Another E3, another year without Animal Crossing Switch. People were not happy with Nintendo’s E3 Direct (personally, I enjoyed it quite a lot) and went on social media platforms to air their frustrations directly to Nintendo. The most common complaint was this: “Where’s Animal Crossing Switch?” Reggie Fils Aimé (Nintendo of America President) has now commented on the absence of this, and a few other titles.
Speaking to IGN, Reggie spoke of the frustrations of fans. While it would be impossible to please everyone, Animal Crossing Switch seems like a good place to start. Along with Animal Crossing, fans were upset not to see Pikmin 4 and Mother 3 Switch. Reggie simply explained that “when [Nintendo] have something to annouce, [it] will.”
Fans Clamour for Animal Crossing Switch and Mother 3
“Fill in the blank of your favorite franchise. Our mentality will be we’ll announce information close to its launch date versus teasing people for years on end”. Indeed, Nintendo refrained from showing the likes of Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3, deciding to focus solely on games that will release within a year at E3. While it’s nice to know that everything Nintendo showed will be in our hands within a year, everyone would have liked to have seen a little more. Us gamers enjoy a tease.
When asked about a potential Western release for Mother 3, a game that really should have come out by now, Reggie had a similar response:
“Again, we know, I know there’s a fan base for that title. All I could say is we’re aware. It’s something that we always think about in terms of where there are opportunities to reintroduce IP to fans, to do it in a way that builds new fans, we’re certainly aware. No promises, no commitments one way or the other, but we’re aware.”
At least Nintendo is aware of the appetite for Animal Crossing Switch and Mother 3 in the West. Indeed, Reggie explains that he “did see a lot of internet memes with sad faces from the Animal Crossing group”. He argues, too, that Pocket Camp has done well for series exposure and that “that bodes well for whenever the next Animal Crossing might come.”
Animal Crossing Switch would be the perfect game to expand the Switch’s install base as of writing, and we have a lot of thoughts on it. It has cross-generation appeal and is the perfect title for commutes or long play-sessions at home on TV. Nintendo would be wise to announce it sooner, rather than later in our opinion. We do want to play everything mind you!
