Animal Crossing: Lets Go to the City

[MadDog]

I'm not talking about recent ones i was just using it as a example

[ssj]

theyve basically done a perfect balance to what was good in both of the other versions and added a few extra bits

[ShadowV7]

Yeah but, DS,Cube and Wii versions are incredibly alike, the previews WoWs which you used as an example areb't near identical. There was huge potential for AC, but it's like the same thing aside the shops are moved to the city.

[Fruitgun]

Hey c'maaann they've only just announced the game :P

Give 'em a chance to show us the REST of the game before saying they've hardly added anything!

I STILL haven't payed off the house in AC:WW, in fact I've played it for about a year (I've had it since release :P but I haven't been playing every day!) and I'm still probably on the 3rd house, but I'm still playing it now and then, and when me + the fam head to Spain it'll be AC and FF:TA2

I expect to be playing this as much too

[killthenet]

I think it looks great.

 

You can't complain about the graphics, there was no way they could update to hi-res, detailed stuff, the blocky cute look is entirely part of Animal Crossing's charm.

 

We know nothing about the control scheme yet but it is bound to be innovative and intuitive. The Wii Speak system will allow for a greater sense of interaction when playing online and is a fantastic update of the antiquated touch typing of Wild World.

 

Finally, I think the city area may function as a kind of general online hub and the area looks to be quite big, not just one square. Also, if you look in the back of the screenshots it appears to show a cinema-esque building.

 

I'm really looking forward to it.

[ShadowV7]

The hands on previews have already said it's buttons for each action. Hopefully changed later on aswell as more details that makes the game different.

[Zelda_Rulez]

Stop being so contrary

 

It's obvious this game is the same game they've released twice already.

 

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/890/890136p1.html

 

It does sound extremely similar to the GameCube version, not even motion controls are in the game. No graphical improvement that I can notice is a bit dissapointing as well.

[DiemetriX]

Having played the previous Animal Crossing games a lot I can proudly say that I'm really looking forward for this one

 

Animal Crossing makes the time fly by and I always find something fun to do.

And with added online support I can finally put the pitfalls to good use

 

Pimping my house and designing clothes never get old.

[LukeLee]

We know nothing about the control scheme yet but it is bound to be innovative and intuitive.

 

Finally, I think the city area may function as a kind of general online hub and the area looks to be quite big, not just one square. Also, if you look in the back of the screenshots it appears to show a cinema-esque building.

 

 

Read the IGN hands on

[killthenet]

Ahh, shit. I EAT MY WORDS!!

 

I'm not disappointed by the lack of motion controls, but I assumed a bigger town was a must. From some of the character art and screens it looks like there will be more detailed holidays though, which should make things more interesting.

 

I hope they've ramped up the AI of the towns people though. Would be nice to have more than 10 reactions, and for hatred to be longlasting after a day spent whacking heads with nets.

[Tales]

I'm looking forward to this. I don't mind if it looks the same. I rather start over in a new game with an added feature here and there than deleting my hard earned town and play the same game again. Could never play online properly with the DS either so I never had the oppurtinity to visit other towns and trade items like everyone else.

 

So for all I care it could be a straight port of Wild World.

[darksnowman]

I'm with dazzybee on this- though I won't sound as extreme! :p I got Wild World when it came out and loved it. I poured so much time and effort into it and it was really, really good... one of my favourite DS games for sure. This new one looks ok, not amazing, but ok graphically. However the main thing for me is, I just don't feel like I can be bothered doing it all again! Obviously, I'll be keeping an eye on it to see what new features there are and how the city part will be used... but at the moment, I just don't feel like I can do it all again.

[Emasher]

Maybe they'll let you import your town from a GC memory card or the DS game. Thought that isn't likely. But you never know. The DS couldn't connect to the GCN maybe since the DS and Wii can connect they'll put the feature in.

[ShadowV7]

Pretty much how I feel just. I can't be bothered going through it again as muc as I like Animal Crossing. Took so long doing everything and so much effort I just don't feel like doing the same stuff again. I hope there's more, I really do and I want to get it, but there's nothing that justifies it so far. I hope there's much more to the city and online to try and make it more fresh along with more online features to make it better like the AH and voice chat. But as it stands, i'll maybe pick it up if I see it cheap, or get it on a whim on launch day, but only if there are no games around that time for VC, an dI think there will be since they're selling it seperatly.

[Emasher]

It looks like there is actually alot more in the city:

[flameboy]

Right I have long derided Nintendo for not evolving their biggest series enough and for interating in the smallest way possible. Thats why I havn't bought a Pokemon since Blue! Just feel like they havn't offered enough since then.

 

But with Animal Crossing I have not quite got that franchise fatigue. The DS versions online just about offered enough for me. This time around, despite my worries about the Wii Speak system acutally working well (wonder if an usb mic/headset will actually work?) I think this series has been crying out for voice chat, its a social game and really needs it and now we have it.

 

The City dynamic just about offers enough for me as well...I think the City though does unfortunatly really lend itself very well to microtransactions and DLC...hopefully if they do go this way they will still offer plenty of free content. I do love the idea of it and love the way it looks...on looks I think the graphics look cleaner and crisper than before.

 

One tiny problem I have at the moment you control by pointing to the screen where you want to go...I would hope they provide the option of nunchuk movement so I don't have to sit the whole time pointing at the screen, lazy I know but meh.

 

Finally please Nintendo get your translating hats on. I think we will have to wait till March which leaves us without a premier 1st party title over xmas in my eyes. But I think the precedent has been set with Wild World;

 

It was first released in Japan on November 23, 2005, then North America on December 5, 2005, Australia on December 8, 2005, Europe on March 31, 2006

[ShadowV7]

With very little killer aps, Nintendo would be stupid to miss out on the Christmas rush.

[Flaight]

One tiny problem I have at the moment you control by pointing to the screen where you want to go...I would hope they provide the option of nunchuk movement so I don't have to sit the whole time pointing at the screen, lazy I know but meh.

No, you're right. I was thinking the same, but seeing the likes of Mario Kart and SSB I think Nintendo will see enough sense in adding different options to controls.

 

Overall I'm looking forward to this. To an extent I too have a slight AC fatigue because of the amount of time I spent in each, but I know the fatigue will go with new additions. It was like that with DS version as well.

 

I just hope there will be a lot (or a bit) more things to do. Not that I was dissatisfied with previous installations, but one joy of AC is doing some mind numbing things alone for no reason, the more stuff to do the merrier

[flameboy]

No, you're right. I was thinking the same, but seeing the likes of Mario Kart and SSB I think Nintendo will see enough sense in adding different options to controls.

 

Overall I'm looking forward to this. To an extent I too have a slight AC fatigue because of the amount of time I spent in each, but I know the fatigue will go with new additions. It was like that with DS version as well.

 

I just hope there will be a lot (or a bit) more things to do. Not that I was dissatisfied with previous installations, but one joy of AC is doing some mind numbing things alone for no reason, the more stuff to do the merrier

 

That is the important thing, in the other games it wasn't long before you had done everything you could do from a jobs point of view for that day.

[Flaight]

Not to go off at tangent, but I had this thing floating in my mind for years, where you dig up a rock or cut branches and literally construct a building inch by inch like an exile might do on a lonely island. lol. Man that'll be so tedious. But I think I'll finish it eventually. After 2 years, maybe AC is a crazy game in concept, when you think about it, because things we've been doing is pretty close to that. How so mind numbing.

[RedShell]

I think this is looking very good, ok so it appears to be essentially the same game as the N64/GCN & DS versions in both content and visuals, but I think that the new features (especially Wii Speak) will really increase the enjoyability and longevity (if that's even possible!) of this title.

 

It's like how the first AC game was just crying out for online play, (remember the memory card swapping thing to visit other towns? ) which of course Nintendo then fixed with Wild World. And Wild World was just crying out for voice chat, (the speech bubble thing was really limiting) and now we'll be getting it for City Folk, so with every new version of the game Nintendo have always addressed the biggest issues of the previous one, whilst still maintaining the feel of the franchise.

 

I must admit though, I would have preferred more than 4 players in a town (especially as we got 12 player online with Mario Kart Wii, a much more intensive game) but at least you can have every one inside the buildings now it seems, unlike on the DS game. Would be cool if this utilizes the Wii-DS connectivity too (like the GCN-GBA link up) for making patterns, town tunes, writing letters etc... on the go. Wasn't there talk of a writeable DS or GBA cart coming out? It'd be perfect for that, or I suppose you could just sleep mode your DS until you upload stuff.

 

Anyway, will be looking forward to more info on this game, most importantly that of release dates. I'm going to be insanely optimistic here and say that I think it will see an almost simultaneous worldwide release. Crazy I know, but I think the fact that Wild World sold so well here in Europe, (outselling the US version) coupled with the current state of our holiday line-up make it a possibility.

Let's hope so at least.

[Tellyn]

Some really awesome stuff from IGN.

 

IGN: Can you give us an idea of the connectivity between the Wii and DS versions of the game? We saw that option right next to character select during our demo.

 

Eguchi: Addressing the connectivity between the DS and the Wii, if you have Animal Crossing on DS, we're assuming you spent lots of time with that character and might be attached to him – his name, outfits, look – so you'll be able to load that character into the Wii version and use that same character as you did in the DS game. Another thing we can do is use the DS as a means to help people who maybe don't have Wi-Fi. We've talked about Wi-Fi and how neat it is to travel from town to town and interact with friends, but if you don't have an internet connection you can take your character data and send it to your DS, bring your DS to a friend's house, and upload your character to play around in his town and interact in the same way you would if you had a direct connection t them in Wi-Fi. The third thing we've done is add the ability to download new content as they become available online – which will help expand the universe with new furniture and things like that. Now if you don't have Wi-Fi, you can take your DS to – at this point it's still being determined exactly how – but an out of house destination where you can download the new content, and then bring it back to your home town and upload it. That way everyone can stay connected to the Animal Crossing world.

 

IGN: Just to clarify on the DS to Wii connectivity and the "friend' s house" idea you mentioned. Could players bring their DS over and play their character on their DS while their friend is on WIi playing with his in the same town, or do you upload the character and run around solo in their town?

 

Eguchi: Yes, let me clarify that. When you take your character data over via the DS, you're not using the DS to do any of the controlling. You can use that mode to explore the other player's town independently, but you can't play at the same time. To do that, you'll need to connect via Wi-Fi and run around with one, or two, or three of your friends as we showed earlier.

 

IGN: We're curious about a few of the other "Wii tricks" out there. You can send screenshots to email or cell phones or other Wii users as we heard. Have you considered working with an independent Animal Crossing channel, or interacting with other Wii components such as the Wii Weather Channel and having whatever region you place your town be affected by real-world weather?

 

Eguchi: In relation to Animal Crossing and Wii channels, we have no plan to make a specific Animal Crossing Channel, no. As far as your idea on the weather channel and linking it to your own town, it was something we thought about, but upon looking at it we came to the conclusion that Animal Crossing is its own world. Let's say your location of the world was a place where there was rain all the time; then your Animal Crossing town would always have rain too, and one of the things about this game is that seasons change and activities change with it, so we didn't think that it would add a positive element to the Animal Crossing world if it was limited like that.

 

IGN: Aww. We were looking forward to setting up in Seattle where it rains all the time so we could catch legendary fish 24/7…

 

Eguchi: Haha.

 

IGN: We wanted to touch on Wii Connect 24. The first time we got word of the service we instantly thought about Animal Crossing. Is this game always connected, so your friends are always shown online when you're playing the single player mode? Also, will downloadable content auto-update into the game then, or is it a pay-to-play feature?

 

Eguchi: Wii Connect 24 of course is something that operates with the WIi being always on, and always connected, so the way that we've implemented that into the title is the city area of the game. That's a common ground for anyone that connects their games together with friend codes. If you're connected with friends in that way the auction house and other areas are updated with WIi Connect 24 automatically, so when you leave I could come in and see what you've done in the area and get updates about your game in that way. And yes, it's all done automatically.

 

What we're considering with the downloadable content is that it will be an automatic, free service. It will not be pay to play.

 

IGN: And finally, when can we expect the game, and do you have any final message about it to fans.

 

Eguchi: Well I can't give any specifics, but it will be releasing this holiday season, and we hope that everyone will enjoy it, and that the game will be a great holiday present for everyone.

 

 

'a great holiday present for everyone'

 

Even Europe?

[ShadowV7]

Sounds good and got me into the game a bit more. Liking the sound if interactivity and the downloadble stuff since I missed out on it in the DS mode cause I could never get anything from the Download Stations.

[Ashley]

Some really awesome stuff from IGN.

 

 

 

'a great holiday present for everyone'

 

Even Europe?

 

How many times do I have to tell you. Europe doesn't exist when it comes to "everyone" or similar (eg "everywhere") :P

[Miharu]

I'm disappointed that it's so completely similar to the previous games. I have both GC and DS versions but I never got really into them. To me collecting items, listening to same conversations from neighbours every day and plucking weeds out of the ground seems more like a chore (especially since it's in real time so weeds grow fast if you don't play) than my idea of having fun. I wish this game will be a bit different but that probably won't happen.

 

Oh but I do appreciate Nintendo finally making a microphone for the Wii. Now, it will 100% certainly only work with friend codes but at least it's something.