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Is Animal Crossing New Horizons dead?
- Thread starter Everywhere
- Start date
It got a bunch of fairly sizable event/content updates during an utterly hellish year for Japanese game developers, and they've said there's more coming. They've done pretty well, all things considered, even if it does seem like their momentum's slowing down recently.
Still, it's hard to count Animal Crossing of all things out. Hell, New Leaf randomly got an expansion-sized update some four years after the fact. And given that New Horizons is the second-best-selling Switch game, it's hard to imagine Nintendo just packing up and leaving it for good.
Still, it's hard to count Animal Crossing of all things out. Hell, New Leaf randomly got an expansion-sized update some four years after the fact. And given that New Horizons is the second-best-selling Switch game, it's hard to imagine Nintendo just packing up and leaving it for good.
We'll get something at some point, but for the moment it can be considered dormant.
There are no officially announced updates coming, just a vague mention they're working on it. There are datamines that have hints of what's to come (cafe, gyroids, etc). I think this is the first time they've gone this long without news.
Question is, will they give us a nice big free update like New Leaf got, or try to sell an expansion in the future? I don't want to imagine the internet reaction if they try to sell the cafe...
There are no officially announced updates coming, just a vague mention they're working on it. There are datamines that have hints of what's to come (cafe, gyroids, etc). I think this is the first time they've gone this long without news.
Question is, will they give us a nice big free update like New Leaf got, or try to sell an expansion in the future? I don't want to imagine the internet reaction if they try to sell the cafe...
I know there's definitely going to be more, hopefully notable updates soon enough, but by mid-Summer of 2020, I was already falling off hard with New Horizons. I played consistently from launch for a little like... 3 months?? Which is the fastest I've ever fallen off an Animal Crossing game. Unfortunately, I've gotten to the point of realizing that outside of collection and customization, none of the depth of social interactions have survived up to this point in the series. It was the feature that kept me playing the most between the first 2 games, but it's honestly just completely gone now. None of your little guys ever have anything interesting to do or say to you. They've literally become mannequins for players to dress and create personalities for. It almost feels like they're only still around as a holdover from when the series was primarily about your animal neighbors and not personalization.
So yeah, after collecting the bulk of the furniture I wanted, and realizing that going deep in on terraforming wasn't keeping me engaged, I just dipped.
Really this is more of a 'this series isn't for me anymore, and it's time to move on' situation more than anything, lmao, but I'm sure more content will come. Game's way too huge to not see some meaty updates.
So yeah, after collecting the bulk of the furniture I wanted, and realizing that going deep in on terraforming wasn't keeping me engaged, I just dipped.
Really this is more of a 'this series isn't for me anymore, and it's time to move on' situation more than anything, lmao, but I'm sure more content will come. Game's way too huge to not see some meaty updates.
As far as post launch content it is for the moment. I still log in every few days because I'm committed to making this my first Animal Crossing where I finish the museum... At least the bugs, fish, and fossils. I don't think I'll complete the art...
I do think Nintendo will return with a meaningful update at some point. Not just a handful of new clothes and a flower basket. But like everybody said covid.
I do think Nintendo will return with a meaningful update at some point. Not just a handful of new clothes and a flower basket. But like everybody said covid.
Of course not. However, it will never reach the amount of hype and community it had during its first two months because it's impossible to do so, no matter what the game has or not. As long as people keep believing the game has less items or such than past games (which is false) and all other things people like to say, the game will have a "bad reputation" among some groups, but there is still a great/fair amount of activity.
This year so far, the game has received 194 new items, QoL updates such as custom design slots and a "fix" for the dialogue of the residents, the repeating yearly events with a tiny fresh coat of paint and some other things. I'm not expecting the "big 2.0 update" people keep hyping themselves up for, however, new seasonal items and new things for the remaining events are pretty much guaranteed, so I can't complain. Anything new they add is just a plus. If there's indeed a big update, it is probably gonna be paid DLC, so expect the usual loud people to rage.
This year so far, the game has received 194 new items, QoL updates such as custom design slots and a "fix" for the dialogue of the residents, the repeating yearly events with a tiny fresh coat of paint and some other things. I'm not expecting the "big 2.0 update" people keep hyping themselves up for, however, new seasonal items and new things for the remaining events are pretty much guaranteed, so I can't complain. Anything new they add is just a plus. If there's indeed a big update, it is probably gonna be paid DLC, so expect the usual loud people to rage.
New Leaf got a big ol' expansion YEARS after its release. This game is like 3 times as successful. Its inevitable more is to come.
I'm out of the loop on New Horizons at the moment; what did they do to the dialogue?
I finally stopped logging in for a least a few minutes daily a few weeks ago when Redd had no art for my museum for a 3rd straight visit, lol.
I loved the game, put a ton of time in, and will hop back in if any cool events or updates come along. Honestly, grateful for the game, it helped provide some sanity last year when times were rough.
I loved the game, put a ton of time in, and will hop back in if any cool events or updates come along. Honestly, grateful for the game, it helped provide some sanity last year when times were rough.
I hope not. The game deserves more love and content.
But who knows...look how they treated mario kart 8. Another great seller.
But who knows...look how they treated mario kart 8. Another great seller.
Nobody's saying you're not allowed to enjoy the game as it was, but as someone who played this game extensively through quarantine and has a great appreciation for it, to me personally, something felt missing in the spirit of this one. AC has always been there for me to fall back on hard times, and I don't think its unfair for me or anyone else to feel that the dialogue and interactions were a bit distant this time around. Purely a thought, not a condemnation of this game as a whole. Again, I'm glad you found great enjoyment in this game, that's absolutely a good thing and I wish I felt the same, but I don't think me or anyone else are trying to be mean spirited with any critique being put out. Honestly, I think its a testament to how beloved New Horizons was that people want to see more from it.
Dammit. These two posts perfectly describe why I think this series lost me. While I totally get the natural evolution of the games going in a direction that favors players' freedom of expression without limitation, the original core concept of Animal Crossing as a life simulator, where the player was made to learn to live in a randomized town filled with random animals without their choosing, where even the "ugliest" of the bunch could turn into one of their favorites purely through interaction, can't coexist with these new ideas at all.
You can't have the old systems of your favorite animal randomly deciding to pack up and move out, and only being able to convince them to stay if your hidden friendship level was high enough (a Wild World mechanic), when players are spending hours island hopping just to get one they like. These two forms of purpose and role villagers have had in the series just can't be in the same game (without some kind of weird option toggle, but come on, they'd never do this, lmfao).
But really, it's just so weird. After what New Leaf tried, of course the devs would try and find more ways of letting players customize their towns as they like. So it makes sense that social interaction as a feature has ultimately ended up kind of nothing at this point. But man... it kind of makes me wish we could just get an Animal Crossing GC/Wild World remake to throw a bone to folks who prefer "life sim Animal Crossing". HA.
AC NH was my first Animal Crossing, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. My girlfriend and I played it through quarantine like most folks, and I put an embarrassing number of hours into it by the time all was said and done (seriously, an embarrassing number). So, without equivocation, I can say I enjoyed my time with it.
But still, it sucks to hear that this was a move away from the more organic/dynamic setup of previous Animal Crossings. Having some randomness and some stuff outside of your control would add a great deal to the longevity of a game like this, even if it may lead to occasionally frustrating results. I logged into the game after being away for 4 months recently and was like, "Oh, cool, I guess there are some more weeds here and there," but that was it. No big changes or developments as far as I could tell.
Fairly early on into my time with it, I made a rule that if someone asked to leave, I'd always say yes. I guess in my own way, I was trying to grant these NPCs autonomy that the game wasn't willing to grant them. I'd like to have seen more NPC autonomy overall.
They failed to add to the gameplay loop in time. I get the "But COVID!" argument, but at the end of the day, the updates stopped, people just made do with what they had, decked out their islands and got their wanted villagers.... Then what? Once you get your island to where you want it, thats it, the gameplay loop is too repetitive and simplistic to warrant coming back after.
I have hopes for the next game though.
I have hopes for the next game though.
it's not dead but the lack of features/upgrades that really should be in the game (why is nook and go/nookway STILL not in the game) definitely added to my non-interest in revisiting it
Exactly, something people always discuss is how the game pretty much changed genres. It used to be a very unique social/life sim, and its major appeal for me was the idea of living as a human outsider in an animal town. Something like Life of a Peasant in Warcraft 3.
New Leaf already presented a huge shift, with the player being mayor. This transition is pretty much done now with New Horizons, which is centered on crafting/city building, being very barebones when it comes to animal personalities, social events. You are a god who controls every detail of your island, your citizens lack free will, and the feeling of being just another villager in town is gone.
My dream would be for Animal Crossing to drop crafting as it currently is in the next installment, and go back to the basics. I would love them to work hard on each animal personality, fill the game with more events, random things happening, social interactions, and add new elements that would enhance its life sim aspects. Remove much of the control from players, and instead give us new ways to contribute to the town, such as getting part time jobs, doing things to help other villagers and group activities. Also, I would like to see the town slowly growing in a more organic way, giving just a little indirect control to the player. Of course I have zero hopes for it - unless they would create a life sim spin off (or remake the first game enhancing this aspect of it).
I'm so disappointed with the game that it sure feels like it's dead. The game is practically devoid of any meaningful content if you don't care about terraforming (I don't), and even if you do, there's not even any good furniture to theme your island around anyway. We're missing so much shit and the trade-off for crappy crafting and terraforming was 100% not worth it.
I honestly would've preferred a straight up HD port of New Leaf than what we've currently got. If the updates are going to be this sparse (IF more really are coming), then they need to be meatier when they do happen. The only good update we've gotten for New Horizons was when they added diving. Yeah, I get COVID is a big deal, but the game had to be pretty much done when COVID became an issue. And it was delayed even before that! I have a hard time believing that there's not anything bigger they could've added in an update by this point. This model worked for Splatoon 1 and 2, but it does not work for Animal Crossing.
I honestly would've preferred a straight up HD port of New Leaf than what we've currently got. If the updates are going to be this sparse (IF more really are coming), then they need to be meatier when they do happen. The only good update we've gotten for New Horizons was when they added diving. Yeah, I get COVID is a big deal, but the game had to be pretty much done when COVID became an issue. And it was delayed even before that! I have a hard time believing that there's not anything bigger they could've added in an update by this point. This model worked for Splatoon 1 and 2, but it does not work for Animal Crossing.
Previously, the dialogue kind of had an "order". Roughly, the first time you talked with an animal, they would say a "standard x personality greeting", and the following 3 or 4 times, they would comment about an activity you did the previous day, about your clothing, about what other human residents did, etc. In other words, every day, if you only talked to them like 1-2 times, you would get the "same" standard dialogue. After that, many more options of dialogue (usually longer as well) would open up- for example, they would ask for your opinion on different topics, they can talk about their past as rock stars, actors or how they fought with their parents, they can also tell you about their secret love of umbrellas or their need of a swimming suit with an abs window, etc. But these options were "locked" behind the more standard and "boring" lines.
The latest update(?) more or less removed this "lock", and after the standard greeting, they can now choose from any option. A lot of the complaints about the residents dialogue were about how they said the "same" lines every day, and it's mostly because of that weird order. Of course, how "interesting" or "good" the other kind of dialogue is still subjective, but the fact is that there is a lot of dialogue that was previously buried.
Since I knew about that, I already used to talk to my neighbors 5-6 times in order to read the "better" dialogue, but I understand not everyone was able to waste 2-3 minutes exhausting the "boring" dialogue before reaching the more juicy bits. Nowadays, I get the benefit of this change by getting the more interesting lines earlier and it also helps me in order to get favors from them easily (I talk to them 3 or 4 times and get nice dialogue and a favor!).
Apologies if my explanation wasn't good or clear enough, I can try to dig some examples if needed!
Oh yeah, I was referring that I have already got tons of enjoyment from the game and anything new that is added is a just "extra" for me :) Of course, any extra is appreciated, and that's why I was happy to see how all the repeated events got a little change this year for example. Unfortunately, there are some people who truly hate this game and want everybody to be miserable, there are always those posts here and everywhere else- some of them even lie/get their facts wrong just to "prove" why this game sucks and the like. But welp, that always happens I guess.
This.
Everyone got jacked up by COVID and most companies have done a better job communicating what's going on with their service games than Nintendo has (and that was true even before the pandemic hit, and looks likely to keep happening until the Earth is swallowed up by the sun), on top of Nintendo always seeming to be completely random with which games it picks to keep supported on a consistent basis and which ones they'll leave to die, or which games they'll let rot on the vine only to randomly come back and drop one last big update on it from out of the blue before going utterly radio silent about that game again, seemingly forever.
Nintendo leaving Animal Crossing to rust in the rain would at least be tolerable if we knew for sure if they still kept on intending to support and evolve it any meaningful way OR have already put the game into permanent stand-by mode now that all of the major seasonal stuff was patched into the game over the course of the last year, leaving the next two years of Nintendo's promised support just being the very occasional (and largely useless) cosmetic update.
Every Animal Crossing game has at least one year of content. It has that. People have got, if they played that whole year, hundreds of hours out of the game.
I understand it was a little lacking in some regards in comparison to New Leaf, but Nintendo never promised they would support it indefinitely.
I understand it was a little lacking in some regards in comparison to New Leaf, but Nintendo never promised they would support it indefinitely.
The only new content I expect at this point is seasonal decoration.
This is the animal crossing with the least amount of content I've ever played. This is simply a glorified Happy home designer and not a life simulator like these games used to be
This is the animal crossing with the least amount of content I've ever played. This is simply a glorified Happy home designer and not a life simulator like these games used to be
That's the problem, they keep everyone in the dark about their first party game support. Some games get supported as a GaaS, others that should don't. In the case of Animal Crossing they supported it like one then just fell off the face of the earth for months.
"But they never said it" is exactly the problem, not an excuse.
My first Animal Crossing was Wild World on DS. It was the first one with online play and and had some neat gimmicks to give you some examples of how dynamic it used to be. The grassy areas you would run through would wear down over time, sort of creating natural paths. You could create constellations and they would show up in other players skies and any shirt designs could randomly show up on other players Able Sisters shops. I believe it was heavily favored towards distribution among friend groups but not limited to it. From that, I kinda hoped that Animal Crossing would eventually come out with some sort of MMO-lite where your town sat on server that was always online so you could easily have other people live in the same town or at least allow for visitors when you're not playing.
But Nintendo didn't go that route. And understandably that kind of creativity allowed in Wild World was tamped down on because inevitably you'd end up with a dick in your sky or in your Able Sisters, but it really added feeling being part of a changing and active world. And most of the other changes are really just the inevitable sanding down of edges that happens when you make new games in any series. But still, it's sad.
.
Doug Bowser confirms more Animal Crossing: New Horizons content
https://animalcrossingworld.com/2021/06/nintendo-confirms-plans-for-new-future-content-in-animal-crossing-new-horizons-after-e3/ Many were speculating that AC:NH was finito after it no showed E3!www.resetera.com
tldr: no.
/thread
There's a lot of weird hyperbole surrounding this game.
It's still selling well, and I'm sure there are millions of people who are still active.
I haven't been paying attention to any news or updates, because I stopped playing in February. I have almost 200 hours, so it was worthwhile.
I haven't been paying attention to any news or updates, because I stopped playing in February. I have almost 200 hours, so it was worthwhile.
Well, it became a smash hit without much support... Why would they spend resources if it's still selling as much as it is?
What is this, Jurassic Park T-Rex rules? If the developer isn't constantly pushing updates to a game, we think they're not there?
I don't think I've logged in once over the last four or five months, at least. Can't even imagine how many weeds and cockroaches there are by now.
Honestly not sure what I'd want to get me to start it up as regularly as I was when it first came out though. More content? Sure. Better UX? Absolutely.
Honestly not sure what I'd want to get me to start it up as regularly as I was when it first came out though. More content? Sure. Better UX? Absolutely.
This game, heck the whole franchise I don't think was made to be played the way people friended over this game last March through the rest of the year of 2020. Not saying people were "playing the game wrong" or anything just that I don't think the game was made like that.
That said I get complaints about content compared to the older games though.
That said I get complaints about content compared to the older games though.
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I'm a die hard AC fan and stopped playing. There is something just lacking on NH that they tried to fill up with the island terraforming, which I don't care for. No one comes to visit my well decorated home, there is no coffee shop, where is my high end shop, etc...
COVID-19 really did a number on Nintendo's development groups. I would guess we'll hear more by the end of the year.
So much this. When I started seeing people charging for the most popular characters that's when it hit me a lot of the people playing were just control freaks hoping for the "perfect" island. You shape the land, you cherry pick you neighbors, everything. And the serendipity that was part of the game's charm is gone in favor of total control :(
I got into the game purely out of FOMO with friends and thanks to a discount and that seemed to be by far the most significant draw of the game from what I could tell. Had I played the game without hearing a word about it from others, I never would have guessed that that the game was known for some kind of incredible villager interactions. Mostly it just seemed to be an island/house decoration game with some progression grinds to back it up. At some point I realized I should just be playing Minecraft instead as that game offers an unbelievable amount of creative freedom that is unlocked through the player's own actions, rather than very limited choices dictated by the tiny handful of items the game randomly decides to allow you to purchase/find that day. So, yeah, based on my own experience, maybe it would be better for the series to really lean into the NPCs and your relationships with them.
Yes it's weird. There were free updates for a whole year, it offers 100s of hours of gameplay. Do people expect this game to be supported like Fortnite? Sometimes it's okay for a game to be played for 'just' half a year.
Going to go out on a limb and say that Animal Crossing New Horizons will see a substantial dlc expansion at some point.
Not the typical seasonal updates, but some big -probably paid- dlc expansion
Not the typical seasonal updates, but some big -probably paid- dlc expansion
