Animal Crossing's Happy Home Paradise Update Will Be The Game's "First And Only Paid DLC"

I think it's really cool that they're folding a successor to Happy Home Designer into a mainline game, since I did enjoy a lot about that game. However, it doesn't look like they've made many changes in the transition aside from what New Horizons already offers and greater customization. The main thing I'd hope for is villagers actually reacting to the homes you create for them and their quality

Leaving money on the table while they support their lame mobile games for half a decade or longer.
@Pokester99
Yeah they love doing this illusion of support then just pulling the plug despite the market demand for more, what they did to Mario Maker 2 was so unfortunate there was so much they could have added especially in the level discovery department that they flat out refused to do then they killed support after tossing out a final update that added some great stuff but no way to find quality levels that actually use that stuff.

I know people were parsing the exact words used in the Direct, but this was how I took it — the last major update (free or otherwise).

They should have just saved this content for the next instalment (perhaps as a launch title for the Switch’s successor).

For the price, I would have preferred it as a (physical) standalone game that can transfer progress to New Horizons.

Either way, I won’t be buying this unless a complete physical release is issued. The fact that the DLC costs nearly half the price of the game itself while offering the sort of content that really should have been there to begin with is very bad form and is setting an awful precedent for the franchise.

Honestly? Its a kick in the pants to everyone who bought the game. It was unfinished at launch, received only small updates of MOSTLY previous features for the first few months, and then over a year later one big belch of an 'update' re-adding most of those cut features and going a bit further with some of those new features (FINALLY).

Yes yes there was some 'new' features like terraforming, crafting, and extended house customization. But beyond your initial first months, what else is there? Just grinding collectables?

While I expected Nintendo might go the way of PAID dlc, I did not expect it to be a 'one-off'. How long did Nintendo boast that this game would be supported after launch? How many players (new and old) bought this phenomenon of a game on their Switch?

Only one upgrade to nooks cranny, lackluster villager personalities (still), missing special NPCs, little-to-no 'minigames' to play with friends, and many quality of life features noticeably missing; what little Nintendo has done for this game is reprehensible. November 5th is saying "reason to come back!", but with the looming cloud extinguishing all hope of anything more.

Well with two pretty big updates and a year of support that’s a lot of content. Looking forward to playing this new stuff.

I wish they would never stop making DLC

@Mauzuri Nope. I know that AC:NH had a severe lack of content for a long time, but sometimes people just seem to complain for the sake of complaining. Case in point: the comment section on every single PS Plus article on PushSquare.

So no chance of the island minigames being added, even as paid DLC... sucks because that was one of my favorite parts of ACNL.

@Echostory @pokester99 unfinished? Let me guess, you have 50+ hours into the game, right?

Was Super Mario 2 unfinished because it did not have Super Mario 1 in the game?

@Ryu_Niiyama I agree with you. This game is massive and has a ton of content for people that like Animal Crossing. Nintendo isn’t known for live service games and I applaud them for that. I do not want a Nintendo that makes fortnite-style-content games. I do not want to pay for each suit Isabelle is able to wear or for an extra type of tree on my island. The game is more than fine as is.

The day Nintendo starts with live service games is that day the Nintendo as we know it dies.

Having owned and played the franchise from the Game cube and back then there were never any updates you just got what came on the disc, out of the box I've never been massively bothered about the updates. My only real gripe is we could have been given updates to the store. It's nice we've been given free updates but they had to stop coming at somepoint.

@NorseGamerTommy tbh, I disagree. Making constant new DLC delays the production of new games. Something you see with most "live service" games is that newer versions either come very late or don't add anything new. Generally Nintendo supports Switch games between 1 and 2 years with major updates and DLC. (I know there are exceptions) which gives them room to develop new games. And I am okay with that.

A lot of hate towards this DLC and coming from someone who’s been an AC fan since the GameCube (and played each instalment since), I can understand why. However, this update will keep us all busy for months and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m just sad it’s the only paid DLC, I was hoping we’d see another set or two of expansions, maybe even a season pass announcement. Either way, can’t wait for November 5th!

This game is legend! Can't wait for the paid dlc and to add another 800 hours into the game. Sure, the game isn't "perfect", but you gotta leave some room for improvement on the next installment

..tho to me this game is pretty pretty perfect <3 I swing my net at you haters.

I still enjoy my island as a place to relax when I have a stresfull day coming up. Happy to see the updates and to have the option of the DLC if I want to spend more time in the ACNH world.
I will try out the AC dlc through NSO (which I will painfully pay for because of the N64 games). I expect I will just play it a bit to see what it's about, but will enjoy the main large update with cooking more.

Was listening to NVC the other day and they said they were contacted by Nintendo correcting them that there may be more paid DLC and not to make assumptions. That’s my recollection anyway. Turns out IGN was correct so why did Nintendo do that?

Good lord, what a whiny, cynical lot some of you lot at the top of the thread are. I can't wait to give the expansion a go. Is AC:NH perfect? No. Is Nintendo the most business savvy company ever? No. But, I generally love the game and I more often than not love what Nintendo creates, even in spite of its occasional shortcomings. As proven above, though - you mileages clearly vary.

Why does Nintendo decide to not continue supporting the most played games on switch? Mario kart 8 and animal crossing should keep having updates.

Jeez, with this update and expansion ACNH will easily be the best Animal Crossing game out there. I've sunk hundreds of hours more into it than I have New Leaf. I honestly can't believe people are still whining, especially when most of these people would have spent at least 100 hrs and got their bells worth from it.

It's by far the most creative based game in the whole franchise. New Leaf is so limited compared to New Horizons. The amount of freedom you have to develop your island is seriously beyond amazing. I guess being from an arts background, I appreciate this a million times more than just going around ticking off a checklist of things to do.

@Friendly Great points! Thank you for stating them!

New Horizons is an experience. I still enjoy walking around for 15 minutes every day. Why? Because I created my island, and about once a month I get a new idea. With terraforming and crafting, i make that idea into "reality" The creativity in this game is great, the relaxation of this game is great. And i love K.K.'s music.

And now more content? I am ecstatic!

@TryToBeHopeful very well said that was my thought as well. People love to complain for the sake of it, because they constantly feel entitled to more but ACNH was the game that literally saved my lockdown months even in its unfinished state. I look forward to Friday. Either way NH is my favourite entry of the entire series

This is really a pity as the game can surely benefit from more DLCs, such as new islands, new fruits, new flowers, new collectibles, new mini-games etc. True, Animal Crossing is full of content as it is, but it seems to me that there is so much unused potential for more...

That said, this is very much in line with Nintendo's sad and unfortunate tradition of coming up with great ideas just to leave them miserably under-used (just to give two examples you can think of the non-existing economy of Play Coins from the 3DS era, and the writable ability of the Amiibo which is basically only used in SMSB...)

@Juga people always jump on the bandwagon when it comes to hating on Nintendo. I have a feeling that youtubers and the countless articles that also partake in the exaggeration doesn't help either.
I agree that they aren't perfect and had made some questionable decisions but I still love the games that they make.
An example being the NSO expansion: I feel like the price is more than okay and I've been enjoying the games on it a bunch. The so called input delays is such a non issue, I literally do not even notice that there is supposedly a delay.

Only Nintendo could put out a 30+ million selling game and only add one paid DLC and one major free update..... I play indie games from 4 or 5 years ago that are still supported with free content, seems like such an odd choice for Nintendo not to support the game for longer

@Friendly Come on the game was clearly unfinished when it was released, the art section of the museum and diving even released as updates. The game is not bad and now with the last update it will have almost all the features of the previous installment, but that still took a bunch of updates.
Also if the day that Nintendo starts with life service games is the day that Nintendo as we know it dies. What do you think about the current Nintendo? They already released a bunch of live service games on phones such as Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Fire Emblem Heroes and Mario Kart Tour

There is one thing I'd still like - a museum shop selling dinosaur-related items. It seems a shame to have the coffee shop on the left and nothing on the right.

@MajorTom why is a game unfinished if it doesn’t have all features of previous installments?

It had features previous installments didn’t have….

And sure. Phone games. I don’t mind them dumping that stuff over there.

@Friendly In general was every previous game of the Animal Crossing franchise only adding upon the main features of the games before it. They never removed the basic features like the art section of the museum which was in every game of the franchise since the N64 at its release. Same goes for upgrades of the Nook shop which was in every installment after Wild World and seems to not even return in New Horizons. Previous installments only ever removed some minor parts, but New Horizons removed so much of the basic features it even felt like a different series at some point.

Sad Nintendo, as they did with Mario Maker 2 they are killing the game too early. In AC Its worst though the "updates" where things estabilished on the other games of the series, only thing new is the customizable options for your island and crafting which is awghful. "Fake updates" is a new Nintendo term. It baffles me that the most supported franchise thia generation was splatoon 2 and maybe Super Smash two games that they are now trying to kill them in esports what a shame.

@MajorTom but you got terraforming in return. There’s always a shift in which features come and go and always has been since the N64/Gamecube.

@Mambitos you’re a top-notch game developer I assume? Getting earlier features to work in a new installment in a new game costs a lot of development time and money. You can’t simply build features upon features constantly unless you make a live service game which will run the same on each system you release. And as we know the 3ds isn’t close to a switch.

@TryToBeHopeful,

Totally agree.

And has the day to day grinding and usual things to do, as in previous entries, add to the fact the new island designing mechanic has the potential to sink more time into than in previous titles, proof of this is the amount of people who have sunk in 900 hours plus into the new game.

So the launch game was not void of content, it had different content that some did not like, there is a major difference there, and now Nintendo are adding some of the features from previous games and some new stuff as well, but of course the usual brigade are out in force stating these things should have already been there, and not to let Nintendo of the hook, etc etc.

@Nico85,

Pretty sure a huge majority have had loads of fun with this game, and will be looking forward to the upcoming updates, time for some to just move on and get over it.

@Friendly and you are a game developer to know how much it costs to implement features ? Maybe it is money maybe its skill dont assume things you also dont know.

This is cool dlc but to say this will be the last major bit is disappointing but also not surprising. This game was stripped of content from previous entries from the beginning and just now is receiving something to make it somewhat comparable. It still lacks some things. I’d like lemon and persimmon trees for one, but really this game has been way way too lax with the content.

@Arkay,

Core internet minorities and their concerns, while the rest just get on with it and enjoy the games, never surprised by how quickly this site likes to post the negative stuff though, but they know their audience on here.

Complain complain. That's all gamers do these days. You all wanted paid DLC updates and now you got one, but it's just going to be one, and now it's not enough. I don't get it. Sure, everyone would like more, but I'm shocked they're even still supporting this game at all. Animal Crossing has always been Nintendo's back pocket franchise.

Literally, two weeks ago everyone was excited to get this update and now everyone's crapping on Nintendo for it just being one? What? At least everyone gets a paid DLC that the series has NEVER gotten before? Right?

"First and only", doesn't that still leave room for more paid DLC in the future. Since right now, it is indeed the only paid DLC, doesn't mean it can't change in the future. Or am I just hoping against better judgment?

EDIT: I guess not, for some reason NL didn't include this part:
"Following that date, Nintendo says it will only be supporting the game with small changes."

@dugan,

This is the first game in the series that I feel I have to play a little at least each day, you feel a personal connection to the Island you have created, and made personal to you, and now we have even more stuff coming, not sure how I will find the time.

Which after consideration may be some peoples issue with all this, I have time to devote to video games, but not nearly as much as I used to, it's only because of the pandemic I have managed to sink in as much time into this title as I have, a lot of people on here are core hobby gamers and spend lots of time playing games normally, so for them if they do not see the island design as a useful feature, then they may run out of stuff to do sooner.

@Friendly There certainly are shifts in features that come and go, but there also are basic features which have been there since the beginning. The art section of the museum and diving were obviously planned to be in the game, but were not finished on release. Hence the game releasing unfinished. Many of these updates certainly weren't afterthoughts. All the seasonal holidays were also updates that released later down the line.
Same goes for other recent Nintendo games like the extra courses in that Mario golf game and the maps/weapons from Splatoon that released later on.
The recent Nintendo games seem to go a sort of half live service route with thought out updates for a year or two.

That is slightly disappointing but content wise after the update and dlc New Horizons will have the most stuff to do out of all the games as far as I know. Still, seeing as the game isn't even that old and it usually takes several years to make a new AC game I was expecting just a little more support considering how well it sold.

The sad part is the amount of people hurted and enraged by people expressing their complaints towards the second biggest game on Switch if they do it they are entitled which is just dictatorshiping what you should feel and express even though they also paid for the game. No stripping features away and then giving them as "updates" isnt fair because people expect the core features to pass to the next game not every single one of them but the majority must definitely pass on. And kyogoku said this when the game came out "We want to make sure that in two years or three years down the road, players will still continue to find new surprises in the game. So we hope to create an update that you can do that with.“

@Pokester99 "A live service game has continuous game updates with NEW content"
You know the other thing live service games have, right? Additional monetization schemes to keep the production of new content profitable.
With AC, we payed once for a full game and we got the full game, even if some of the content was added gradually. I'd rather have that than a "live service game" chock full of money-grubbing mechanics, thank you very much.

@johnvboy you make a good point. And I am glad you enjoy the game also. Along your thoughts: i wonder what the difference would be if Nintendo released all this DLC gradually over the past year and a half. Would reactions be different?

Regardless, i believe negative commenters are a minority, the majority enjoyed the game quietly.

I look forward to the update, but, like you, where will I find the time! 😊

No surprise here. Nintendo has never really done GaaS for any of their games regardless of their commercial success. Almost all of their games that receive post-game content get it in the form of a single paid DLC expansion (Smash Bros Ultimate is the big exception as it got 2 separate Fighter Passes).

In addition, the Animal Crossing team at Nintendo also develops Splatoon - the developers need to move on from New Horizons + Happy Home Paradise to work on Splatoon 3.

Never understood the complaints. I played the game for around 370h and had tons of fun. I'm looking forward to the new free and paid content and am damn satisfied with it.

So that means Resetti and Lyle will not return on ACNH.
Yay...! 😆
I don't even like those guys.
Do shut up for Yada yada quit without saving Resetti. Who the heck cares if I want to quit without saving by intentionally.
Do shut up for Yada yada Bang Boom Feng Shui Lyle. I don't like to hear long train running Blah Blah Blah about Feng Shui.
And for Dr. Shrunk.... His jokes are lame, get outta from Animal Crossing. 😝
But it also Copper will not return. 😔
I adore that police dog.

One thing I feel is horridly lacking is my fellow player villagers never walking around. I don't even have to talk to them or have any form of interaction, just seeing them walk around and interact with the surroundings would add so much to the game.

I hope they will consider it, but I am doubtful.

@Mambitos
Calm down. No one is stopping you from expressing your feelings. All some are doing is disagreeing with your opinions. That is not a dictatorship.

Perspective is important: It's a video game, not life and death.

@k8sMum Yeah and getting offended while trying to shame other people thats the difference and also talking about how entitled gamers are in this day and age I can agree with that but I dont discard valid criticisms based on my own personal feelings towards a game or a brand. I know its a videogame, I am chill about this but people cant seem to discern valid criticisms vs gamer entitlement. There are many Indie games that get years of support I am not asking for the exact same but it can be compared to them just.as an example.

@dugan,

That's my biggest concern, as 10-15 mins a day is perfect now I have my Island pretty much finished, guess I will make a little more time.

SO SAD I want MORE. MORE. MORE

Maybe I am spoiled but I want more DLC for this game.

New Horizons is a new game. People act like they should carry their progress from an old game to a new game and it's silly. Also- It takes place on an island. The whole story is starting anew on an empty island to live a simple vacation life. It would have made zero sense to include everything from New Leaf. I can't imagine the volume of whining that will happen when the next Smash doesn't launch with every fighter and stage from Ultimate.

@Mambitos,

I do not think it's people mind people not liking this game, but more the endless same complaints raised in each and every comment section, one serial complainer even said they were happy on the free DLC announcement article, then started moaning again on the next comment section.

You state people do not get your issues, which to be honest is only natural whichever side of the fence you are on, as if we personally like something it's hard to see the opposite point of view, and vice versa.

My main take when the DLC was announced that it may appease some of the people who are obviously big fans of the series, and bring them back to the franchise they had invested lots of time with in New Leaf, and other games in the series.

The shaming works both ways as well, as labeling people sheep or easily pleased, is also not very productive.

@LEGEND_MARIOID,

I would always like more stuff, but this update will be awesome.

Damn, talk about closing the door shut.

While the state of the game at release is another topic. I am fine with these being the last update and DLC. It seems like a very good final update and with all the updates combined it certainly is a full package. The additions of the final update were the ones I missed the most in New Horizons.

18 months of free releases is a nice length of time, but I think the pandemic caused delays that were not planned to the point we are just getting a massive dump at the end. As for the paid DLC, it's better than them trying to sell the game for $59.99 like they did with the previous version.

Everyone rates new leaf as a better game but has anyone tried going back to that game? New horizons included so many quality of life features and being able to put furniture outside is the single best feature of any AC game.

If you want longevity I suggest playing the game as it was intended, No time travelling!

@Friendly agreed - so many people expect Nintendo to follow the trends set up as everyone else in the industry does things - showing a complete misunderstanding of their entire history of business practices.

I mean, FFS, people truly thought a Switch PRO was going to come out with 4K.

@MajorTom I can imagine one might have the feeling that a feature is ‘missing’ if you enjoyed that feature in previous games. To me the release animal crossing was expansive enough.

Good to read you’re looking forward to this DLC. I hope you’ll enjoy it, I’ll hop into it probably as well .

@Mambitos I think you should research “dictatorship”

Seems some people just like to complain, complain, complain. Nintendo announces this is the only paid DLC for New Horizons, and they complain. If it were announced that this was the first of many paid DLCs, they would complain. If Nintendo announced that there would be no paid DLCs, they would complain about that as well.

I just dont' get it.

so much for that "three years of updates" Nintendo fake promised us

I've already spent LOTS of hours preparing my island (and completing my museum's fish and bug exhibits; the fossil one was done long ago and I still have a ways to go with art) as well as storing up Bells and Nook Miles. I admit that I'm disappointed that there will be no more content offered down the line for ACNH, but I plan to make the most out of this expansion and enjoy what's there.

I do believe that Nintendo grossly underestimated the demand not just for Animal Crossing (let alone in a year where people were locked down and needed exactly this kind of time-sink game to entertain themselves), but both the demand and expectations for continual additional content for it (whether everyone does it and whether Nintendo likes the practice or not, a LOT of folks time-travel in order to quickly fill out their towns in these games, myself included). Whether the lessons learned from ACNH might influence how they handle any future games in the series is hard to say (they're Nintendo; their actions often frankly don't make sense on multiple levels), but the success of ACNH pretty much makes said games a given.

We pre-ordered yesterday. My partner is really excited.

I'm excited for the updates, but with them both being the last free and paid updates, seems like Nook's Cranny will never be getting an upgrade. That's a bummer, I miss the three storey high emporium from New Leaf.

Nintendo really needs to consider increasing the lifespan of their games outside of evergreen qualities of the base games. Aside from MK8DX and maybe SSBU, there's a lot of games that die off quicker than a follow-up appears to succeed them.

@Friendly 925+ as of returning to get ready for the dlc. What's your hours on ACNH? I say 'Unfinished' as barring the short run up to the kk concert, there's not much beyond that but grinding for collectables. When you do that in less than a month, for a game that's designed to be enjoyed for AT LEAST a year, yes its 'unfinished'.

@Mountain_Man,

Some people just like to complain, they are determined not to like New Horizons no matter what, not all of them, but certainly a decent percentage.

Well then I can't wait for their next DLC that will be paid.

@Pokester99 What you feel should be in the game to begin with is only your thoughts, which aren't of concern to Nintendo. They put out the game and you knew what was in it. If they add things to it, they worked to get it done and want to profit off their work. There's nothing wrong with that.

@Anti-Matter I must say Ressetti is easily one of my most hated characters in the series so I share your feelings about him not returning.

Nintendo has been running a profitable business for decades, so it cracks me up when people say things like, "If Nintendo really wanted to be successful then they would do this!" and they rattle off whatever their current pet peeve happens to be.

Regardless of how you interpreted the wording, this seems like a good way to wrap up ACNH

@Mountain_Man Agreed. They make mistakes, but they give us so many good things, and i see a lot of ungratefulness

While I may have a few bones to pick, I'm still pretty satisfied with the offered DLC. I'm excited to play it.

@Echostory 925+ hours into a game for 60 bucks and yet you still say it’s unfinished.

I think you got your money’s worth and then some.

If you worded it differently… such as ‘it is such an amazing game and therefore I’d like them to expand upon it.’ But no, you have to go the complaining route ‘it’s unfinished. I’m missing features that nintendo has to implement before i’m satisfied.’

There are too many spoiled complainers nowadays.

@TryToBeHopeful exactly .

@mountain_man lol, indeed

So excited! I've never played happy home designer, but I'm excited to try my hand on this new dlc. With how easy it is to customize in ACNH, it looks so fun and cute!

While their schedule to rolling updates was pitiful, I do like their approach to paid dlc. Just like splatoon 2 the paid dlc is its whole side game, and beating it unlocks features for the main game. That feels much more rewarding as dlc rather than buying it, and getting all the new stuff right then and there

@Friendly its moreso the game feels uncompleted next to the 3ds game. New leaf didn't rely on updates and already felt like a complete game at launch, building on the series. New Horizons feels like a reboot that cut a ton of past content, monthly updates were lackluster, and was literally completed 18 months after launch. It's a bad approach for any game, and thinking there shouldn't be any critism is just being dismissive

Honestly I wouldn’t mind another DLC. If they come up with something as good as this looks a second time I’d happily buy again.

@boxyguy you can have critisism, sure. but saying something is incomplete when in total it has more features at launch than the previous game ánd gets free updates on top of that is in my opinion just bad argumentation.

Just say that the game is so good you would like to see even more content. I'd agree to that.

I just preordered the dlc. I am waiting for the expansion to get better. I hope they add Gamecube, Gameboy, DS, Virutal Boy, and Wii/Wii U to it. That would be a treat in itself!

@Friendly "but saying something is incomplete when in total it has more features at launch than the previous game"
While this is correct for the game after all the updates, but saying that it has more features at launch is just misinformation. The holiday events were even released in New Horizons as updates. If you consider an Animal Crossing game without holidays complete, I am not sure if you ever played a game from the series.

@MajorTom the holiday updates came right at the moment they would have been active for the first time. So you missed nothing.

I think they did make them staggered releases on purpose so people would not be able to spoil and gather the content with time traveling.

And extra moments of glory on youtube, news channels and social media of course.

@Friendly Yes you certainly are correct about the staggered releases being intentional, but that seems to be a big part of New Horizons.
New Horizons seems to be build upon releasing features while time passes. The art section of the museum was datamined far before it released, same goes for the Roost and gyroids. The halloween update of last year introduced farming of pumpkins. This likely was a set up for the update that will release next week with the cooking and farming of other crops.
This itself is what people are complaining about. The game was set-up as being complete after all the updates and withholding features which were not in the game at the release. Therefore are people saying that the game released unfinished. It was meant to be that way.

@MajorTom you're forgetting about a couple of things.

• Seasonal stuff: intentional to be released at a specific time / event and therefore not a problem whatsoever. And all holidays received their update at the correct time. No holiday was missed except maybe if you time travelled (did you?).
• It's a thing which is being done in almost each and every game just to increase the longevity. Was Breath of the Wild a bad game because it had dlc coming right out of the gate? Mario Odyssey with its free update? Splatoon 2? Luigi's Mansion? Arms? Mario + Rabbids? Super Smash Bros Ultimate? Fire Emblem Three Houses?
• Remember. These were free updates.
• Covid which impacted the development cycle. Also, people were not supposed to sit with ample time for months after months. Most usually do not have that luxury (or that unfortunate burden for that matter).
• And the game being massive as is already.

So I do not see it at all as a problem. And 99% of the players don't either. It's just that the internet minority is unforgiving and insatiable these days.

Alas, I'll go back to my island somewhere next december, when I have time off of work again. Got to up the 40 hours I'm into the game. And I loved every hour of it together with my wife. I'm already more than satisfied with what I've played (mainly due to the ability to completely reform my own island, which is just very cool addition to the series) and yes, I've played most other AC before this one.
I'll let the internet complain on its own time.

@Friendly I am not sure what you are getting at right now. Now you are just giving reasons why the game was not complete at launch? You yourself said "but saying something is incomplete when in total it has more features at launch than the previous game"
You are contradicting yourself right now. You were first saying the game was complete at launch but now give reasons why the game was not complete at launch?

@MajorTom

I don’t think I said it was ‘complete’ at launch. And I probably should have worded that sentence differently that you’re quoting. Any update to any game after launch renders a game ‘incomplete’ at launch. Reading back your comments I think that’s where you misinterpreted me.

I completely disagree that the game felt ‘unfinished’ at launch. And I disagree that all features from previous games should be in this game. And I disagree that holiday stuff should be in the game at launch (because why would you need Christmas stuff in the game in April) and I disagree you’re able to feel like you’ve missed any holiday stuff since those were all released right before you needed them.
And I therefore disagree most of the grounds on which people are complaining about the game.

I don't understand why people are getting so defensive of this game. I absolutely adore this game. I'm also capable of seeing its faults. I think a lot of the people who are upset over people's complaints haven't played past Animal Crossing games, or only played New Leaf maybe, or are just trying to blindly defend a series they care about. As someone who owns every single amiibo card and spends far far too much time on this game, I can still acknowledge that it stripped away so many of the important features from past installments, and it's still missing over 20 of the special NPCs. Yes, over 20 if my amiibo cards or anything to go by. And that's after the update.

This isn't about games having different content. If you've played the past games, you know that this content is standard for the series. Every feature people are complaining about has been in every single game since the features were introduced. Every feature people complain about being missing. Keep that in perspective.

@Friendly This post gave me more clarification and I now understand your point. I can agree to a certain extend. I myself am content with the game while it felt lacking at certain points in time. The previous games of the series felt more like complete packages when they release to me while New Horizons was more reliant on updates.
I guess it is best to agree to disagree on this subject. Have a good day/night.

I have the feeling that some people would have been deliriously happy if instead of New Horizons, we had gotten New Leaf HD.

F**k this is sad. What a waste of potential. Iwata would have wanted more.

@Mountain_Man
Yeah, there is no situation in which everyone would be completely satisfied with anything Nintendo does here:
> Happy Home Paradise is the one and only paid DLC => "Why isn't Nintendo supporting this game with more paid DLC?"
> Happy Home Paradise is one of many paid DLCs => "Why is Nintendo ripping us off by charging money for so much paid DLC?"

@MajorTom agreed! And have a good day yourself

A lot of people seem to want Animal Crossing to turn into Fortnite and have Nintendo aggressively monetize everything like The Sims just so you can get more than hundreds of hours of playtime that's available in the base game even without the updates. I'm glad you guys don't work at Nintendo. Glad it's finished, that they did what they wanted, and now they can move onto another project.

@Specters I'm like 100% sure thats the last thing people want.

Wow at the comments section. A lot of you are whiny Nintendo defendists… (if that isn’t you don’t get triggered or offended) people are allowed a different opinion. You are happy that’s great but don’t tell people that try and offer critique and tell us what they like/would have wanted are whiny…. It’s you that come on these threads sounding moany and whiny…. “I’m glad they held content back for the next game” hahahahaha. That’s the most fanboy thing I’ve ever read.

So basically exactly what was done with Animal Crossing New Leaf. A free “Welcome Amiibo” update (Version 2.0) with Happy Home Designer as a side game (Happy Home Paradise in this case). Nothing out there or shocking really.

@Stocksy it’s not fanboy, it’s mature. That would be like saying “boy I wish they’d not held ideas back from Back to the Future to make a trilogy!”. The strength of future games is just as important as the current one. Otherwise people will then whine about future installments being too similar. Otherwise there’d never be a sequel to anything, ever.

@westman98 exactly, the internet and social media basically means no one can ever win in these situations. It’s never good enough now. It won’t stop the mainstream causal audience from enjoying it however. Which is the larger demographic anyway.

very sad. The Game has come to end.

@Mountain_Man,

Then some would have complained about Nintendo being lazy, and just releasing the same game with better graphics.

@iZen,

Well at least wait until the update, until you perform the last rites.

@Bentendo1609 it’s nothing like that. People are rightly pointing out stuff missing or stuff they’d like and people are saying they hope they hold it back for a launch title on the switch successor! That’s bonkers. Again it’s not mature to not listen to others want or think and say “your immature because you don’t want what I want” the irony of that statement is massive.

Nintendo need to be challenged - it’s healthy for consumers to challenge companies to be better. It’s not healthy to accept whatever they do. They will gradually take more and more liberties. We have seen it with Mario Party and Switch online…. The more we accept the more they will take liberties. Constructively asking for different or more is healthy.

All businesses need a bit of that. It’s healthy and natural.

I haven't seen anyone, fans, reporters, or Nintendo themselves specify or question how multiplayer on one system might work (if at all).

Only thing close is a blurb in the fine print on the official game page that says "Additional games, systems and/or accessories may be required for multiplayer mode; sold separately."

I'm really hoping each player on our original acnh island gets the option to manage our own unique "paradise" rather than having only one school, hospital, whatever to divvy up among us all....

@Juga I agree 100%

I will always believe that the "it was there in the previous game, it wasn't in this game at launch so this game wasn't finished" discourse is wrong, from my pov, the game lacked a serious number of interactions between the player and the png, and even png to png; as well as different event in the island, that would have made the game still great in the long terms.
But Nintendo prefered to listen to the people, and reintroduced a lot of features present in the previous games. Just adding temporary features to a game that needs things that will keep the player in the long terms is bad in a game design way for that game; because people will only consume it fast and then go to another game, which doesn't go along with the philosophy of the game.

This is poorly written but hey.

@PikaPhantom Everything is so similar, I'd just call it happy home designer HD, it's basically the same stuff, but on an island and more widely available

@Snatcher I agree I don't think anyone wants that BUT that is what they are actually saying they want. Reread what people are saying.
"Wasted potential" and "needs more support" means more DLC. We know they are done with free major updates so that means they want more paid DLC. They could have cut this paid DLC in to 4 pieces and that would have been the amount you get with The Sims DLC. They could have made every major free update a paid DLC and had more value added than most games DLC.
"It should be a live service" that is Fortnite, do we need a battle pass for Animal Crossing to keep up constant content? And honestly maybe they don't know that Nintendo does actually already have one of these it's the mobile game. I can remember a huge uproar when they added in loot boxes in that but seems like people here want more content so they can be sold to them.
Almost all the first posters said that everything should have been free and already in the game at launch. Again despite hundreds of hours available with the launch content that clearly wasn't enough according to some people here. The free major updates...not enough. The paid DLC not enough. Nothing will be enough.

@Stocksy
i do feel like as long as people aren't being rude or harassing others then its definitely fine to express disappointment in something.

In the same way its fine for people to enjoy something others find fault with as long as they don't dismiss others opinions as "whining" or the like.

It feels like the general nature of internet discussion tends to generalize what is often many different takes on a subject (i think the technical term is a "false dichotomy")

@Silly_G
I think everything that was in the games predecessor (new leaf) should be in the base game updates (unpaid) and then anything significantly beyond that or from spin off titles is fair as a paid add-on

E.g. new leaf had significant mini games you played after travelling on the boat with Kapp'n or whatever his name is - if Horizons is only getting him dropping you off at passive islands with new plants that's pretty lame. Coffee shop was in the 3DS mainline game as well.

Happy home designer being incorporated into the game is pretty cool. I do hate stuff that requires you to fly somewhere (i.e. it's not integrated into the main play region) so I'll see how that goes