Dear Nintendo,
Back at this year's E3, I was worried that you'd lost your way, citing Animal Crossing of all games to be for the "core gamer" crowd—seemingly to cover for your complete lack of first (or even second) party titles to fill in the gaping hole that was your holiday release schedule.
While I may no longer be part of your target demographic, I'd like to think of myself as possessing a mix of "hardcore gamer" and "casual" values. I enjoy a wide variety of games and have been a fan of Animal Crossing since its inception on the GameCube.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt with Wild World, and way back before you had even released any pictures of the Wii version, I was delighted to imagine all the wonderful possibilities that could have been added to this furry-version of The Sims.
We need to have a talk.
I've been trying really hard to understand just what exactly is going on in your executive offices. I know the Wii has become a huge runaway success with the casual and non-gamer crowd, but going as far as to say that Animal Crossing will end up satisfying those gamers whose Wiis have been collecting dust for months on end is taking a huge leap of faith.
Do you not remember the turn of the century? Have you forgotten what your arrogance cost you in the days of the Super NES and early on during the life cycle of the Nintendo 64? Nintendo, listen to me: get your shit together, because this fourth version of your original N64 game is not going to cut it when the additions to the "franchise" (a term I use loosely, as how can you call a repeatedly ported game a franchise?) are barely quirky at best.
When one begins their new life in City Folk, they are bussed into the city, asked quite literally the same questions—by what seems to be the same animal from previous games—to qualify the type of city they'll be in, and by the time they've finished, they're greeted with the exact scenario they've played countless times before.
Yes, the game looks slightly better than the GameCube version did on my 46" LCD TV, but that's not enough for me to accept that this is supposed to be the big Nintendo hit of the season.
I can understand the desire to introduce new gamers to Animal Crossing, and the game may be a success with those who have never seen or played a previous Animal Crossing, but why then is this game supposed to be for your "core" gamers?
In regards to the titular city, I will say that it's nice having the ability to go there at any time and visit some of the animals that you'd normally have to wait a week or more for to arrive. But it's a quirky addition that serves no real purpose other than to allow for people to shop at Redd's at any point (with invitation, of course!), or change their hairstyle before their town's Nook 'n Go is ready.
There doesn't seem to be much value here other than the convenience factor. Where's the nightlife? Why doesn't K.K. Slider have a club? There is so much wasted potential here—and considering the fan community was running wild with speculation about the city's possible features, such sparseness is an incredible letdown.
As an economic aside, we now have in addition to fruit, bugs, fish, and fossils, mushrooms that can be sold for a profit at Nook's. So, what are the mushrooms for? I imagine eventually the fortune teller will ask for a certain type for a spell or recipe, but really, it's just one more thing that was added for the sake of being there. Can you tell me why an Elegant Mushroom is worth 10,000 bells? It sure as hell better be of the Magic kind.
Also, I'd like to welcome you to the last game to ever use your new Wii Speak peripheral. This is something I've brought up at E3 and GDC, but there are going to be some angry parents once their kids start playing online with their Wii Speak microphone.
One of the biggest perceived problems with Nintendo WiFi Connection is the lack of ability to instantly add people to your list, and I know you're trying to protect the children against predators and loose-lipped sailors by keeping the service friend-code limited, but now you seemingly do a full one-eighty and allow for unfiltered voice chat?
I recently asked Matt to add me to his City Folk friends list so that we could visit our respective cities, and he gave me a stern warning:
"Keep it clean, because my daughter is playing too."
I can understand keeping what I say clean, because that's common decency. What I don't understand is the lack of foresight on your part to better filter the things that you should obviously keep control over considering your stance on protecting the children.
This is perhaps what has irked me most about City Folk. There has been no improvement to the various reactions by the various animals in your town regarding what you write or tell them to say.
Take the "send a letter to this animal about my shop" task that Nook gives you: why is there no artificial intelligence for word triggering? My version of that letter read:
You suck balls, shop at Nook's.
Yet the reply I got the next day was full of hugs and kisses and good tidings of how amazing my letter was. I don't know about you, but If I were told I sucked I likely wouldn't shop at the store where that letter originated from. The same thing can be said about the billboard task—my letter was extremely graphic in nature, yet Nook was completely satisfied at what I had posted.
After what has quite literally been ten years of supposed progression in a series of revisions on the same game, and considering the fact that you finally have systems out with nearly ubiquitous Internet connections (like the game's been begging for since its first installment), I'd think that some more interesting and engaging conversation that could be region or date specific would have been an added feature that would have made this version of the game stand out above the rest. But instead we're subject to the same pre-coded nonsense we've been reading all along. During the GameCube era you tried to justify the lack of network connectivity by calling it a "living room" game for your family to check every day. Now you've got the network and you're barely using it. What gives?
Ultimately, there really is nothing about City Folk that makes it a worthy purchase for anyone who has played any version of Animal Crossing before it. I can't be completely negative: City Folk has a lot of charm and for a first-timer it would be a delightful entry into the series. But for those long-time fans of yours—your personally declared "core" gamers—you know, the ones this title is apparently supposed to appease, I've got nothing else to offer other than a hug and the hope that there might be something better next year.
I can only assume that you think they've been especially bad this year, because City Folk is the proverbial lump of coal that is doing nothing to help prevent my Wii from continuing to gather dust (not a collectable item in City Folk).
Nintendo, I expected more from you. Sony and Microsoft I could understand, but you? You know better than this.
I'm not angry, but your family and I are very disappointed.
Always,
Dean
Back at this year's E3, I was worried that you'd lost your way, citing Animal Crossing of all games to be for the "core gamer" crowd—seemingly to cover for your complete lack of first (or even second) party titles to fill in the gaping hole that was your holiday release schedule.
While I may no longer be part of your target demographic, I'd like to think of myself as possessing a mix of "hardcore gamer" and "casual" values. I enjoy a wide variety of games and have been a fan of Animal Crossing since its inception on the GameCube.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt with Wild World, and way back before you had even released any pictures of the Wii version, I was delighted to imagine all the wonderful possibilities that could have been added to this furry-version of The Sims.
We need to have a talk.
This is from the N64 version, but you wouldn't know it.
I've been trying really hard to understand just what exactly is going on in your executive offices. I know the Wii has become a huge runaway success with the casual and non-gamer crowd, but going as far as to say that Animal Crossing will end up satisfying those gamers whose Wiis have been collecting dust for months on end is taking a huge leap of faith.
Do you not remember the turn of the century? Have you forgotten what your arrogance cost you in the days of the Super NES and early on during the life cycle of the Nintendo 64? Nintendo, listen to me: get your shit together, because this fourth version of your original N64 game is not going to cut it when the additions to the "franchise" (a term I use loosely, as how can you call a repeatedly ported game a franchise?) are barely quirky at best.
When one begins their new life in City Folk, they are bussed into the city, asked quite literally the same questions—by what seems to be the same animal from previous games—to qualify the type of city they'll be in, and by the time they've finished, they're greeted with the exact scenario they've played countless times before.
Yes, the game looks slightly better than the GameCube version did on my 46" LCD TV, but that's not enough for me to accept that this is supposed to be the big Nintendo hit of the season.
I can understand the desire to introduce new gamers to Animal Crossing, and the game may be a success with those who have never seen or played a previous Animal Crossing, but why then is this game supposed to be for your "core" gamers?
Google tells me these are City Folk
In regards to the titular city, I will say that it's nice having the ability to go there at any time and visit some of the animals that you'd normally have to wait a week or more for to arrive. But it's a quirky addition that serves no real purpose other than to allow for people to shop at Redd's at any point (with invitation, of course!), or change their hairstyle before their town's Nook 'n Go is ready.
There doesn't seem to be much value here other than the convenience factor. Where's the nightlife? Why doesn't K.K. Slider have a club? There is so much wasted potential here—and considering the fan community was running wild with speculation about the city's possible features, such sparseness is an incredible letdown.
As an economic aside, we now have in addition to fruit, bugs, fish, and fossils, mushrooms that can be sold for a profit at Nook's. So, what are the mushrooms for? I imagine eventually the fortune teller will ask for a certain type for a spell or recipe, but really, it's just one more thing that was added for the sake of being there. Can you tell me why an Elegant Mushroom is worth 10,000 bells? It sure as hell better be of the Magic kind.
Also, I'd like to welcome you to the last game to ever use your new Wii Speak peripheral. This is something I've brought up at E3 and GDC, but there are going to be some angry parents once their kids start playing online with their Wii Speak microphone.
One of the biggest perceived problems with Nintendo WiFi Connection is the lack of ability to instantly add people to your list, and I know you're trying to protect the children against predators and loose-lipped sailors by keeping the service friend-code limited, but now you seemingly do a full one-eighty and allow for unfiltered voice chat?
I recently asked Matt to add me to his City Folk friends list so that we could visit our respective cities, and he gave me a stern warning:
"Keep it clean, because my daughter is playing too."
I can understand keeping what I say clean, because that's common decency. What I don't understand is the lack of foresight on your part to better filter the things that you should obviously keep control over considering your stance on protecting the children.
This is perhaps what has irked me most about City Folk. There has been no improvement to the various reactions by the various animals in your town regarding what you write or tell them to say.
Take the "send a letter to this animal about my shop" task that Nook gives you: why is there no artificial intelligence for word triggering? My version of that letter read:
You suck balls, shop at Nook's.
Yet the reply I got the next day was full of hugs and kisses and good tidings of how amazing my letter was. I don't know about you, but If I were told I sucked I likely wouldn't shop at the store where that letter originated from. The same thing can be said about the billboard task—my letter was extremely graphic in nature, yet Nook was completely satisfied at what I had posted.
After what has quite literally been ten years of supposed progression in a series of revisions on the same game, and considering the fact that you finally have systems out with nearly ubiquitous Internet connections (like the game's been begging for since its first installment), I'd think that some more interesting and engaging conversation that could be region or date specific would have been an added feature that would have made this version of the game stand out above the rest. But instead we're subject to the same pre-coded nonsense we've been reading all along. During the GameCube era you tried to justify the lack of network connectivity by calling it a "living room" game for your family to check every day. Now you've got the network and you're barely using it. What gives?
Fishingparty.org
Ultimately, there really is nothing about City Folk that makes it a worthy purchase for anyone who has played any version of Animal Crossing before it. I can't be completely negative: City Folk has a lot of charm and for a first-timer it would be a delightful entry into the series. But for those long-time fans of yours—your personally declared "core" gamers—you know, the ones this title is apparently supposed to appease, I've got nothing else to offer other than a hug and the hope that there might be something better next year.
I can only assume that you think they've been especially bad this year, because City Folk is the proverbial lump of coal that is doing nothing to help prevent my Wii from continuing to gather dust (not a collectable item in City Folk).
Nintendo, I expected more from you. Sony and Microsoft I could understand, but you? You know better than this.
I'm not angry, but your family and I are very disappointed.
Always,
Dean