# [RUMOUR] Animal Crossing Switch could be released as early as Q1/Q2



## kappnfangirl (Oct 2, 2018)

Inside sources are claiming we could see the game as early as Q1/Q2 2019. One of those sources is *PixelPar*, who leaked the Animal Crossing Switch announcement shortly before the Nintendo Direct went live. Seeing the game hit the Switch that soon would certainly be a welcome surprise. 
*
This is just a Rumour and I don't want to instil fake hope in people, but just wanted to share 
*
Sources: 
1. Go Nintendo 
2. Lootpots


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## KeatAlex (Oct 2, 2018)

kappnfangirl said:


> *
> This is just a Rumour and I don't want to instil fake hope in people, but just wanted to share
> *




Too late


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## SpiritofAce (Oct 2, 2018)

It's happening!


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## Chouchou (Oct 2, 2018)

Please Nintendo, just please. Give me this game 1 januari to start a town on the first day of the year . Or at least, give me some time to play red dead for a couple months haha.


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## smonikkims (Oct 2, 2018)

Anyone have any idea how long it took for the Pok?mon Let's Go information that this guy leaked to be confirmed? I'm wondering if he gets this information only a short while before it gets officially announced...


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## SpiritofAce (Oct 2, 2018)

Animal Crossing Direct coming soon? Next week? Tomorrow!?!? Yess get hyped


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## Dracyoshi (Oct 2, 2018)

Honestly, I kind of expected this! It makes sense that they'd want to avoid releasing Animal Crossing around Pokemon as they have a lot of fanbase overlap and Animal Crossing is best played in the spring and summer, not the winter.

If this doesn't turn out true and they have to release it later then they're gonna be missing out.


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## SpiritofAce (Oct 2, 2018)

Dracyoshi said:


> Honestly, I kind of expected this! It makes sense that they'd want to avoid releasing Animal Crossing around Pokemon as they have a lot of fanbase overlap and Animal Crossing is best played in the spring and summer, not the winter.
> 
> If this doesn't turn out true and they have to release it later then they're gonna be missing out.



This is true. It has to be true.


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## AccfSally (Oct 2, 2018)

Yeah, I'm still taking this as a pinch of salt.


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## Boccages (Oct 2, 2018)

GoNintendo is not a source, they just relay the rumor of Lootpots, a website with no history or credibility as of yet...

So, yeah. That's not worth much.

EDIT
Already, more believable rumor sources are contradicting this rumor. I call it what it is : junk


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## Licorice (Oct 2, 2018)

I'd love a January 1st release. Starting our towns on the start of a new year would be ideal.


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## smonikkims (Oct 2, 2018)

Boccages said:


> Already, more believable rumor sources are contradicting this rumor. I call it what it is : junk
> View attachment 220805



Do you have any information that makes this source more believable? Like things they predicted in the past or anything like that? Just trying to build a more complete picture. And is this all they have said about it; do they have any contradicting evidence?


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## Shellzilla_515 (Oct 2, 2018)

Am I the only one who thinks that this is too early for Animal Crossing to be released? I know it's just a rumour but if it were to be true, I'd worry on how it will turn out.


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## smonikkims (Oct 2, 2018)

Shellzilla said:


> Am I the only one who thinks that this is too early for Animal Crossing to be released? I know it's just a rumour but if it were to be true, I'd worry on how it will turn out.



I don't think anyone would need to worry about how it would turn out. If the game was being rushed then it would make more sense for it to be released before Christmas. I believe it's been in development for a long time but the right moment has been awaited for its announcement.


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## Shellzilla_515 (Oct 2, 2018)

smonikkims said:


> I don't think anyone would need to worry about how it would turn out. If the game was being rushed then it would make more sense for it to be released before Christmas. I believe it's been in development for a long time but the right moment has been awaited for its announcement.



Let's also consider this: Smash Ultimate is releasing in December. If Animal Crossing were to be released a couple of months later, that would divert the attention away from either of those games. Oh well.


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## Eme (Oct 2, 2018)

Wow that seems... Really soon. I'm not saying it's not great if it were released early but you don't want overlapping fandoms.


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## Jason Voorhees (Oct 2, 2018)

I hope it's that early. 

Fingers and eyes crossed.


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## kappnfangirl (Oct 2, 2018)

Boccages said:


> GoNintendo is not a source, they just relay the rumor of Lootpots, a website with no history or credibility as of yet...
> 
> So, yeah. That's not worth much.
> 
> ...


PixelPar isn't just some 'unreliable source' with no credibility...he accurately shared official information about Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu before the announcement.

He could of course get this info wrong, and it will still remain just a rumour unless anything is confirmed so I understand the apprehension but there is at least some credibility to it.


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## Flare (Oct 2, 2018)

This made me excited but it's best to not take it too seriously.


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## smonikkims (Oct 2, 2018)

I think it's just exciting to see any attention at all. It's clear that the guy has a little insider information even if he's completely off the mark, so at least digging is being done!!


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## Neechan (Oct 2, 2018)

It seems WAY too early to release it as winter is usually a quiet period, it'd make more sense for a release in late may early June as that's when a lot of people are being released from school or are on vacation


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## Chouchou (Oct 3, 2018)

Shellzilla said:


> Let's also consider this: Smash Ultimate is releasing in December. If Animal Crossing were to be released a couple of months later, that would divert the attention away from either of those games. Oh well.



Well, people who are wanting to play Smash are getting Smash anyways. Idem with Animal Crossing. I just want a gameplay video. I'm so curious what we are going to get.


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## Jake (Oct 3, 2018)

I heard form my local GameStop the game will release on March 23rd!

#only90'skidswillremember


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## lars708 (Oct 3, 2018)

I hope that this is true but this just seems like clickbait to me

''Animal Crossing for Nintendo Switch could be released as early as Q1/Q2 2019''

Key word here is COULD
Anyone can say that lmao

Calling it right now, Pit from Kit Icarus could be a villager in Animal Crossing Switch. I'll even write an article saying I got reliable sources and make a video about it to somehow make any sense out of it. Despite my claim being based on absolutely no data at all


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## Laureline (Oct 3, 2018)

Yeah at this point with all the fans excited and anxiously waiting for news. It could be clickbait for trolling, would be easy to do. If it turns out to be true than I'll retract that.


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## smonikkims (Oct 3, 2018)

I don't know why a respected leaker would go out of their way to troll anyone though. They would lose their credibility for the future by doing that. It's not as though this is completely baseless after all; it's unlikely that this guy would be able to actually tell anyone where he got his information from as this is a bit of a wonky moral ground, but it's good that you're not getting your hopes up.


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## Laureline (Oct 3, 2018)

-shrugs- anything is possible at this point. It just doesn't make sense to me for the game to be released that early. But yeah getting my hopes up has never done me good.


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## watercolorwish (Oct 3, 2018)

looks like my Q1 theory might be true

*flips weave*


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## smonikkims (Oct 3, 2018)

I would expect to have some more information within the next month or so if we are getting it that early though. Maybe within the next two months if it slips into Q2. Whether that information includes footage or not I'm sure there would be some official mention of the game fairly soon if this is meant to be.


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## lars708 (Oct 3, 2018)

smonikkims said:


> I would expect to have some more information within the next month or so if we are getting it that early though. Maybe within the next two months if it slips into Q2. Whether that information includes footage or not I'm sure there would be some official mention of the game fairly soon if this is meant to be.



I mean the website did say that more information will be coming soon but soon can mean half a year in Nintendo's case so who knows.


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## smonikkims (Oct 3, 2018)

lars708 said:


> I mean the website did say that more information will be coming soon but soon can mean half a year in Nintendo's case so who knows.



The website as in Nintendo's website? I think I missed that. Link??


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## Hat' (Oct 3, 2018)

ACS for Q2 we still believe in it


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## lars708 (Oct 3, 2018)

smonikkims said:


> The website as in Nintendo's website? I think I missed that. Link??



It's on the standard Nintendo game page, I'll look it up

Edit: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Ni...r-Nintendo-Switch-working-title--1438623.html


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## smonikkims (Oct 3, 2018)

Oh that. I was wondering whether you meant that. I imagine that's just a standard line of text for all their empty pages


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## lars708 (Oct 3, 2018)

smonikkims said:


> Oh that. I was wondering whether you meant that. I imagine that's just a standard line of text for all their empty pages



Yes it is but it's all we have at the moment :/


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## Stalfos (Oct 3, 2018)

I don't think it'll release Q1. Too soon. Personally, I don't think we'll get it earlier than late summer at best.

Although, Animal Crossing always looks the best during spring and summer seasons so a Q2 release would be very welcome.


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## Don't_ask_Alice (Oct 3, 2018)

So I'm very skeptical and here's why.  People have been asking for a new animal crossing for years AND were expecting something at E3 Nintendo knew this. Why wouldn't they announce something at E3 or sooner if the game was ready to be released for the public as soon as six months later? Not to mention nothing but the trailer has been released in Japan Nintendos home land. (Not that I know of at least).  I have never seen a teaser trailer then a game released and ready to go so soon after eachother. There's no prerelease at any game store and nothing but one very short teaser. Game stop loves to dig it's claws into anything as soon as possible so why haven't they?  Believe me I really do hope it comes out soon but I'm not getting my Hope's to high just yet . I just believe we would have more than one trailer and blurry probably faked photos if it were true.


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## DJStarstryker (Oct 3, 2018)

I doubt it. But Nintendo does occasionally surprise us.

What I'm more concerned about is the release itself. Animal Crossing has yet to have a worldwide release, like Pokemon or some other big franchises. Even if it were to come out Q1/Q2 - that might only be for Japan. And then everywhere else might not get it until like Q4. 

I hope Nintendo does a worldwide release for it though.


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## Sweetley (Oct 4, 2018)

No way it would be released in january (as some users here in this thread hope), that would be mean 
Nintendo has to drop all important things like title, general gameplay and informations within the next 
two months so that it would work, which is very unlikely. March could maybe work, maybe! Q2 sounds
more likely... Ugh, I don't know... I guess I will just wait till Nintendo will say something about it. When
it comes to rumors, I always don't know if I should pay them attention or not.


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## smonikkims (Oct 4, 2018)

I also agree that if a January release is gonna happen then info needs to be heavy within 2 months. However I do not think January will happen at all. March is looking good if this rumour is to be believed.

By the way, there is a rumour that an October Nintendo Direct is coming up soon, so I would say that if we get any information regarding Animal Crossing during that (if it's true) then we can start getting our hopes up. However I get the feeling the focus will mostly be on Smash if this is the case. Just thought I'd mention!


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## Sweetley (Oct 4, 2018)

smonikkims said:


> By the way, there is a rumour that an October Nintendo Direct is coming up soon, so I would say that if we get any information regarding Animal Crossing during that (if it's true) then we can start getting our hopes up. However I get the feeling the focus will mostly be on Smash if this is the case. Just thought I'd mention!


If there is really a Direct in this month, then I think there are some chances that they at least saying
the title and showing a little bit of gameplay (and maybe the release date or something like "coming in
spring/sommer/fall/winter").


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## Warrior (Oct 4, 2018)

Early 2019 makes a lot of sense to avoid competing with pokemon, as even if there's crossover with fire emblem players and animal crossing players, I think they're far enough removed whereas pokemon hits a lot of the same bases as animal crossing (collecting things as a central gameplay element)


I'll be super happy if it's march but not sure if my little heart can be so optimistic. I think if it comes out in march.... we need to start getting info in November/December or we might have a pokemon ultra sun/moon situation on our hands where the public just doesn't know what sets it apart from other games in the series


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## Boccages (Oct 4, 2018)

I wouldn't hold my breath for an October direct. Maybe a Smash direct in November, but usually Nintendo holds their next direct in January.


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## Sothe (Oct 4, 2018)

I think an early 2019 release would be ideal for all of the mentioned reasons. I just have to imagine that they have definitely been working on this game for some time now, too.

It’d honestly just be, like, the perfect game for the summer when everyone is out of school, too.


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## Boccages (Oct 5, 2018)

A small team might had been working on the skeleton of Animal Crossing Switch before spring 2016, but as work was winding down on Splatoon 2, some members of that team might have started to be reassigned to Animal Crossing Switch. That's my educated guess since the Splatoon team actually was made up from the Animal Crossing one.

So the jist of the work might have started a year and a half ago as people started building up on the concept a smaller team had been working on for some time now.


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## CoffeeAndCaramel973 (Oct 5, 2018)

I'm very happy there will finally be a new main AC game !!
True, AC:NL was (mostly) nice and new, with added features (become mayor, construct public works projects, swimming, and so on) but the game is old and aged now, and with the Nintendo Switch being a hybrid console/handheld it was (I think) only a matter of time before there would be a new mainstream AC game ^^

As myself being an older Animal Crossing player, I've known the days of the Gamecube as well, with the Animal Crossing title being released for the system. I still can remember the thrill, of playing the Animal Crossing for the first time  I was young back then, but me and my (real life) neighbor friend would also play the game while visiting each others' home.

Now, it might be the case I'm a bit off-topic here; I am not sure of it though, I have returned to Tbt from a long break and am just really delighted there will be another AC mainstream game, so I had to share my thoughts


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## WeiMoote (Oct 5, 2018)

Neechan said:


> It seems WAY too early to release it as winter is usually a quiet period, it'd make more sense for a release in late may early June as that's when a lot of people are being released from school or are on vacation



I agree; January is pretty much a bad month to release AC. Or any game, really. Cause you just got past the Holiday season and you may still be into the games you got for Christmas/Hanukkah. That, and school starts to get really in gear, or there's Winter Exams then. That, and some holidays aren't really celebrated as days off, so sales aren't that high then.

Around March/April, is still around the Q1 threshold, cause you have Spring Break and Easter to lounge around and play games. It also comes with a bit of a drawback... Finals. Yeah, while it may not affect some of us, around the latter bit of April into early May, is when Exams truly start to kick in, and nobody may even have the time to buy a new game at the time.

Soooo... I bet Q2 would be our best bet for if this rumor is true or not. Everyone's out of school, and generally, game sales are pretty high around then.

I am probably not accurate on this, but I did try to give it my best shot.


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## SwamPPL (Oct 5, 2018)

I hope this rumour is true, I want to start working on a new town ASAP.


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## Amilee (Oct 6, 2018)

i just hope for a worldwide release tbh


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## Jake (Oct 7, 2018)

Boccages said:


> A small team might had been working on the skeleton of Animal Crossing Switch before spring 2016, but as work was winding down on Splatoon 2, some members of that team might have started to be reassigned to Animal Crossing Switch. That's my educated guess since the Splatoon team actually was made up from the Animal Crossing one.
> 
> So the jist of the work might have started a year and a half ago as people started building up on the concept a smaller team had been working on for some time now.



Only about 10% of the AC team worked on Splatoon, and 30% on Splatoon 2


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## HopeForHyrule (Oct 7, 2018)

Amilee said:


> i just hope for a worldwide release tbh



With Nintendo making the Switch region-free, I'd say a worldwide release is definitely plausible.


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## Joyce (Oct 9, 2018)

It seems to good to be true to actually expect a release in the beginning of 2019..
But I do keep my fingers crossed, it would be so welcome!


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## Blue Cup (Oct 9, 2018)

Don't_ask_Alice said:


> So I'm very skeptical and here's why.  People have been asking for a new animal crossing for years AND were expecting something at E3 Nintendo knew this. Why wouldn't they announce something at E3 or sooner if the game was ready to be released for the public as soon as six months later? Not to mention nothing but the trailer has been released in Japan Nintendos home land. (Not that I know of at least).  I have never seen a teaser trailer then a game released and ready to go so soon after eachother. There's no prerelease at any game store and nothing but one very short teaser. Game stop loves to dig it's claws into anything as soon as possible so why haven't they?  Believe me I really do hope it comes out soon but I'm not getting my Hope's to high just yet . I just believe we would have more than one trailer and blurry probably faked photos if it were true.



As I said in another thread, E3 isn't the be-all, end-all for Nintendo announcements these days. That is what they have Directs for now and roughly 97% of their biggest announcements occur outside of E3. 

They have a road map for the Switch, and it clearly did not call for an Animal Crossing announcement in June. 

I honestly would not be surprised if we don't hear from the game again until next E3. Right now they have Smash, Let's Go, Fire Emblem, Yoshi and Deus X Machina to hype up between now and E3 2019. They sown the seeds of hype, but the germination period could be longer than most are hoping for.


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## Roshan (Oct 12, 2018)

I mean, they had like 7 years to develop it so Q1 doesn't seem too strange.


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## Blue Cup (Oct 13, 2018)

WeiMoote said:


> I agree; January is pretty much a bad month to release AC. Or any game, really. Cause you just got past the Holiday season and you may still be into the games you got for Christmas/Hanukkah. That, and school starts to get really in gear, or there's Winter Exams then. That, and some holidays aren't really celebrated as days off, so sales aren't that high then.
> 
> Around March/April, is still around the Q1 threshold, cause you have Spring Break and Easter to lounge around and play games. It also comes with a bit of a drawback... Finals. Yeah, while it may not affect some of us, around the latter bit of April into early May, is when Exams truly start to kick in, and nobody may even have the time to buy a new game at the time.
> 
> ...



Quite the opposite actually. January and February are the new October and November. A ton of developers now opt to release their major titles at the beginning of the year now as there is less competition and it has been doing wonders for them. 

That said, Animal Crossing won't be one of them. Nintendo will need something big for the summer period, and that is where Animal Crossing thrives, in-game and out.

Personally speaking, I feel it's a September/October game. But I want to be wrong.



Roshan said:


> I mean, they had like 7 years to develop it so Q1 doesn't seem too strange.



Just because they had five years to develop it doesn't mean they spent that time doing so. Nintendo started going through a company-wide restructuring, and with the Switch in development teams weren't immediately set to work.


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## Paperboy012305 (Oct 13, 2018)

I feel like they started development after the release of Pocket Camp. And announced it in September when they got things up to snuff. It’s also viable that they started development when they announced it.

If they developed it after the release of Pocket Camp. Except the release date in Summer.
But if they started development when they announced it, except it to release in Q4 or delays. But Nintendo knows that they didn’t like the wait for the New Leaf release that fans got mad over, so I think they learned their lesson with a technique that even we fans couldn’t figure out.

Who knows, it’s gotta be either June/December of 2019 when the game will be released. When people say “Sooner than you think”, they don’t mean a spring release. But that’s just my guess.


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## Blue Cup (Oct 13, 2018)

I'd assume that it began development before Pocket Camp. Nintendo doesn't personally develop any of the mobile games so they won't hinder development of internal projects in any way.

On the contrary, they may even be beneficial as far as games like Animal Crossing goes. I'd imagine a lot of the features that NDCube implemented in Pocket Camp are being used as testing grounds for potential features in AC2019. Nintendo looks at fan reaction and makes decisions/changes based on those.

And let's be honest here: As uninteresting Pocket Camp and mobile gaming as a whole are, there are some ideas in PC that absolutely need to be implemented into New Leafs follow up or else it'll seem like a regression rather than the (at least I hope) progression the series Nintendo wants to make. Photo mode is an absolute must in a game like Animal Crossing, and if that is absent from AC19, then yikes.


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## Roshan (Oct 14, 2018)

hh


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## Jake (Oct 14, 2018)

Paperboy012305 said:


> I feel like they started development after the release of Pocket Camp. And announced it in September when they got things up to snuff. It’s also viable that they started development when they announced it.
> 
> If they developed it after the release of Pocket Camp. Except the release date in Summer.
> But if they started development when they announced it, except it to release in Q4 or delays. But Nintendo knows that they didn’t like the wait for the New Leaf release that fans got mad over, so I think they learned their lesson with a technique that even we fans couldn’t figure out.
> ...



That's not how video game development works at all. No way had the game just started development when the direct aired. To put it into perspective, New Leaf and City Folk were both in development for 3+ years at a minimum. Pocket Camp also has very little to do with the development of this title, it was co-developed by ND Cube and not Nintendo alone.

Whether the game started development before/after Pocket Camp is hard to say. Pocket Camp got pushed back so many times, and was originally meant to be a town builder game before it was scrapped and they started again. If I took a guess I'd say they were both in development at the same time - Nintendo said the AC mobile app would connect with dedicated gaming systems, yet it has no functionality yet. We do know from the date in the Welcome amiibo update that they planned on making a mobile phone item, which would presumably have some tie-in with Pocket Camp. Since this item doesn't exist in NL outside of a text string, it's likely they decided to delay it for the next title. The AC mobile app was first announced early 2016 and was meant to release later that year. Welcome amiibo was announced in July 2016 and released November 2016 (which is when I assume the mobile app was slated to release alongside), so if you join all the dots I'd say the game has been in development since at least early 2016. That'll be 3 years when it releases next year, which is on-par with the past titles.

There's also the inevitable question of whether this title was originally planned for the Wii U but was then pushed back. We simply don't know enough about the game to give a proper idea on the development cycle just yet, or even a release window other than 2019.


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## shunishu (Oct 17, 2018)

i need a new leak or rumour.. it's too quiet..


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## Jason Voorhees (Oct 18, 2018)

Probably been in development on some level, since the Switches inception.


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## Blue Cup (Oct 18, 2018)

shunishu said:


> i need a new leak or rumour.. it's too quiet..



Shh, enjoy the peace and quiet. The next time we hear about this game we're probably going to be jettisoned right into "Countdown to release day" mode where we're going to be hearing about and seeing so much of this game that the wait will be come nigh unbearable.


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## Paperboy012305 (Oct 18, 2018)

I remember when the board here was very active when it got announced, but a few weeks later it died down. And we wouldn’t get any news anytime soon. The only way we’d see news of this game is by Nintendo Directs. You’d think it’d be an Animal Crossing Direct, but those types of directs only appear when games are near to release. Now, the smash bros direct was in August, and during that time, it was 4 months away from the release. But I guess due to E3, they revealed most of everything, so they have the rights to reveal new stuff overtime. Plus, Sakurai said he’d want to announce all the new characters before release.

A Nintendo Direct can happen on any month at any date, so we just cannot guess when a Direct will appear and what will be in it.
But if a new Direct has some gameplay of this game, or just detailed info of how the game works with a new gimmick added, then this board will skyrocket with an abundance of users.


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## Blue Cup (Oct 18, 2018)

Paperboy012305 said:


> A Nintendo Direct can happen on any month *at any date*, so we just cannot guess when a Direct will appear and what will be in it.
> But if a new Direct has some gameplay of this game, or just detailed info of how the game works with a new gimmick added, then this board will skyrocket with an abundance of users.



Actually, that is incorrect; Directs have strictly kept to Thursday premieres except on extremely rare occasions. You can look at the calendar at the beginning of each month and note the Thursdays that occur. Those are possible dates.

Even the month can properly be predicted by looking at past scheduling and noting the the month. They typically hold major Directs every quarter, which is January, March, June and September. January can be an exception as they only held a mini Direct this year. The June Direct is their big E3 event. Mini Directs, Nindie Showcases and specific game related Directs typically occur before or shortly after a main event. 

They can be predicted and have been so in the past very accurately. Even Nintendos own website would sometimes be altered weeks ahead of a Direct announcement.

For example: Come February 2019 when it's time for Game Freak to reveal Pokemon Gen 8, their Direct will be held on either the 7th, 14th, 21st or 28th. My personal guess is it's going to be on the 14th or 21st to space things out after Nintendo holds their first quarterly Direct of the year, be it a major or mini as was the case this year.


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## dj_mask (Oct 21, 2018)

shunishu said:


> i need a new leak or rumour.. it's too quiet..



Me too.  I'm not sure why but I'm desperate for any new information right now haha


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## Locket (Oct 21, 2018)

i am really feeling a march/april/may release honestly. they aren't going to release it before march and i don't think theyd release it later than august 

just how i feel though


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## lars708 (Oct 23, 2018)

Locket said:


> i am really feeling a march/april/may release honestly. they aren't going to release it before march and i don't think theyd release it later than august
> 
> just how i feel though



June would be a good moment to release it for many fans because that's about when summer vacation starts for most people worldwide. But who knows for sure. Maybe we'll get it in December regardless


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