Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series made and sold by Nintendo. The games were created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In the game, the player controls a human character who lives in a village with animal characters that look and act like humans. Players can do activities like fishing, catching insects, and digging for fossils. The series is known for letting players choose what to do, funny conversations, music that changes every hour, and using the console's clock and calendar to show real time passing.
The first Animal Crossing game was released in 2001. Since then, five main games have been made for different Nintendo systems, including the Nintendo 64, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch. The series has been praised by critics and sold over 81 million copies worldwide. Three related games were also released: Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the Nintendo 3DS, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival for the Wii U, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile devices. A downloadable content pack called Happy Home Paradise was also added to the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Gameplay
In the Animal Crossing games, players take on the role of a human character who moves into a rural village filled with animal characters that act like humans. Players live in the village forever and can choose how to spend their time. There are no set goals, but players can collect items, make things, plant flowers, catch insects, fish, and talk to the village's residents. The game happens in real time, meaning the time of day and seasons in the game match the real world. Some events, like holidays or trees growing, happen at certain times or take time to complete.
A special part of the Animal Crossing series is the ability to customize the game. At the start, players choose their character's appearance, which can be changed by buying clothes, designing outfits, or changing hairstyles. Players can also decorate and expand their homes by buying furniture, changing wall and floor designs, and arranging items. When the game starts, the village's layout, buildings, and residents are randomly created, except in some games where players pick from four pre-made towns or islands. Players can also choose the village's name, anthem, and some of the residents' sayings.
Collecting items is a big part of the game. Players can gather things like fruit, seashells, and found objects around the village. Most items can be sold for Bells, which are the game's currency. Bells can be used to buy furniture, clothes, expand homes, or play games. Special tools help with activities like fishing and catching insects. Some items, like fossils or paintings, can be given to the village museum. Players can also talk to other animal residents, send letters, trade items, or play games like hide-and-seek. Some residents may move in or out based on the player's choices.
All Animal Crossing games allow players to communicate with others, both in person and online. A village can have up to four human players (eight in one game), but only one can explore at a time. Players can send messages through the village's post office or bulletin board. In one version, players could visit other villages by sharing game data on memory cards, but later games let players connect online through Nintendo's service. Some games also allow players to visit others' villages using special devices.
Characters
The series includes different villagers for each game, but some important characters appear in every game.
Tom Nook is a tanuki (or raccoon in America) who works as a shop owner and real estate broker. He gives players a loan to build their house and offers upgrades. Players can pay back the loan without interest.
Mr. Resetti is a mole who appears from underground when players turn off the game without saving. He scolds players for skipping a game rule that allows them to reset events. Because of a new autosave feature, he no longer had a job in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but he now works as the Rescue Service operator.
K.K. Slider is a dog who travels and plays music. He is based on the game's composer, Kazumi Totaka. He performs in the player's town on certain nights and gives players a free copy of the song he plays. He says his music "wants to be free." Some fans thought this showed support for music piracy, but Nintendo said it was not meant as a message about that topic.
In New Horizons, Isabelle appears as the town community manager and secretary to Tom Nook. She was first introduced in New Leaf, where she helped the player character in a similar way. She allows players to change the town's flag and music, and she can reset parts of town life, such as nicknames and villager outfits.
Tom Nook's apprentices, Timmy and Tommy (also tanukis), run the convenience store Nook's Cranny in later games. Mabel and Sable, two hedgehogs, manage the clothing store called the Able Sisters. Orville and Wilbur, two dodos introduced in New Horizons, manage Dodo Airlines, the only airport on the deserted island.
Development
Animal Crossing was first released in Japan for the Nintendo 64 on April 14, 2001. It was improved and released on GameCube in the same year. This version was translated and released in North America on September 16, 2002, Australia on October 17, 2003, and Europe on September 24, 2004. An expanded version titled "Dōbutsu no Mori e+" was released in Japan on June 27, 2003. The Nintendo 64 version of the game was released in China in 2006 for the iQue Player.
Wild World was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on November 23, 2005, North America on December 5, 2005, Australia on December 8, 2005, and Europe on March 31, 2006. It was the first game in the series to use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was later re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console on October 13, 2016, although its Wi-Fi multiplayer feature is unavailable because Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was discontinued.
City Folk, known as Let's Go to the City in Europe and Australia, was released for the Wii in North America on November 16, 2008, Japan on November 20, 2008, Australia on December 4, 2008, and Europe on December 5, 2008. It was later released in South Korea in 2010. It was the first Wii game to use the Wii Speak, an accessory that allows players to communicate during online play.
New Leaf was announced at E3 2010. It was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 8, 2012, North America on June 9, 2013, Europe on June 14, 2013, and Australia on June 15, 2013. For the first time in the series, players are appointed to the role of Mayor. In November 2016, a new update titled "Welcome amiibo" was released, adding several new locations, items, and activities.
Happy Home Designer is a community simulation video game for the Nintendo 3DS and the first spin-off of the Animal Crossing series. It was released in Japan on July 30, 2015, North America on September 25, 2015, Europe on October 2, 2015, and Australia on October 3, 2015. The game focuses on designing houses for villagers based on their requests. By scanning Amiibo cards, players can unlock the ability to design special characters' houses. The game has a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, which means "mixed or average reviews."
Amiibo Festival is a party video game for the Wii U released in November 2015 that heavily uses Amiibo. It received unfavorable reviews from critics. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development and NDcube.
In April 2016, Nintendo announced an Animal Crossing mobile game, later named Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, as part of their mobile game lineup. The game was soft-launched in Australia in October 2017 and released worldwide on November 21, 2017. Pocket Camp has a rating of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic.
New Horizons was announced in a Nintendo Direct in September 2018 for the Nintendo Switch. The game was released worldwide on March 20, 2020, though its release was originally planned for 2019. It quickly became the first console game to reach five million digital sales within a month, with high sales often linked to social distancing and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon after its release, the game became one of the few in the series to receive additional content post-launch, with future additions rumored to be coming. The game won Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2020. In October 2021, Nintendo announced a paid DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons named Happy Home Paradise. The DLC was released on November 5, 2021. Happy Home Paradise is the sequel to Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and involves the player designing vacation homes for villagers on an archipelago, a resort dedicated to vacation homes. In this DLC, two new non-villager characters were introduced. Wardell, a manatee, runs the shop inside the HQ of the archipelago. Niko, a small monkey, can be found on the docks near a boat. The DLC also adds new apps to the NookPhone, including the Room Sketch and the Happy Home Network app.
On August 21, 2024, the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp X account posted a statement informing players about the end of service for the game on November 28. It was replaced with a paid version without microtransactions, titled Pocket Camp Complete. In October 2025, a Nintendo Switch 2 edition of New Horizons was announced for release on January 15, 2026.
- Animal Crossing Plaza, a WaraWara Plaza
Reception
The Animal Crossing games have received positive feedback from players. The first four main series games are among the best-selling video games for their consoles. Animal Crossing sold 2.71 million copies, Wild World sold 11.75 million, City Folk sold 3.38 million, New Leaf sold 13.04 million, and Happy Home Designer sold 3.04 million. New Horizons sold more copies than all previous games combined within its first six weeks of release and became the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch system, with 47.82 million copies sold. Amiibo Festival did not do well in terms of sales or reviews; in Japan, it sold only 87,872 copies. In total, the Animal Crossing franchise has sold 81.83 million copies worldwide.
In terms of money earned, the mobile game Pocket Camp made over $150 million by April 2020. New Horizons made about $2 billion in its first year as of March 2021, which was the fifth-highest amount ever for a video game's first year. This means that together, New Horizons and Pocket Camp made over $2.15 billion in revenue by March 2021.
Legacy
Former president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, said that 56% of people who purchased Animal Crossing: New Leaf with a Nintendo 3DS were female. He highlighted that the game was especially popular among women aged 19 to 24.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was used by democracy activists in Hong Kong as a way to express their views. In response, the game was taken off online stores like Taobao in mainland China, although it was not officially blocked there. Copies of the game are still available for purchase from other sources.
In the Wii game WarioWare: Smooth Moves, released in Japan in 2006 and other regions in 2007, there is a minigame inspired by Animal Crossing: Wild World. Players must catch a fish using the same method as in the original game.
The 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl includes elements from Wild World. A stage called "Smashville," based on an animal village, changes its scenery according to the Wii system clock and uses music from the original game. Mr. Resetti and a pitfall seed, characters that appear in all Animal Crossing games, are included as an Assist Trophy and an item in the game. Brawl also includes 24 collectible trophies featuring characters and items from Animal Crossing.
Wii Music includes two songs from Animal Crossing that players can perform.
The minigame "Animal Crossing: Sweet Day" in Nintendo Land is based on the Animal Crossing series. Players use the Wii Remote to collect candy and store it in their head without being caught by Gatekeepers, who are controlled with the Wii U GamePad.
A character named "Villager" represents the Animal Crossing series in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The character has male and female versions. Villager can trap other players in a net and launch Lloid the gyroid as a missile. Isabelle from New Leaf appears as an Assist Trophy and later as a standalone fighter in Ultimate. Two new stages from Animal Crossing appear in these games: "Town & City" from City Folk in the Wii U version and "Tortimer Island" from New Leaf in the 3DS version. "Smashville" from Brawl returns in the Wii U version.
Villager and Isabelle are playable characters in Mario Kart 8 through downloadable content. A racetrack based on Animal Crossing and a racing series called the "Crossing Cup" are also included. These features were added to the Nintendo Switch version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, along with a racing suit inspired by the series for the Mii.
In June 2015, costumes based on Isabelle and Mr. Resetti were added as options for the player's "Palico" companion in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
An anime film adaptation of Wild World, titled Dōbutsu no Mori, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006. The film was made by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho. It earned ¥1.8 billion (about $19.2 million) in ticket sales.
In June 2020, a manga adaptation of New Horizons, titled New Horizons-Deserted Island Diary, began appearing in Shogakukan's Monthly CoroCoro Comics magazine. In November 2021, the manga moved to Bessatsu CoroCoro Comics and the CoroCoro Manga Toshokan website. The manga is available in North America through Viz Media.
In March 2024, five Lego sets featuring Animal Crossing characters were released.