the translation of this game needs to be fired. 4-6 months extra just to translate an Animal Crossing game? Pathetic.
#16
Magnet_Man018 said:
@Geonjaha That's what I think.
#17
Marakuto said:
I knew this would happen, I could some how see this happening before us getting it.
#18
Barbiegurl777 said:
This is ridiculous! If the game is already finished then release it in general. This is crazy with playing head games with America & Europe. Nintendo even admitted all they had left to do on the game was localization which mean's translating the languages. It shouldn't take this long to translate the game from japanese to english especially when I've seen japan release other games in japan then a month later america or europe ends up getting the SAME game like a month later. If they can translate other japanese games fast I don't understand what the big deal is for animal crossing UNLESS all they want to do is build up on stuff for fans to get excited so they sell out over here & in europe like they did in japan. By making the fans wait to long for the game.
They've had since 2008 to make the game & already be finished with it by now. I hope there is a ton of content in animal crossing 3ds to make fans wait this long.
Great Japan gets the 3ds xl special edition & now south korea. I hope north america & europe get the special edition as well when the game is released.
Happy Gaming! (^_^)
#19
grumblegrumble said:
Yes? (Sorry, I thought you were calling me.) hehe
#20
Dev said:
I don't think Nintendo's being anti-Western here. South Korea usually gets Nintendo games last, so this is a cool exception for them. At least we'll get it before Taiwan does.
#21
steveex said:
The game is probably finished, it is just being delayed because Q1 is so full already. We already have Fire Emblem, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Brain Training and Luigi's Mansion in the first few months of 2013, so having Animal Crossing would be overkill. Still sucks that we have to wait though.
#22
3Dash said:
/me moves to South Korea with a Translator app on his iPod
#23
Holmfry said:
Is this because of Gangnam Style? I guess they did earn an early release when they gave us that.
#24
DavidRFugate said:
What else is their to be said?
Oh yeah! The release date for the rest of the WORLD NINTENDO....and don't be so vague!
#25
DavidRFugate said:
@Axed84 I agree with you 200% They need to nail down an exact date!
#26
True_Hero said:
@3Dash - I wouldn't trust a direct machine translation. Just read the last paragraph of the article after it's been run through the translator a time or two.
"Rub the only ds game in Korea without knowing if no 7 3 2 is sodium chloride. Make an animal in a limited Special Edition: new 3 ds XL/LL bundles leaves release."
#27
luminalace said:
Good for South Korea...they usually get the short end of the stick.
#28
Chrysanthemum said:
This is fair. They normally get good stuff months after us, so for once I think they do deserve something at least. No I'm not from Korea, but PSY is! He will be happy!
#29
birthgirth said:
i want it so bad ;(
#30
beatalLiToaD said:
They're the good Korea. They deserve it.
#31
Azikira said:
@haiLtreTtenDo: Lmao, that was funny.
God I waaaaant this game. D:
#32
Doma said:
No biggie, it's only Animal Crossing.
#33
DerpSandwich said:
If we don't get a Nintendo Direct giving us solid release dates soon, I'm going to start thinking that Animal Crossing and Luigi's Mansion are going to be delayed even more. Nintendo has proved that they're really good at spreading out coming releases rather than making new ones.
#34
Luigifan141 said:
Of course North Korea doesn't get the game...
#35
Zombie_Barioth said:
Its odd but probably wouldn't affect the release dates either way anyway, so no big deal. I would like a solid date though if only to know when to have my money ready, I'd hate to spend my money on something else only to find out the date is really close.
#36
SheldonRandoms said:
I heard there's going to be a new feature in the new Animal Crossing, which is why they are going to release it in South Korea first then in North America And Europe.
#37
LzQuacker said:
So? What exactly does this change?
#38
Thewolfnamedshe said:
lolz that my birthday XD
Lucky I want to get this sooo badly but no one answering my question >w<
#39
TheDreamingHawk said:
If this is the Japanese version, that's OK.
But if this is their OWN translation, then why did NA and EU have to wait longer?
#40
AntiGuy said:
...HURRY UP!
#41
CaptainSquid said:
Well, time to move to South Korea.
#42
NintendoFlow said:
@6ch6ris6
no we're not.
#43
NintendoFlow said:
I just hope it doesnt take much longer. If North Korea is getting a Feb release month then US and Europe shouldnt have to wait much longer right?
#44
Nibelilt said:
That's okay methinks. They usually get things last, so they can have this one.
I still wish Nintendo would nail down release dates for the western side of the world, though.
#45
Windy said:
Awesome for Korea!
#46
CanisWolfred said:
This doesn't happen more often? South Korea is right near Japan, I should hope they get Japanese stuff before we do.
#47
MentheLapin said:
I feel like a lot of people are underestimating the localisation process, especially in regards to an Animal Crossing game. Items are taken out and added due to specific cultures which takes extra time (although, in all fairness, there are some Korea-specific items which would have been added too), and I've heard that the team that is working on translation for AC:NL actually took a break to localise Nintendo Land, which obviously took priority as a Wii U launch game. Sit back and have a bit of patience, because it's going to get here eventually and it'll be amazing when it's done.
@Holmfry Personally, I think they relinquished the right to ever have anything remotely desirable as soon as they released that parasite unto the world.
#48
DeviousSnorlax said:
I'll wait,like i've been waiting since 2010
At least we're getting it in 2013...
#49
nintendogamerz said:
this game was announced in 2010. its 2013, and were still waiting. i am very impatient. time to learn korean!
#50
janettocrossing said:
Why do Asians get the game first ? We've been waiting since like 2010. Not fair
#51
bahooney said:
I personally don't mind the extra time taken to make this game perfect. I've always been impressed with the amount of love and time taken with the localization, giving the dialogue the time it deserves is key in preserving the charm of the game.
Take as long as you need, NOA! My wallet is ready!
#52
bahooney said:
@killertroller73 Wouldn't it make more sense to learn Japanese since you wouldn't have to wait for localization, ever?
#53
Thewolfnamedshe said:
@RandomGamerGirl That doesnt sound right you mean Koreans right? cause if not asian will always get the games first because they are the one that makes them X3
#54
Zyvaks said:
(pre-order has been fully paid since january 2nd of 2012)
#55
Mew15845 said:
I can understand why it's taking so long, translating, tons of new characters, skins, music, locations, 3d rendering, ect. I say it will be worth the wait. This means that Japan probably wants to make sure the game is 100% A+ perfect before they send it to us which I like about Nintendo. When the 3ds came out a lot of the games that firs came out felt unfinished and rushed. (For example: The Sims 3 for the 3DS) I think it was supposed to have more features in it but unfortunately the release date for the 3ds came out so they probably couldn't add features such as, the sims having kids and more ways to customize the sims. Which is what a lot of people would from a Sims game.(though I thought the Dead mau5 song on the sims' radio was pretty cool) On the other hand (though I've never played this game) The game kid Icarus uprising took a while to finally get to America and Europe. Judging on how much I hear about it from a kid in my class, it must be pretty good. So be patent with New Leaf, I bet this game will be worth the wait. :3
#56
JoeysGirl said:
Well it's official. I'm hating Nintendo now. Never felt so slighted by them in all my life.