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Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is now just a week away in North America (13th November) and a little longer in Europe (20th November), and it's going to be interesting to see how well it performs in stores. The reaction from eager Nintendo fans to its E3 reveal this year were - we think it's fair to say - relatively hostile, yet time can be a healer. It also combines two massive brands - amiibo and Animal Crossing - and, due to that, surely has a chance of doing rather well.

It has some downsides to its prospects, naturally. It's arriving in an extremely competitive sales window on a system struggling for sales, sadly, and its requirement for amiibo to work makes it a physical retail-only proposition. The recent amiibo cards can be used to add residents to the board game's town or unlock mini-games, but figures are needed to play. Copies of the game come with two of these amiibo, but naturally some will be unsure of having to spend out a decent amount of money on more figures to open up four player games, for example [Update: actually, only one amiibo is required at a time to play, with the option for others to join in as Villager characters - thanks Xenocity]

We're not sure whether this will be a surprise hit, a flop or something in between, but it's intriguing to see a little more of it as it approaches release. A new video from Nintendo UK is effectively a localised version of a previous Japanese showcase, demonstrating how the game works and showing off some mini-games. Check it out and let us know whether you're tempted to pick it up.