If you asked me the question, "where were you when you found out about 9/11", then my answer is "in a car park in Loughborough". I remember it crisp and clear: the gravel underfoot, the way my mum's voice trembled a little when I asked her, with childlike sincerity, if there would be a World War Three. "I don't know," she replied. I had been learning about World War One and Two in my history lessons, and I pictured biplanes overhead and the slide-whistle sound of bombs falling. I remember being vaguely excited about the idea of building an Anderson Shelter in our back garden, and terrified of everything else.
We have these moments cemented in our memories before we even knew we were making memories, a perfect photograph of history being written. It's strange to think that we're living through history now — a moment that will be in classroom textbooks years from now, with children writing essays on the effects of the pandemic on politics and economics. It's enough to make you want to rebel, to protest, to say that we are not history — we are the present, and not something to study as if it was just a Thing That Happened. Yet here we are, in unprecedented times, and the answer to "what would you do if the world burned down around you" is "try to survive".
It's even stranger to think that those history books may very well include screenshots of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Media has always been tied to history, from the Romans telling stories that give us insight into women's rights, to black-and-white movies that capture the fear of dystopias, to the civil rights movement being captured on film. Humans are storytellers, and we will fictionalise our greatest desires and fears until we are wiped off the planet.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons didn't mean to capture the zeitgeist. Nintendo knows a lot, but they had no way of knowing that their game would come out precisely on the weekend that everything went to hell, nor that it would capture the public imagination in a way that's hard to put on paper.
I have never before wanted to exist in a "metaverse" — a video game that's more than just a game, that provides a real-world market, an economy, a place for socialising, and for living a fully-realised virtual life — until the first few weeks of Animal Crossing. Suddenly, I didn't want to exist anywhere but Egg, my island. The real world was crumbling around me, but the vibrant world of Tom Nook and friends was perfect, and so, blinkered like a horse, I lived there instead.
In this virtual world, a utopia was being built, by the players who wholeheartedly believed in it. Friendship was widely and easily available — I could turn up to the islands of perfect strangers and find a connection there, giving gifts, admiring their island, and communicating with simple emotes. The spirit of generosity led us all to give away furniture, recipes, and fossils that we didn't need, and money only mattered because it was what we used to buy more furniture.
Despite the Stalk Market, there were no robber barons or planet-destroying billionaires to worry about, and I would have happily given my money to the villagers of Egg if they ever showed any interest in it. And, speaking of interest, Tom Nook — despite his reputation as an evil landlord — never asked for any, and let you pay back the house loan at your own pace.
It's bizarre to think that Animal Crossing: New Horizons perfectly captured the hopefulness of those first few weeks of the pandemic, because, one year on from both, that hope is faded and crumpled like a fallen cherry blossom. Isabelle's sunny disposition and the tropical paradise of Egg has so little in common with the reality of the world in March 2021, and yet, at the very beginning of Spring, it's hard not to feel like everything will be alright. Crocuses and snowdrops poke their heads out of stone-hard soil like a world waking up from a long sleep, and we know — despite freezing temperatures — that the Earth is on the mend.
Spring always follows Winter, even though it often feels like it'll never come. The sun gradually spends more and more time on our side of the globe, clawing back the darkness and warming the air. Seasonal depression begins to melt like ice, and we remember what the colour green looks like as Mother Nature begins to roll out the carpet. Bad things end, and good things take their place, since time immemorial.
One year on from Animal Crossing: New Horizons' launch, it's time for Bunny Day — the beginning of Spring, the in-game representation of Easter, when a man died and came back to wipe the slate of the soul clean. One year on from the beginning of a global pandemic, vaccines — the light at the end of the tunnel — are being rolled out worldwide.
It would be naïve to say that things get better, and stay better. There are, undoubtedly, trying times to come. But Animal Crossing: New Horizons is such a perfect representation of the ups and downs of the pandemic, and the way it brought us together for a brief time — the way it united people from all stripes and gave us a brief glimmer of hope — that it would be a denial to leave it out of the historical records. Museums, archivists, and video game historians alike are working on documenting the game's dominance in early 2020, and how it even affected politics and economics.
It's not fun to be part of history. It's not fun to become a statistic for future children to be forced to learn in boring lessons. But, even so, I hope that historians outside of the video game sphere take note of the symmetry between Animal Crossing and COVID. Interesting historical parallels like this don't come around every day. We can't deny that video games are a huge part of history, and although the general public still doesn't take us that seriously, this could be a step towards more legitimacy.
So, yes. This is yet another thinkpiece by a games journalist that points out that Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out at the start of a global pandemic, like we didn't all notice that. But, when people ask "where were you when COVID hit", then I have my answer: I was in Egg.
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I have so many memories. From seeing K.K for the first time to going on discord and selling my turnips to playing hide and seek and having my birthday. This game really is something special. I'm not crying, you are.
This game WAS last year for me, sure there were other games but none more prevalent than New Horizons especially because last year is basically a write off
So was the key appeal of ACNH a "socializing with other humans" aspect? Because everything about NH felt like a disastrous, boring step backward for the series that was always about living in an imaginary world - by yourself - with nobody but the animals interfering. Perhaps not trying to play it as IMVU is where I went so wrong. Solo, it's remarkably empty. Unlike every prior AC.
I never really agreed with New Horizons being an intentional pandemic game like how so many others claim it to be. It just happened to release around the time of a pandemic. For me, the game only really lasted about 2 months, so I can't say much about it saving the pandemic for me. I never really play animal crossing online, since it's intended mostly to be a single player game, and I rather enjoy the game playing it single player.
@NEStalgia That's the other thing too. The game itself seems to be built around multiplayer this time around.. which is a shame seeing as I really enjoyed the past games by just playing alone. The game this time arounds seems to just be "fun" for those who want to build elaborate towns and show them off to their friends, lacking in substance for those who aren't as creative, or who don't really do well with building things.
I hadn't played an Animal Crossing game before this came out, but right when the Pandemic had reached our shores and Lockdown procedures were just taking place, I heard from people online that were talking about New Horizons and they were discussing it as potentially the game to tide people over right when the world caught on fire.
So I picked it up on launch day and was initially concerned as I heard that it was a life simulator game and I was worried that it would potentially take several hours for me to get properly invested in the game's world.
But instead, the opposite happened. I was hooked instantly.
And now after spending over 700 hours playing it, Animal Crossing New Horizons has been one of the most uplifting and charming video games that has made it my favourite game of 2020.
No, it's not a massive, big budget, story driven, ultra graphical showcase that most AAA games are these days, but it was an important and vital lightning in a bottle moment that came out at exactly the right place at the right time.
It brought people together during the darkest of times and for me, who's been going through a lot of issues with my mental health because of the ongoing Lockdown, catching up and hanging out with my friends on their islands with our villager avatars and having the greatest of banters was exactly the comfort I sorely needed from such a god awful year.
The game coinciding with the pandemic never influenced my thoughts on it or my interactions, personally. My lifestyle has been very minimally impacted by COVID, apart from wearing a mask, washing my hands way more frequently, and having to go down one aisle in order to come up the soda aisle at the grocery store. I love NH but for the same reason I loved NL before it: just puttering around and talking to my villagers in bed before I go to sleep.
@NEStalgia I agree with you. AC:NH is a barren sandbox with nothing to do except customize things and it's a real shame since I've played and loved every mainline Animal Crossing game. AC:NH is the first time I can say the franchise fell backwards instead of moving forward.
@VoidofLight Nah this game isn't even focused on multiplayer. New Leaf was focused on multiplayer, with Streetpass and Tortimer's Island (and free online play) there are way more social activities.
@Tourtus Eh, it sort of seems like it's more focused on multiplayer, without adding the multiplayer aspects New Leaf introduced. I say this mainly because people seemingly have more fun playing this game with others instead of alone, and due to how the game seems more about decorating and building up and island rather than solo activies. Not to mention the fishing tourney and bug off are made almost exclusively for multiplayer, making it harder to get the gold trophies unless you spend all day playing the game, or open the gates and let people help you.
@VoidofLight Multiplayer in this game is nearly identical to previous games, not much to do except catch bugs and fish and chat. I feel like this game is a popular choice for multiplayer because so many people own it and with government knockdowns not many people can do much else except stay at home and play games. This is just one of the new ways to hang out for now.
Can't believe it's been a year of "two more weeks".
Persona 5 Royal was my lockdown game. Tried to get into AC but just couldn't. Way too boring for me.
I will never be able to separate this game from the beginning of the pandemic. It's almost eerie.
I do think ACNH will forever be remembered as that beloved game that came out during the worst global crisis since the end of WW2. Even though the only thing that ties the game and the pandemic together is timing. Timing matters.
The first few months of New Horizons are some of the best gaming memories I have. The game doesn't command my thoughts and time like it did a year ago, but I will look fondly back on those first few months for a loooong time.
@Tourtus Yeah. I mean it seems like, people will say it's "not multiplayer" but the people mostly having fun with it and saying how wonderful it is seem to largely be all about "hanging out in it". AC was always a game/simulator, not an IMVU hangout client. But Even in this thread, between Kate's article and the people praising it's all about being a venue to hang out with friends in a virtual way. The praise is never really about the game's inherent systems.
I can't help but wonder if this game either launched at a different time, or had no multiplayer connectivity of any sort, would it have crashed and burned harder than the WiiU? Unfortunately because how how well it did, a hangout client is precisely what the next one will be as well.
Plus, I was already thinking in my mind what @Chrysologus just confirmed - I wonder if people associating this game with the pandemic will be a curse for the series in the future as much as it was a boon for it this time. 5 years from now they try to release a new AC game and everyone goes "eww, no, that makes me think of 2020, no way I'm buying that!"
@VoidofLight Yeah, the fans of the game keep assuring me it's not a shift to mutiplayer, but then every time you read an article about it being this perfect thing that saved the world from pandemic insanity, it always seems to revolve around this social sharing thing that, to me, should have been the AC mobile game, not mainline AC which was never about that.
Heck, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the game actually let you build things, but it doesn't. You plant a fixed number of finite buildings down and change between one of 3 elevations for each tile before decorating....there's no building to be found.
All in all it's a game designed to revolve around trending social media, no doubt due to how New Leaf accidentally discovered that marketing trick.
Since the first lockdown I have bought and sold animal crossing three times lol I first bought it on release and was enjoying it and played it every day for two weeks, I got all the fish and bugs for that month and got my town looking decent and upgraded my house but then I gradually played it less and less until I was bored with nothing to do and asked myself what's my end goal with this game? What is the end goal of this game?
Atleast with games like story of seasons and rune factory there's always something to do and an actual end goal to aim for but with animal crossing there wasnt and that totally turned me off it, I just thought instead of spending hours in animal crossing I could instead play and complete other games such a soaker mario and persona 5 Royal and atelier ryza etc and clear my backlog which felt much more worth my time.
So I decided to sell it after a month but then at Christmas I got it back so I could play with the partner plus I love snow themes in games and yet again after a few weeks I was done and sold it, then the third time I got it back a month ago and actually started a new game with a new island on my lite as I didn't want to share with the partner, but this time it lasted about a week before I was totally bored, to make it a fourth time they really need to add something special 😂 maybe mini games or a farming aspect or running your own shop etc just something more than fishing, collecting fruit and bug catching.
I got the game in May. It was just a magical experience, and it definitely distracted from the pandemic. Nintendo truly was lucky that their game got delayed and released right when everything went to hell.
@UltimateOtaku91 If you have a 3DS, I suggest New Leaf. You still have to make your own goals, but the game itself has a bit more to do. It lacks in quality of life features like fruit automatically stacking, or a massive inventory, and lacks in impressive interiors of buildings as well as graphics, but it has more to do in terms of multiplayer, and the game itself lasts longer in general.
I just kinda miss New Leaf. It lasted longer for me and focused on mechanics that I personally preferred.
@NEStalgia This is what scares me about the future of the series. That the game I loved so much will just evolve into something that focuses on the wrong aspects of the game itself.. and the thing is, this is most definitely the future for the franchise, as New Horizons is selling more than some Mario games now. I guess for people like me, the series is no longer for us..
I am the only one who consider ACNL and ACNH as Builder simulation game (The Sims) rather than Old Animal Crossing.
I don't like the "charm" of conversations 101, long train running yada yada yada, villager's moving out without my acknowledge just to make me how is being lonely, etc.
I bought Animal Crossing for beautify my island, keep the favorite villagers forever, less engaging with yada yada conversations, controlling the time, exploiting items by time travel, being a helper.
@Anti-Matter I mean, I don't know what you expected from Animal Crossing. It's a life sim game.. so people are going to be playing it for the life sim elements. The customization element is a big factor, but that's not the games are meant to solely be based on. The game was built to invoke the feeling of moving to a small town where you don't know anyone, building friendships over time, and living your life in the town. That's why the original one had minimal customization.
Edit: It's like buying Tomodachi life, and then hating it because the mii's talk a lot, when that's the exact point of the game.
@TrowaAyanami with so much going on last year, this game came at the perfect moment. Just going around chatting with your island buddies, picking up items to sell, craft seasonal item and meeting new characters every season in a beautiful fully customizable island was perfect to take a breath of fresh air and keep going from this awful moment in history.
I had so many beautiful moments on my island, lost friends, found new friends and had a lot of fun ^3^ I can see so much happening in the future and so much could still happen °3° To many fantastic and wonderful years with Animal Crossing ^3^~♡
@VoidofLight
I actually consider ACNH was the right model for Animal Crossing.
More robust designing island both outdoor and interior.
Villagers will never move out unless if i ask to.
Time travel without worrying of losing my villagers.
Exploiting the items by time travel.
Shorter dialogues.
Villagers can wear the different clothes.
I want to see next Animal Crossing will NOT forcing the player to play the game forever because sometimes i'm not in the mood to play them everyday. ACNH has the right feature to let the gamers to keep all the villagers even they don't play for long time.
I'm glad Nintendo have cut the long train running dialogues since i hate the yada yada yada talking from Lyle and Resetti. I don't buy Animal Crossing to listen those crap talking, those are not even a charm, they are annoying. Can you imagine i have to press B button repeatedly just to skip the crappy dialogues quickly when they started to talk ?
I don't even like the Original Animal Crossing.
Too outdated, lack of designing, rude language talking, long train running dialogues, villagers moving out without my acknowledge if i don't play the game everyday.
I don't like the original idea of Animal Crossing to make me feel how was being lonely and your villagers have to leave for stupid reasons. I called that idea was a crap, not even something interesting. I want to keep all my favorite villagers because i have rights to keep them all without stupid mechanism of moving out by force if i don't play the game for long time. It was not a charm at all, it was a big troll for me.
The main difference for me with the game releasing during the pandemic was I had more time to devote to it, I loved New Leaf but was always trying to cram in the odd fifteen minutes here or there.
Sure the pandemic has not hurt sales but the series sales figures were on the rise after New Leaf became the series best seller, I think Nintendo do not always get the credit they deserve, they knew the Switch has a very wide demographic and they have tried to give the game the widest appeal.
@Anti-Matter,
The villager system is far better in this game, you have a lot more control over this aspect.
@johnvboy
Yup. 😉
Because of that i can Time travel oftenly with wider gap without worrying of losing my villagers. I can time travel to several months ago then go back to current date with small consequences (bed hairstyle, more weeds grow, cockroaches in my house). I can get rid those small consequences quickly.
This article sounds overly dramatic. I don't own any Animal Crossing games, and I have never played one. The only thing Covid did for me was close down the gym for almost 3 months. I had some extra time to dig into my backlog on PS4. That's about it.
@Anti-Matter,
The villagers look so good too, I remember the Wii U animal crossing plaza, and thinking if there would be a game where the animal villagers looked that good, the we got new horizons.
@Anti-Matter What you want isn't even animal crossing. What you want is something like Happy Home designer, but a town designing game instead.
@johnvboy
I wish the next Animal Crossing will have Dragon Quest Builders style.
Imagine Full 3D island with bigger size (bigger than 110 x 110 squares on ACNH), sandbox style, fully customization of the buildings (interior, exterior, building entrance position), farming, different type of habitat (desert, tundra forest, tropical forest, volcanic area, etc)
And i would like to see more interactions from every single furnitures like The Sims.
I really wish i can spare boxing with my villagers and we are wearing actual boxer outfits when playing boxing on the ring (imagine Animal Boxing NDS in HD).
@VoidofLight
And that's way i like ACNH even more than Old Animal Crossing.
I do care with Building / designing aspect and keep all my favorite villagers than engaging in long train running dialogues.
The features in ACNH was already Perfect for me to play as God.
@Anti-Matter But that's.. not what animal crossing is. That's Dragon Quest Builders or the sims.. go play those games if that's what you want. Animal Crossing itself was never meant to be like this, and should never be like this. It goes against what the series was meant to be as, and what most fans like about the series itself.
@VoidofLight that’s sorta how I (and some other) fans of Fire Emblem felt with Awakening. There is 100% a shift in style from games before Awakening and after, with less of a focus on mechanics like the long term impacts of who you level up early on or carefully budgeting resources, and more of a focus on character social dynamics and anime tropes. In the case of Awakening, it sold an unprecedented number of copies, so the entire series took cues from it. Which I’ve accepted and to an extent can enjoy but I really miss the old style.
I suspect the same is happening with Animal Crossing. Granted, I’ve seen half the fanbase asking for more social features for several games now, and so Nintendo listened to that part of the fanbase here and, partly due to the timing with the pandemic, it blew previous sales out of the water. I’d bet a lot of money that future titles will take inspiration from New Horizons. Customizations and social features likely will be the main focus from here on out. The most we can hope for is that they’ll bring back the mechanics from previous titles as well and compromise... but I wouldn’t hold my breath. This is Nintendo. When they find something that works, they love to milk it dry.
@ShadJV I guess. I just feel like if future games are anything like New Horizons, then my time with this series, or at least new entries in the series, will be done with. Mainly because I don't get any enjoyment out of New Horizons, unlike the previous games. I've tried to play it with an open mind, but I just.. don't get the same feelings as the past games in the series, or feel motivation to play it.
This game helped me through a lot last year. I'm so happy I have it even though I didn't like the idea of it when it first came out.
@VoidofLight
I don't like the original idea of Animal Crossing and that's why i don't play Original, Wild World and City Folk.
Don't look interesting with lack of designing and ability to save the game anywhere anytime.
I'm very content with ACNL and ACNH ideas with customizing aspects and better character design. Those are already Perfect model of Animal Crossing. Old Animal Crossing was a history, not even looks interesting for my taste.
@Anti-Matter then maybe the series isn't for you? If you don't like the gameplay of the game itself, then why force yourself to play it? I don't force myself to play Mobile games even though I hate 99% of them.. And I don't just buy a game, then demand that it becomes something entirely different due to getting bored with it. I just move on to something else, and let the fans of said game enjoy said game the way it was meant to be.
@VoidofLight,
This does not feel all that different to New Leaf, o.k there are features missing but still not missing them all that much, the terra forming and island design is just the icing on the cake for me.
And I also like that there is scope for them to add more things to the game, should keep it feeling fresh.
@VoidofLight
I didn't force myself to play Old Animal Crossing.
I didn't even play Original, Wild World and City Folk. Just looking at the gameplay style it didn't work on me.
Oh, actually i have ever played City Folk long time ago but i didn't enjoy it as i have no idea what should i do and i neglect the game completely.
@Anti-Matter,
I have played every game apart from the Gamecube one, and to be fair have loved the series since Wild World, and to be honest the mechanics are pretty similar in all the games, but for me I love the way this one feels much more personal.
And coming from someone who has rarely played online games, this game is awesome as a social experience, I have visited many Islands and love seeing how creative people can be, and with my more regular friends just catching up and chilling out on each others islands.
@Anti-Matter I'm saying the series. Not the games in specific.
@VoidofLight if AC was never meant to be like this then it wouldn't have become like this. It has always been a design/collecting sim, that's been expanding with each new release, meanwhile interacting with villagers has remained a secondary experience to supplement the collecting and building of your island. If it was meant to be a life sim then interactions with villagers would have been expanding but if anything it's been getting weaker. The game is becoming less what you personally want but as sales improve with each release it proves you are in the minority. I have over 1300 hours in this game and that never would have been the case if it were a life sim, that's all been dedicated to getting all the furniture and making my house and island as cool as possible to show off to my friends when they visit.
Great write up Kate. I have enjoyed your in-depth ponderings and the connection they have to games. My kids had Animal Crossing to enjoy during those long days at home while I taught school through a computer camera, and my wife did her best to give dance lessons in an iPad. Glad we’re (hopefully!) through the worst of it all. Fingers crossed!
I played the game for about 2 weeks, then got bored with it. Doing the same thing over and over again got boring more so in ACNH than in any other grindy game.
I wish they'd add a lot more minigames and interactive things to do... I still like it but outside of cosmetic customizations it's a pretty shallow experience. I'm hoping for a nice expansion DLC or something at some point for it. It has SO much potential it's crazy.
I still enjoy it for what it is.
@SpaceboyScreams I meant that animal crossing isn’t meant to be what Anti matter wants it to be. I was replying to him. Plus I’m not in the minority, it’s common consensus among fans that New Horizons is a shallow game.
@kategray I wish I could write like you. Seems like you might have taken a course or two.
@NEStalgia Yeah I always see people praise the social aspects of the game but I really don't care for them, primarily because there isn't much to do at all. I'd much rather play Smash Bros. with my siblings than play AC:NH with them.
I too, am worried about how financially successful this game is, I'm worried the sequel will be stuck at this point with the tedious crafting, few buildings to explore, shallow dialogue from animals etc. Hopefully the sequel will be more like New Leaf with the QoL improvements and features from New Horizons and other added stuff. (and they ditch crafting)
I don't think this game would have crashed without the lock downs, I'd imagine it'd sell around the same amount as New Leaf
@PocketQ3 exactly! Like add silly Streetpass type stuff. I am having fun, but not as much as it could be with just a little extra. This game has made nearly $2billion in sales. Adding some silly fun mini games shouldn’t be an issue. I wouldn’t mind even paid DLC.
I have no New Horizons memories, because of the stupid one-island-per-game treatment. I bought two copies for my girls and damned if I was going to buy it three times. So I missed that whole thing.
@JasmineDragon
Even on ACNL there was only one island you can play.
But since the game saved onto cartridge, so you can have multiple island by having multiple cartridges.
@Anti-Matter Oh, I know it's how it's always been. I just wasn't going to pay $180 for one video game. AC wasn't a high priority for me anyway. I had plenty of other old games to play.
This is brilliantly written
@VoidofLight What I miss about the older games is being a part of the community. The villagers were on equal standing with you and had actual lives. Even when you were mayor, they still had their own things to do. In New Horizons, you’re basically God and the villagers revolve around you. It’s all become a bit selfish as a game. Especially since you’re encouraged to destroy your island’s natural beauty to craft items. It’s a far cry from the original couple of games.
@nessisonett Agreed. Not to mention the villager dialogue itself isn't as good as past games. I found them repeating the same thing more than they used to do, and most of their dialogue uses modern day lingo which will date the game immensely, unlike in the previous entries where the language used is kept timeless, due to the nature of the game itself.
I remember getting the same "You know what money rocks are?" Messages, or the same "shake a tree and get fruit" message over and over, even after the tutorial period.
@VoidofLight,
Totally disagree with the dialogue, on New Leaf I had pretty much experienced all the conversations after around 400 hours of gameplay, wheras on new horizons my villagers surprise me with new dialogue even after over a 1000 hours, you get the repetition which was par for the course in all entries to the series.
@nessisonett,
Not sure what you mean about the villagers, in all the games they have pretty much been the same, this one is no different, my villagers do a lot of stuff around the island, and the game feels like a community to me. The biggest difference is the fact you have more control over them leaving etc.
As for destroying your islands natural look, this is a personal choice for the individual player, you can terra form it to death if you choose, but it's up to you at the end of the day. And again the look is very subjective as it's down to the individual if they want a more natural or developed look.
@JasmineDragon,
Do agree with this, but not sure if the game allowed multiple islands that there would have had enough time for both me and my daughter to get to the stage where we are.
So we both have a Switch and a copy of the game, initially we both shared my island, which I liked to be honest.
@Tourtus,
The game was always going to sell more than New Leaf, as all the major first party Nintendo franchises sell better on the platform, the Switch just has a high software to console ratio.
Look at Breath of the wild and Mario odyssey, both massive sales improvements on all previous entries, and the bulk of those sales before any pandemic.
@SpaceboyScreams,
Well put, the game had to evolve in some way to expand it's sales, and like you said it's always been a big collectors game, and this has only increased with each release.
Funny thing is one of the complaints about this new game is there are many items missing, which contradicts what a lot of the complainers are suggesting, that it's just become a building and collecting simulation, so they are moaning items are missing that they have no desire to collect in the first place.
Also I wish they would stop suggesting the only reason this game has sold well was due to the pandemic, not that Nintendo have made a very desirable game for the wider Switch demographic, sure the pandemic has not hurt sales, but as I have said before there are many mainline Nintendo titles that are performing out of their skins on the Switch.
I'd disagree with the fact that the game is "history" just one year after release, but I like the description of how it helped people through COVID.
@VoidofLight,
Not sure what you mean by common consensus among fans, as I am pretty sure the people you are conversing with on the internet are a very small selection of the overall fan base, whatever the fan base in all reality means, for instance I am a massive fan of the series and love this new game.
And you have to be very careful of internet forums, as even if you scraped them all together and allowed for multiple accounts etc, I very much doubt you would have even much more than 600,000 people, so never going to be the most representative group of people, to suggest there is widespread discontent.
Another way to gauge it would be the user reviews on Metacritic, of which there are around 6000 individual ratings, it's on 5.5, but the biggest concern for these players seems to be the one island per console mechanic. Now even with this it's still only just under half of these core players that are having issues with the game.
The main issue with your point however is the term fan base is very wide, and how do you define a true fan of the series in the first place. Also the fact that people are also very vocal when they complain about things, and not normally the other way round.
So at the moment your general consensus, and not in a minority statement is anecdotal at best.
@NEStalgia,
Just because the media and gaming article bang on about it's pandemic curing properties does not mean that's the way the majority of gamers see it, just look at the negative way the media across the world has handled the pandemic, it's all been about fear and control.
This game has been a nice diversion from this reality to be sure, but the game has always been an escape from reality in the first place, so I feel going forward as long as Nintendo get whatever replaces the Switch to similar installed hardware numbers, then it's first party games will sell accordingly.
And I also wonder if people looking for bragging rights on social media is pretty much a very small minority of people, most normal gamers will simply like visiting peoples islands etc, of course with the dream address codes you can do this online in single player too.
Nintendo have encouraged people to decorate their islands as why else offer those tools, but this I feel is a rather big addition to an already robust if not limited life simulator, which when you look at it was always pretty limited in the previous games too, I just think people get their nostalgia goggles on too much when thinking about older titles, my sister has a 3DS and a copy of the game, and after a few comment sections on here I borrowed it off her, she does not play it now the new game is out, and to be honest found it a big step backwards, but of course it's all only personal opinions at the end of the day.
I guess I just do not see that much difference in the single player aspect of the game as with other titles in the series, or all that much more nuance or depth, there are things missing but not that much of an overall detraction from the overall experience. At it's heart the previous games have always focused on collecting things with the interactions between your villagers being pretty basic to be honest, this one is no different, apart from the fact there is new dialogue more often, mixed in with the par for the course repetition.
The multiplayer aspect and online/social media aspect is pretty much moving with the times, it's been a while since New Leaf was released in 2012 and a lot has changed, now this is a much more important set of features, however you could visit a friends island in New Leaf as I recall, but to suggest this is the only reason the game has sold well is a tough call, I have mainly played single player, but have also played much more online than any other game, best of both worlds I guess.
@KateGray Besides loving the game (obviously) I absolutely loved your article. Having studied history in college, having written and edited over the years, I can truly appreciate your style, content and execution.
Yes, gamers can argue the details of the game, but you rightly point out that this game will live in history beyond our community. Game and reality connected remarkably last year. Your article wonderfully described this.
Thank you for your writing!
Another game that is having a similar effect to Animal Crossing during the pandemic,even if to a lesser scale,is VRChat.
I don't find Animal Crossing very relaxing tbh It's stressful making sure I keep the weeds away and don't miss any event sales or anything.
I have never posted a comment on an article before, but I really felt the need to this time. I find it inappropriate and distasteful for you to write an article about a family-friendly video game starting with talk about one of the most devastating events in our most recent history and then not even include a trigger/content warning. Someone goes scrolling through and sees an article about a beloved game and starts reading only to be met with horrific memories. Please do better. If in doubt, use a warning.
That was... Oddly un-Kate Gray-like.
@Throwaway1 It was labeled soapbox. Also, are you for real right now?
@johnvboy ahh, but even you... You mentioned visiting other people's islands as part of single player. I don't visit anyone's islands. Ever. Never have. I don't care about other people's islands, I care about the virtual universe of my own village. And that's the part that's an empty void this time. The fact that visiting other islands is part of the core experience now, apparently, is I think a huge part of what some of us see as lacking. If you removed the dream element entirely, which is how most of us existing players play, what's left?
TBH you seem like one of the bigger exceptions to the rule: a core gamer that liked prior entries that also likes this one most. That isn't a combination I've seen often. To me this is a horrendously bare bones experience that would appeal mostly to mobile gamers and social fiends. I really would love to know more demographically accurately whom this game principally speaks appeals to. There's a lot of potential inside but zero of the potential is actually realized here.
@NEStalgia,
The online is part of the game, but it's not the whole part as some are suggesting, and if I had not interacted in that way I would have still played many hours in the more traditional sense of the game, certainly more than New Leaf, which I still enjoyed.
As for core fan exceptions, we don't really have enough data on the twelve million or so core Animal crossing fans that feel this game is just as enjoyable and played New Leaf, and out of the wider Switch demographic which are also more core orientated as well, so the whole fan base being upset is pure conjecture.
All we do really know is there are core players like yourself who do not like this game, now to be honest looking at the lack of evidence either way, you guys could be the exception.
@johnvboy maybe. That's why I'd like to see real data (that I know doesn't exist.). All we do know is the majority of players are new players. We don't know how much of them were driven by social hype it how dedicated any of them became to playing it. Of the repeat buyers we don't know how many of those were also the social hype benefactors last time.
All in all it still feels like a mobile game built on the corpse of the franchise, rebuilt for social media trends for the tastes of mobile gamers. Like I said the shell has tons of potential. It could have been something amazing. But that amazing just never materializes and it remains incredibly shallow. Lowest common denominator. Tons of charm. No substance. It's infuriating, really, knowing that such minimalism is so financially successful as it confirms there's no inventive for them to improve it. It's FIFA with taking animals, basically. Basic crafting in an empty wasteland with timer controlled drops and no real activities beyond crafting items to display. Maybe ac will have a botw moment that pokemon is getting with arceus. But I fear it won't as long as it sells so we'll while doing the minimum.
I'm glad that you like it so much, but I still can not fathom why...I keep trying to figure it out
.. But I just can't
If it's any consolation I still can't figure out why people love FFXIV mmo so much either. It feels like a 1990s mmo.
@NEStalgia,
It's tough with the Switch as it would have attracted casuals too, but I am not sure considering software rates of traditional games like Zelda and Mario that it's anything close to the situation on the Wii, which was pretty obvious the motion controls bought many non gamers to the console.
And what is the definition of a core gamer anyway, I tend to see it as a gamer that will devote more time, buy more games, and possibly own multiple consoles and perhaps a gaming P.C, now I can understand why these types may have issues, but in reality do not see all that much difference in any of the Animal crossing games at their core.
As for the rest is anybody less devoted if they spend lots of time devoted to one console and perhaps a handful of games, my sister pretty much bought a DS, 3DS and Switch for Animal crossing games, she is every clued up on the games and her knowledge often surprises me, as she has pretty much no gaming interest outside of these games, she totally loves te latest one and feels it's the best in the series.
And I know your views on the latest game, but I just do not see it as an empty mobile game, and I have played more than enough of it to have gotten bored if that was the case, and just like you I find any long term fan of the series reasons for not liking this game puzzling, I even borrowed my Sisters 3DS and New Leaf to see if it felt radically different, and in my view apart from the design element and obvious graphical upgrade, the games felt very similar, there are omissions but not game breaking, and who knows what more will be added over time.
@johnvboy I don't think there's too much question Switch brought in tons of casual and mobile players, even if we're only taking Japan into account where mobile gaming is everything, and mobile type casual games tend to be the best sellers... And that's a mega market for Switch. Sure traditional games still as well, but of you look at zelda and Mario compared to, say FE, Astral Chain, etc, were certainly not looking at a core audience the same way we were with even 3ds let alone xb (I'm hesitant to say PlayStation, given their focus on interactive movies and the gta dominance, they may have the most casual audience of all platforms currently.)
IDK, I know acnh works for you, and you clearly enjoyed acnl for different reasons than a lot of us did that happens to mesh with nh. To me everything in there is just so empty... Lots of placeholders that feel unused for anything real. It's a big doll house to play in, but it leans all the way into "create your own content", without having even the most basic tools Minecraft and the like have. I guess the best summary is prior ac provided you the experience. This one expects you to create the experience. It doesn't have much of an experience on its own to provide. Which is a massive shift in design and audience. I probably said this before, but the game gave me exactly what I asked for during NL. I wanted crafting and resource gathering, and outdoor decorating. Though I thought that meant around you yard, not the whole island that does nothing unless you do it. But the way they implemented everything is backwards and grindy. And it's all so static. I think upgrading the stores alone was a huge part of the sense of progression and dynamism in ml. Here..... After week 2, nothing changes on its own other than the weather. Ever. At all. You just move widgets from point a to b then back to a.
I really can't understand how it became so appealing..... And every explanation you ever hear, excepting you and a few others, is it's about social engagement during a pandemic for people with nothing to do. It FEELS like an online mobile game to me. If that's the future of nintendo's success in gaming, it's clearly meant for an audience that isn't me now. Which is a shame because all of that potential is there.... They just refuse to use it.
@NEStalgia,
I don't think you can take third party games sales into account , as let's be honest here, Nintendo systems tend to be pushed by Nintendo first party titles, and it's been that way for generations now, in fact most third party studios must think it's futile trying to compete with Nintendo's in house offerings, As for the the demographic of Switch owners, I would say there will be quite a mix.
And not sure why people keep mentioning Minecraft as it's a totally blank open ended canvas, whereas Animal crossing will always be limited by the smallish map you choose. Still it's quite a big change for the series.
And as I said before not sure what was so different in the older games, they were pretty basic sims with collecting and shop upgrades, which fair enough the shop upgrades are missing so far in this one, but still not seeing this as a pure online social game, no matter how many say they enjoy that aspect. Same with the decorating, as it feels like much more personal and you have far more control over the environment, the shops are just so limited even with the upgrades, you can pretty much create any type of store or landmark you desire.
As for people not understanding why something sells well, is that not par for the course on anything that they do not like personally, as you can't really appreciate a product from the eyes of one of it's fans.
@johnvboy certainly, though I was mostly mentioning first party/published games as examples. I mention minecraft because of the game is hanging it's hat on the building aspect of very incomplete in contrast to others in the genre. And if not... What *is*is selling?
Again, I think the big problem here is the town is static compared to previous games. Most everything was stripped out and replaced with basic gatcha grinding. The upgrades? Gone. The shopping district, the heart of the old towns? Gone, the stores consolidated. The characters striped to occasional plaza squatters. Mini games? Gone. Island? Gone. Isabel who in nl wandered into town, and had lots of conversation? Reduced to an interactive menu like an SMT shop keeper. Etc. Etc. Like I said, it's an empty sandbox with minimal tools. It isn't a shining example of excellent game systems, is an example of bare minimum but with charming, underused characters. There's no activities, just whatever moving around of objects you want to do. And grinding mmo style for crafting parts.
It's clear it sold well. It's clear social folks played it a lot during the pandemic. What we don't know is what what the play data shows is the average hours played by most of those players. I strongly doubt many are close to your number..... It's just baffling how you've managed to find out engaging for so many hours. Even if you really love the game I don't think I could spend close to that many in any game I've ever loved... Even mmos, even splatoon, before going insane.
@NEStalgia,
I think you would be surprised how many players have clocked in around 800 hours plus into this game, I have at least ten friends on my pretty modest Switch friend list, that all have the game and have played 800 hours plus, the pandemic is a huge
part of this, as I would have not been able to play the game as much, since March last year I have been at home for around eight months and counting.
Funny thing about all, it does not seem like I have put anywhere near that time into it, I played Zelda for around 305 hours and it felt like it, Animal crossing just seem like a nice unhurried experience, and I have always found things to do, even after I had decorated my island and house, and just like New Leaf I play for fifteen to twenty minutes a day now, so no matter what people say about New Leaf having more features, I still did not seem to spend anymore time on it.
As for hanging it's hat on a Minecraft type experience, I have to disagree with this, the game has never been touted as that, it's a simple set of building tools designed to work with in the framework of the map, and as such there are limitations, but overall it's exactly what I expected when Nintendo revealed the feature.
yo typing sux
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