Animal Crossing mobile game delayed again, will be released later this year

By Gabe Gurwin January 31, 2017

Animal Crossing Direct 11.2.2016

The Animal Crossing mobile game that Nintendo had planned to launch early this spring has been pushed back to an unspecified point in 2017. This is the second delay for the game — the first one for mobile devices — which was pushed into 2017 late last year.

The information comes via an earnings report from Nintendo, which stated that Animal Crossing is now planned to launch next fiscal year. That period begins April 1, meaning that the wait could be negligible. It doesn’t appear that performance or design problems are to blame for the move, but rather that Nintendo wants more time for Fire Emblem Heroes and the Android version of Super Mario Run to breathe.

Nintendo has given very little concrete information on the mobile version of Animal Crossing thus far, but has said the game “will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems.” With no game announced for the Switch thus far, this likely means connectivity with Animal Crossing: New Leaf for 3DS. Nintendo also said that it would feature “more prominent game elements” than the social application Miitomo, which is similar in some design aspects to the Animal Crossing series.

Mobile devices seem like the perfect fit for Tom Nook and his friends. It will allow players to control certain aspects of their towns for a few minutes at a time before going about their day. The series has thus far appeared on the GameCube, Wii, DS, and 3DS, with spinoffs on both the 3DS and Wii U.

The last two Animal Crossing releases haven’t exactly been met with the fanfare and acclaim that the series has experienced in the past. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer was called “boring” and “repetitive,” while the party game Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival was largely reviled and compared unfavorably to the Mario Party series.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Lego’s Animal Crossing sets are every bit as adorable as the games

All of the Lego Animal Crossing sets interconnected.

Lego and Nintendo finally revealed more details on the Lego Animal Crossing collaboration first teased next week. We got a look at five distinct Lego sets that can fit together and even know when they'll hit store shelves.

Unlike the Super Mario Bros. collaboration, these are five Lego sets with an Animal Crossing theme. First, there's the 389-piece Isabelle's House Visit set ($40), which comes with Isabelle and Fauna and lets players build Fauna's house, craft tools, and pop the balloon present. The Julian's Birthday Party set has 170 pieces, costs $15, and it comes with the titular character, whom people can build a birthday party for using the pieces. There's also the $20, 164-piece Bunnie's Outdoor Activities set, which comes with its titular character, a tent, and a river that feeds into a cliff and waterfall.
Those looking for something a bit more complex might want to go for the Kapp'n's Island Boat Tour set, which costs $30, comes with 233 pieces, includes figures for Kapp'n and Marshal, and lets players build Kapp'n's boat and a tropical island setting. Finally, the most complex of these initial sets is the 535-piece Nook's Cranny & Rosies House. Priced at $75, this set comes with Toom Nook and Rosie and lets people build the series' iconic store and Rosie's house.
All of these sets are fairly distinct from each other, but the press release revealing them confirms that the sets can all be connected together, letting people build one big Lego Animal Crossing village or island. That will be possible when all of these sets hit store shelves at the same time on March 1, 2024.

Gaming

Animal Crossing is the next Nintendo franchise to get the Lego treatment

Animal Crossing Lego figures stand together.

Nintendo revealed that Animal Crossing will be its next franchise to get transformed into a Lego set, following sets based on Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. This collaboration was teased Thursday morning in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Nintendo.

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1709911924366794947

Gaming

Hello Kitty: Island Adventure should be your next mobile game obsession

Sanrio characters hang out on a beach in Hello Kitty: Island Adventure.

I challenge you to find a video game with a better elevator pitch than Hello Kitty: Island Adventure. Get this: It’s Animal Crossing but with Sanrio characters. You don’t need to see a single screenshot or watch a trailer to know if you’re in or out on that idea.

Apple Arcade’s latest exclusive is the gaming platform’s best hope for a subscription mover yet. It’s an undeniably adorable adventure built to deliver on Apple’s promise of high-quality mobile gaming with no pesky ads or microtransactions -- and for the most part, it delivers. Though it lacks key hooks that make the Animal Crossing formula work, Hello Kitty: Island Adventure makes up for some of its shortcomings with an infectiously positive attitude and a downright pleasant visual style that I can’t help but soak in. It’s a summer getaway in your pocket.
Island time
It’s immediately clear what developer Sunblink is aiming to do upon firing up the adventure. After a cute introduction where Hello Kitty almost gets an entire airplane of cute animals killed (yes, really), players parachute onto an island alongside Sanrio staples like My Melody and Keroppi. Within moments of exploring that first hub area -- complete with a furniture shop, clothing store, and a town hall where you can check your “island vibe” score -- it’s pretty clear that Animal Crossing was a direct inspiration here. Even its crafting animation looks identical to the one in New Horizons.