[General] Katsuya Eguchi talks Animal Crossing

[Lucario]

Edge recently got to have a one on one chat with Animal Crossing creator Katsuya Eguchi. Eguchi mentioned how the idea of Animal Forest came about while feeling a little lonely on his trip to Kyoto, Japan.

“Animal Crossing features three themes: family, friendship and community. But the reason I wanted to investigate them was a result of being so lonely when I arrived in Kyoto! Chiba is east of Tokyo and quite a distance from Kyoto, and when I moved there I left my family and friends behind. In doing so, I realized that being close to them – being able to spend time with them, talk to them, play with them – was such a great, important thing. I wondered for a long time if there would be a way to recreate that feeling, and that was the impetus behind the original Animal Crossing.”

Eguchi then went on to mention how fans where quite disappointed with the removal of several popular holidays in Animal Crossing: Wild World and how they'll all be making a comeback on the Wii. Along with the return of events including Christmas and Halloween, there are a bunch of new ones available such as Easter and a traveling carnival which will introduce new characters to the franchise.

“You’ll also be able to do more than ever together when you play online. You’ll be able to experience events or see concerts together, for example. And while in the DS version we discarded a lot of events that were popular in the GameCube version, we’re bringing them back. We’re including Halloween, we’re bringing back Jingle, the reindeer that visits during the holiday event, and we’ve got some new events, too. For example, during spring we’ve got a special visitor who brings paint and eggs so you can have an egg hunt, and we also have a carnival that’ll introduces another new character to the Animal Crossing world.”

Animal Crossing: City Folk will be available in the US this November however no word of an Australian release has been mentioned at this stage.

[Adios]

Good.

At least they're bringing back all the things in the GC version which made it so much more superior to the DS version.

[Blitz]

I keep going between periods of hype and then disbelief at how the game is so similar to its predecessors. I'll wait a few weeks after everyone has posted their own reflections of the game and then consider whether or not to get it. I prefer Wild World due to the portability and ability to play in short bursts, anywhere, anytime.

[Dark Moogle]

I'm just gonna call it out now. Sometime in the future, somewhere in the US, an angry atheist will protest this games inclusion of events like Easter/Christmas. Even if these were in older games, the Wii is bringing new people to gaming (meaning new tools to try and protest games)

On a more serious topic, I wonder how much of a 'sequel' this game will really be. Screenshots don't show much improvement on the presentation side of things, and aside from an online mode (which doesnt really sell me at this point) the game doesn't look too different from its predecessors. This may just be the Japanese developers way of continuing what they know rather than reinventing the wheel, but sometimes they need a serious kick in the rear end.

[Jake Starstorm]

Please come out before Christmas :(

[Jake Starstorm]

Originally Posted by Dark Moogle

I'm just gonna call it out now. Sometime in the future, somewhere in the US, an angry atheist will protest this games inclusion of events like Easter/Christmas. Even if these were in older games, the Wii is bringing new people to gaming (meaning new tools to try and protest games)

As much as I agree with you they are only going to be integrated in their most basic form: Christmas = presents Easter = eggs.
It's just an excuse for a bit more variety. I'd prefer that they weren't in the game but it's not like they are preaching the birth of Christ or anything.

[Dark Moogle]

Originally Posted by Jake Starstorm

As much as I agree with you they are only going to be integrated in their most basic form: Christmas = presents Easter = eggs.
It's just an excuse for a bit more variety. I'd prefer that they weren't in the game but it's not like they are preaching the birth of Christ or anything.

Put to sticks together in the shape of the cross and someone will use em to preach. It doesn't take much to set off some extremists.

[dremos]

This game really doesn't feel any different to its 3 predecessors. In fact, all of the Animal Crossing games are just slight evolutions of the previous version. This wouldn't be so bad if the improvements were more substantial...but I can't believe this guy is excited about the new events...so what a guy comes and hides eggs for you to find. This happens once a year and we'll all be sick of the game by then.

Animal Crossing is a game that expects you to play a little every day and hopes to have enough to keep you interested to enjoy all the different events. Well there's nothing really in the game to keep you interested!

I really thought they'd be putting a lot more into the Wii version to capitalize on the online play and developing a community but this is the exact same crap. God knows why they didn't release this on launch...it's not like they have to put much development time into it.

[TryMe]

To pay around $80 of a minor upgrade I feel is really unjustified (yes, I know a place that will sell this title at $80 on launch).

Consider $50 and it's a deal. There isn't much to go out and buy this game, especially with the omission of the inclusion of the WiiSpeak device.

[DroothR]

For example, during spring we’ve got a special visitor who brings paint and eggs so you can have an egg hunt...

Does this mean that us in the Southern Hemisphere will have to deal with a game that will have the OPPOSITE climate to what we ACTUALLY have, while it's a contiguous experience for our Northern friends?

[TryMe]

Originally Posted by DroothR

Does this mean that us in the Southern Hemisphere will have to deal with a game that will have the OPPOSITE climate to what we ACTUALLY have, while it's a contiguous experience for our Northern friends?

Nope. It's still the case.

[Gookanheimer]

Originally Posted by Adios

Good.

At least they're bringing back all the things in the GC version which made it so much more superior to the DS version.

Except NES games :P