News / Updates: Version 3.0.0 of Animal Crossing New Horizons is coming January 15th
7mon 20d ago by wetdry.world/users/crossing in animal_crossing
News / Updates: Version 3.0.0 of Animal Crossing New Horizons is coming January 15th
I am utterly confused by this move, but here we go. Nintendo has officially announced a major content update to Animal Crossing New Horizons 5 years after launch.
As usual, yes Nintendo is making a Switch 2 Edition for this, I'm assuming it's going to cost £10 extra since it's basically better graphics, usage of the Switch 2 camera and usage of the microphone. I'm really hoping Switch 2 will be able to run this game well though, I've had my Switch 1 stutter quite a few times on my island.
I'll add the full update information in a spoilered reply.
#AnimalCrossing #ACNH #AC #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch @animal_crossing
Keeping this short but I hope to get everything included:
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Up to 12 players online play if all players are on Switch 2
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Megaphone returns from ACNL for Switch 2 users
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Switch 2 mouse compatibility
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New hotel that you can manage by your port, you'll be able to invite guests to stay in it
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New custom island that you can manage through the Dream Suite
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Various collaborations with LEGO, The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon in game
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Resetti is offering an island cleanup service
I still don't get this I'm sorry, I don't understand what business decisions Nintendo is making for a 5 year old game to get an update. Theoretically I should be getting really excited for this, but I'm just not. The next game better be good if they can justify an update 3 years after the last major content update.
It tells me they're still working on the next Animal Crossing game. They wanted a Switch 2 release but didn't get it, so now they're promoting the Switch 2 edition and hoping its sales keep justifying the work the team is doing with no release (e.g. the next AC title) to show for it until it's ready.
Note how, in addition to the things I mentioned (in a top-level reply) that they didn't explicitly call out, that they're cannibalizing features from the DLC, notably in how you customise hotel rooms. It looks (and acts) JUST like the Happy Home Paradise DLC where you craft vacation homes. It could even be said to be a lite version of the DLC. (Honestly though, the Switch 2 version should include the DLC. The Switch 2 version should be the "Complete" island getaway package. Doing the hotel like the archipelago signifies to me that the DLC doesn't really matter. It will have a few exclusive items, but I mean, you can get the vines and whatnot from treasure islands, and there are enough free ones that you can fly in, grab what you need, and fly out before too many people come and go (or a griefer quietly exits with the minus button, resetting everyone's inventory).
Actually, it's the same story with the Zelda/Splatoon stuff. Yeah I could spend $5-20 per amiibo, or I could just go to a TI, grab up all the items, and recruit the new villagers.
@crossing @animal_crossing they also casually show bulk crafting about 6 minutes in, lmao.
Definitely odd, though I also can't say I'm that surprised. It's like how they did city folk following ww (before software updates for games were a thing) and welcome amiibo for nl.
It also vaguely mirrors how mario kart 8 dx got dlc years later, I think the gap was even wider for that than for acnh. so they definitely Do That. as for why, your guess is as good as mine haha
@rodneyunproprietated @animal_crossing my friend did bring up an interesting point of obviously the same team working on Splatoon 3 and Splatoon Raiders at the moment too though, so it does make a bit more sense
basically yes the splatoon team and animal crossing team are the same team. raiders is a spinoff title and we know basically 0 on how much depth the gane has. this update though just signals that animal crossing will probably not release in the near future. I actually do lean on Splatoon 4 being greenlit first tbh.
Switch 2 is an odd device to me because its a culmination of a lot of past problems that led up to this moment. (e.g the device could have technically released years ago, but didnt. if they were to rearange releases, TOTK should have released in 2024, along with the switch 2 late in the year. Nintendo basically picked a release date where many of the teams are doing side projects or the more spinoffy releases (e. g bananza over proper 3d mario, splatoon raiders over proper AC or Splatoon, pokemon legends over standard pokemon release cycle) doesnt help for its image.
it almost adds onto the device feeling more like a Switch Pro, rather than Switch 2, despite being significantly faster.
i mean timeline wise, a good chunk of the switch library was just wiiu games getting updates several years later. outside of backwards compatibility differences (and the original getting a patch too), the difference between those and this isnt that farfetched.
So, for those who missed it or maybe didn’t notice, the announcement trailer announced two new features they did not directly call out. One a lot more obvious than the other.
Firstly, one of the most requested features is bulk crafting, and they show it once and very briefly. The player goes to the new hotel kiosk and sees that they need 3 of a thing. The screen then jumps to the crafting screen and they are able to enter a quantity, which raises the crafting cost accordingly. But when they back out, they are at a regular crafting station (DIY workbench), implying you will be able to bulk craft anything.
Secondly, when terraforming, it appears you can now strafe (slide to the side) or move forward or back exactly one square for easier terraforming. This feature is not presently in the game. It’s unclear how it’s done, but it’s shown several times.
Was there anything else that was shown but not specifically called out? I’m sure there were.