While 2018 marked a fairly quiet year for Nintendo Switch first-party releases other than the likes of its holiday season sellers likeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateand thePokemon: Let’s Gotitles, 2019 seems like it will be a pretty stellar year for Nintendo’s line-up of exclusives. This year so far is already shaping up nicely for Switch owners with a wide variety of games and genres, from long-awaited sequels likeLuigi’s Mansion3, to new properties likeDaemon X MachinaandAstral Chain, to what is arguably going to be the Switch’s most important title(s) for the year,Pokemon Sword & Shield.
But more than anything, if there’s one title that I know myself and other Nintendo fanshave been chomping at the bit forsince the system came out, it’s been the promise of a new installment in theAnimal Crossingseries. And given that the next installment of the series is due sometime later this year, it’s about time that we finally heard from Nintendo of when we can expect to have our digital lives taken over by adorable animal villagers, experience the thrills of mortgage payments and home ownership, and spend too much time catching bugs.
[pullquote]“It’s about time that we finally heard from Nintendo of when we can expect to have our digital lives taken over by adorable animal villagers."[/pullquote]
We first heard about a new mainlineAnimal Crossingtitleduring the Nintendo Direct last September, but since then Nintendo has been pretty quiet about what the Switch-boundAnimal Crossingwill look like, when it’s coming, or what it’s even called. And other thanAnimal Crossing: Pocket Campon mobile, the last mainline installment of the series was released six years ago on the 3DS withAnimal Crossing: New Leaf.
For a bit context, I myself didn’t really get into the series until I playedNew Leafall those years ago. I dabbled a bit with the originalAnimal Crossingand some of the later titles, butNew Leafwas the title that really ended up winning me over on the series, particularly for being so easy to pick up and play as a portable game.New Leafespecially won me over for the fact that it gave the player a greater role in shaping and designing their own animal village by acting as the town’s mayor. And other than the fact that role introduced players to the endlessly lovable Isabelle, I enjoyed the ways that this fresh take on theAnimal Crossingformula gave me a bit more direction and variety of things to do than in the past games.
[pullquote]“New Leafwas the title that really ended up winning me over on the series, particularly for being so easy to pick up and play as a portable game."[/pullquote]
WithNew Leafhaving taken the series into such an interesting direction and exemplifying how wellAnimal Crossingworks in a portable setting, that makes me all the more excited at the potential of whatAnimal Crossingcan do on Nintendo Switch. Obviously there is the fact that we’ll see a more richly-detailed and vibrant world from playing on a more capable system, but will that translate to a greater degree of what the player can do to interact with the world? What new features and systems will be available to make customization and management feel even better than before? And most importantly, what new, cute animals will I be able to interact with in my town?
These are all questions that I and surely tens of thousands of otherAnimal Crossinglovers have for the upcoming Switch game, and I’m pretty sure we’ll get some of those questions answered at E3 2019 (with maybe a follow-up Direct down the line). However, the most important question that I have still remains: when isAnimal Crossingcoming for the Switch? We’re already nearly halfway through the year, and we should know sooner rather than later when to expect a return trip toAnimal Crossing.
[pullquote]“I’m just excited more than ever that we’ll (hopefully) know Crossingfor Nintendo Switch in a little over a week."[/pullquote]
WithPokemon Sword & Shieldseemingly positioned to be Nintendo’s big holiday seller for this year and a good slate of Switch games already confirmed for the summer, I think it would make sense that we might see a fall release window forAnimal Crossingon Nintendo Switch, perhaps alongsideLuigi’s Mansion 3in time for Halloween. Nintendo has gotten in a rhythm with its Switch releases of having one to two big exclusives a month, and in the summer we’re already expecting games likeMarvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order,Fire Emblem: Three Houses, andAstral Chain. So with their lineup having a few gaps right now in the late summer and fall, I think it makes the most sense thatAnimal Crossingcould maybe fit in nicely sometime in August or September, if I had to make my best guess.
While it’s almost guaranteed that we’ll hear something aboutAnimal Crossingon Nintendo Switch during Nintendo’s E3 Direct, of all the games that we can expect to see at this year’s show it is already one of the ones that I am most looking forward to hearing more from. Though I came into it relatively late,New Leafquickly showed me the error of my ways in dismissing the series before and really showing me how engrossing it can be to decorate your dream home or make new animal friends. With E3 2019 around the corner, I’m just excited more than ever that we’ll (hopefully) know Crossingfor Nintendo Switch in a little over a week, no matter how many bells it takes to get it.
As we near E3, what do you want to see the most at this year’s show? What’s your dream scenario? Be sure to let us know in the comments.Lastly, be sure tocheck out some of the other hopes and dreams for E3 2019from the rest of theDualShockerswriters.
