# When did you start playing Animal Crossing?



## xSuperMario64x (Nov 18, 2021)

as a bonus, what game did you start with?

I started playing in January 2008 when I was 8 years old, during the Wild World era, and my first game was AC:GCN


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## BetsySundrop (Nov 18, 2021)

I first played on the game cube with my kids. We eventually all had our own (memory cards) islands, and it was a lot of fun. It was funny, too, because we would sabotage each other's islands as pranks (burying trash, etc). I do not miss the way my favorite villagers would move away, even when I treated them like royalty. I do miss the music from that first game though.


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## ~Kilza~ (Nov 18, 2021)

I started playing the series with the original Animal Crossing way back in 2002. I've definitely poured a lot of hours into the series since then, lol.


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## LadyDestani (Nov 18, 2021)

I started playing during the GameCube era. Then, I took a long break from the series, mainly because I don't keep up with gaming news and didn't even realize new games were being produced. I found out about New Leaf in 2017 and I've been back into Animal Crossing ever since.


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## Holla (Nov 19, 2021)

I started playing in 2006 with Wild World on the DS. Wish I had started with the original title but never had a Gamecube as a kid sadly.


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## Regalli (Nov 19, 2021)

Started with Gamecube, but I only figured out things like ‘how to fish consistently’ and ‘if you pay Nook’s loan, you can get a bigger house’ around Wild World, which is when I was formally hooked.


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## Croconaw (Nov 19, 2021)

I started with GameCube. I rented it so much from the video rental store that the workers just gave me the copy. I was ecstatic.


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## xara (Nov 20, 2021)

i started playing back in december 2006-2007 with wild world! i received it, along with a nintendo ds, as a christmas present.


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## MiniPocketWorld (Nov 20, 2021)

I started with New Horizons two weeks after launch. It was gifted to me, and then I gifted it to a friend who is now trying it out 
I have seen the original animal crossing game in walmart long long ago but never had the chance to check it out. I wonder if I would have been into it then or not. Since I played New Horizons I have checked out New Leaf which I also enjoy. Now I am back into New Horizons since I know the contents of the the 2.0 update + DLC. And since my friend is now checking it out I thought it would be fun to start new islands at the same time. I do have my other save file on my pc though if I really did want to go back but so far my map on my current island is turning out really well so.. I am kinda attached to it more.


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## daringred_ (Nov 20, 2021)

i started playing with WW around 2006/7 when i was 7/8 years old. i was too young for GCN, so i've never played it or owned the console and don't plan to. i don't remember who got me the game, but there's a good chance it was something i asked for as a christmas present. we also have a second copy, which i assume was bought for my sister at a later point. i've played every game since then. it's definitely my favorite game series and the one i've known the longest aside from the various mario games.


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## ryuk (Nov 20, 2021)

like many others here i started with wild world, it was the first video game i ever played and i was only 7. it’s crazy to think about the fact that i’ve been playing animal crossing for almost 15 years. i still visit my wild world town from time to time and revel in the nostalgia and sweet memories (stitches was always my favorite and to my knowledge he still hasn’t moved out after all this time)


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## oak (Nov 20, 2021)

I started with the gamecube version way back in the day. It came with my gamecube so it was one of the first games I got into.


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## moo_nieu (Nov 20, 2021)

my first game was on the gamecube when i was really little. i asked for a gamecube super smash bundle for christmas, and the same day i got animal crossing as a surprise gift from an estranged relative who ive never met and hasnt had any contact with us since then. its pretty crazy how much that gift impacted my life! ive bought each main game since and theyve helped me get through a lot of hard times


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## shellbell (Nov 20, 2021)

3DS was actually my first console and ACNL was my third game ever. I first played it in 2016 when it already pretty dead ._.


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## DarthGohan1 (Nov 20, 2021)

Got the original for Gamecube back in 2002, been a huge fan of AC games ever since


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## TheWildShadow55 (Nov 21, 2021)

I started in the New Leaf era, I got NL for Christmas 2014 and played it for a good 2-3 years


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## ughrora (Nov 21, 2021)

I started playing on N64 in 2001. Once it came out on GameCube, I moved to that. I've been playing every release since then.


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## Sheando (Nov 26, 2021)

Technically I did play Population Growing with a friend a few times as a kid, but I consider my real first game to be Wild World in 2006, when I was 11. That was my first town of my own, and where I met most of my favorite villagers. I really miss the music from that game, and also the villager proportions, haha. I liked the huge heads on the rhinos and horses and alligators and cows, etc.


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## Sweetley (Nov 27, 2021)

I started around the Wild World era, although I got the game later after it's release. Was looking for a new game for my DS and thought I would give it a try after I heard and saw so much about it. In retrospective I'm very happy that I started playing it.


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## ChocoPie22 (Dec 5, 2021)

I think I started playing around the New Leaf era but with City Folk, I had it for the Wii but had never played until later games came out.


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## islandprincess (Dec 8, 2021)

.


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## Kamex (Dec 9, 2021)

I started with New Leaf in 2014. I didn't like it at first but as I progressed in the game, I became hooked. Definitely one of the best 3DS games.


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## Neb (Dec 9, 2021)

I started between 2013-2014 with New Leaf. I rented a copy until I got my own for my 13th birthday. Still my favorite game in the series!


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## Stikki (Dec 11, 2021)

New Leaf was the first I played, which I believe I got in late 2013, but not sure, maybe it was early 2014. It was before Harv was added anyway, so when I returned to it years later, I had no idea wtf was going on there haha. I had heard of the games before, but never actually played as I only had a 3DS back then, so no compatible console til New Leaf. I enjoyed Harvest Moon a lot and decided to give Animal Crossing a go after seeing some people playing it.


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## Snek (Dec 15, 2021)

New Leaf, because I've always been a Nintendo handheld boy. NL came with my 3DS as part of a promotion and that's how I got into AC.


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## Mr_Keroppi (Dec 17, 2021)

I started with NL when I was 4! I remember getting it after telling my mother that zack scott played it! Now it is my favorite game of all time and AC will always be my favorite! I know too much about every game and I know that everyone will think this is normal but I have seen all the villagers so many times through posts and amiibo cards to the point where I have MEMORIZED EVERY VILLAGERS NAME. and what series they are in and personality. I <3 AC


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## Romaki (Dec 17, 2021)

I got into it during the Wild World era and I'm happy to have witnessed a lot of things like the anime movie and the build up to New Horizons.


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## miss.stranger (Dec 21, 2021)

I had to look back at photos for reference but I started playing New Leaf in April of 2014. Back then, I played with a lot of people from a website called GaiaOnline. Slightly disappointed that my original save file got deleted but I had a lot of memories nevertheless. My 3DS is slightly damaged so it's been fun playing New Horizons with random people online.


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## VanitasFan26 (Dec 21, 2021)

I heard of Animal Crossing form this YouTuber named Chuggaconroy who did a Lets Play of Animal Crossing New Leaf. At the time I thought "That looks really cool" sadly I didn't own a 3DS at the time so I couldn't get the game. So by March 2020 when the Pandemic started I picked up Animal Crossing New Horizons making it the first AC game I've ever played. If it wasn't for Chuggaconroy playing New Leaf I would've never discovered Animal Crossing in General.


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## Meadows (Jan 3, 2022)

My first ac game was wild world, but my second one was the gamecube version. I'd say I spent more time on the gamecube and new leaf then any other ac game.


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## Bui (Jan 3, 2022)

I first started playing Animal Crossing on August 18, 2012, with the GameCube version I had picked up alongside a bunch of other GameCube games from GameStop. I hadn't really expected the game to be anything noteworthy, but ended up becoming almost instantly addicted to the game. Within a week I had bought myself Wild World and had preordered New Leaf, and when my birthday rolled around in November I used the money I got to buy myself a Wii specifically for City Folk. Good times...


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## Suntide (Jan 3, 2022)

First one was Wild World for me. It came as a bundle with the DS I bought. At the time I was more interested in Nintendogs, but at some point decided to pick up Wild World and try it out, and I loved it so much! I had a GameCube and ended up buying and playing that version as well. Been a fan of the series ever since! However, I've never played City Folk. The wii was not a console I liked to play on very much because I found it too hard to control.


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## Tobiume (Jan 3, 2022)

I started with Wild World, I guess it was the 'in' game in 6th? grade. I remember everyone wanted Joey for some reason and his little pool that had a duck floating in it. I still think he's a cute character but I didn't notice he was wearing a diaper back then. 

I wish I got to experience the GC version though - I think I'd get a kick out of villagers being genuinely mean or being able to bang on the shop door to get it open past hours.


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## Millysaurusrexjr (Jan 9, 2022)

New Leaf era! When I was in college. Definitely contributed to a couple failed classes but... no regrets. Some people party in college, I played animal crossing


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## Aniko (Jan 9, 2022)

I started playing with New Leaf in 2014 and still playing. When I look at screenshots from older games, I think it looks fun.


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## gigii (Jan 10, 2022)

i started playing acnl in 2020 and i still play till this day : )


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## DaisyFan (Jan 10, 2022)

Besides Pocket Camp, I started with New Leaf in 2019. I wished I discovered the series years ago. :')


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## Halloqueen (Jan 10, 2022)

I went over to a friend's house back in 2002 and they were playing the GameCube game when I arrived. I was intrigued and watched them play for a bit before we switched to something else. I soon thereafter got a copy of my own so we could play together.


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## Chris (Jan 10, 2022)

_Wild World_. I imported it from NA in late 2005 because I didn't want to wait for it to release in Europe.


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## Alienfish (Jan 10, 2022)

Started with Wild World. Though I got it pretty late and I could never play online so it became rather boring for me even though the game was good for its time. Played it in later years and of those I played I prefer New Leaf so much since Wild World aged rather bad sadly.


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## vanivon (Jan 10, 2022)

started at the very start of wild world era (late 2005), but i started with and by far poured the most time into ACGC; my gamecube was an 8th birthday present that year and i stumbled upon it while looking for games with boxart pretty and / or colourful enough to catch my eye at my local gamestop. fell in love instantly :')


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## Foreverfox (Jan 10, 2022)

I am one of the few people it seems that started with ACNH. I just somehow missed the entire franchise during my young gaming years! Not sure how!


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## Merielle (Jan 10, 2022)

I started with New Leaf, right towards the end of NL's era!  I started on New Year's Eve of 2019, so _very_ close to New Horizon's release, but I'm glad it was my first game since it familiarized me with a lot about the series (and meant that NH had seen a lot of updates/bug fixes by the time I started playing it).  Oddly, I don't recall ever seeing/hearing about the series in my childhood either—I only started hearing about AC from others online when I was a teenager.  I played games on the DS and the Wii, so I'm a little surprised that I never encountered it.


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## JellyBeans (Jan 11, 2022)

I don't entirely remember which game I started with but in terms of timing, it makes sense for it to fall around the city folk era - i definitely played wild world, but i think i must've played CF first since i likely had a wii before any kind of DS? either way i then played NL right from the beginning (hence my join date on this forum lol) and of course was a day 1 NH player


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## thefallenfruit (Jan 11, 2022)

i was just looking around for nintendo switch games and then i saw “animal crossing new horizons”. it seemed interesting so i decided to get it because it was the start of the pandemic and i was bored. even though it came almost a month after the release date because my package was on back-order forever, i immediately fell for the game and ive been a big fan of the franchise ever since. i eventually got city folk later that year but ive been on a burnout for accf for a while.


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## Dim (Jan 12, 2022)

My first game was the Animal Crossing to Gamecube in 2006 during the Wild World era. I first heard of Animal Crossing through my brother who had Wild World at the time. I saw the Gamecube game and told him about it and he went and bought it. One of the best things I ever did.


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## Balverine (Jan 13, 2022)

I started with City Folk because I spotted it when I got my wii lol
but I later went back and played the GC version and put quite a lot of time into it, too

never cared for WW so I didn't play it much


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## Jinglefruit (Jan 13, 2022)

The results of this poll are extremely telling of which games in the series generated the strongest bonds to players, to have people seek out and build online communities for the games. 'Specially if you consider how many copies of the games were sold alongside the ratios in the poll here.


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## Smilephantomhive (Jan 13, 2022)

I think in 2007 with wild world, I saw my friend play it in third grade, and my sister and I asked our dad for it. It was super fun, and I remember spending hours on it. I didn't know what I was doing and couldn't figure out turnips as a kid. I liked talking to the towns people and I bought a lot of stuff.


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## Midoriya (Jan 13, 2022)

I started with the GameCube version and have played every game in the series since, including all the spinoffs.  I remember helping my sister finish her house upgrades in the original game.  It definitely wasn’t easy.  From there I kept playing with other people more and more.  Animal Crossing has always held a special place in my heart even though it’s not one of my favorite games.


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## Shoutarous (Jan 14, 2022)

wild world, i think! my cousin owned Population Growing but it never really stuck out to me since I was young. I played Wild World up until the release of new leaf. I also think that I had City Folk, But I was less active on there as a whole. I mostly just played WII Sports Resort and Cooking Mama LOL. Also the Mario Games. My longest played game was New Leaf. I played that one since it came out until a year or two before New Horizons was released.


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## Venn (Jan 16, 2022)

My parents still have no clue what they did when they handed me the GameCube game came when I first got the GameCube back in that era xD. They still get surprised when I get each game since xD


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## Introspective Onlooker (Jan 16, 2022)

Decided to change my vote to the fourth generation because _Pocket Camp_ is still in an *Animal Crossing* game, just *much* more barebones than any of them.


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## Nenya (Jan 21, 2022)

My six-year-old (then) grandson introduced me to ACNL in April 2016. We played together on his town then I started playing his town, with his permission, of course, while he was at school or sleeping. He eventually gave me the cartridge and I bought a used 3DS XL. (The Year of Luigi 30th-it’s silver) I tore that town of Novaria down to practically nothing and rebuilt it, keeping only my villagers and my second character, (and mayor, of course).

My adult daughters were highly amused. One of them even bought me a New 2DS XL when they came out! I have three sisters who all know I play, but I rarely talk to them about my game because_ they think it is for kids. _

I bought my second copy around the beginning of 2017 when it became a Nintendo Select. I loved starting my own town and I love that I knew so much about it that I reset for the town layout. It only took eleven tries. I played hundreds of hours for eight months and “finished” my favorite town of Elenrast. Sounds corny but I put my soul in that town.

My grandson and I played together, fishing, deep-sea diving and having a ball jumping off the pier at the same time! As he got older, though, Minecraft and Dragonvale became his go-to games. Before New Horizons I would look at his game when I went to pick his perfect fruit. His villagers came and went without his even knowing. Last time I looked he only had eight and someone new was moving in.

I was definitely on the slippery slope that TBT member Hoodathotit (now my husband) talks about, on my way to multiple towns. I have five NL towns but since New Horizons I have only opened them to update Dream Addresses. I have two NH islands, one of them “finished” and the other very close. Maybe I will go back to my two unfinished NL towns some day!


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## mermaidshelf (Jan 22, 2022)

The year was 2006, I was in high school. I went over to one of my best friend's house to watch LOTR and play games. She asks me if I've ever played the Sims. I believe it was Sims 2. I had not and we played for an hour. I found the game incredibly stressful. My character kept having to pee. Then she suggested we play Animal Crossing on the Gamecube. I instantly fell in love with the game. I bought it that week. That was the start of my AC journey. I don't talk with that friend anymore but I wish I could let her know she changed the course of my life haha.


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## cornimer (Jan 25, 2022)

I started playing during the City Folk era (Dec 2010) but my first game was Wild World.


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## DinosaurDumpster (Jan 31, 2022)

i started playing in early 2014, when i was about 7 or 8 during the nl era, and my first game was nl. i was kind of forced into playing it bc my sister was tired of me playing pokemon y all the time. when i saw the trailer back in 2011-2012 or so i thought id be bored with it but here i am now


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## MadisonBristol (Feb 5, 2022)

I'm pretty sure around 2005-06. My first was Wild World, and I got GCN soon after.


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## michito (Feb 7, 2022)

I'm surprised how few people voted for ACNH! I saw a ton of new players thanks to it, but I guess most of them simply stayed on other social medias.
About my first game, technically it was ACWW in 2006 but I lost it shortly after, so I consider ACCF my first one. I played it almost daily from 2008 to ACNL's release, it's the game I got most memories with (sadly, I erased my original town....)


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## Stella-Io (Feb 17, 2022)

I honestly don't know the exact year. My memory is garbage I wish I did know, but I don't really have a way of lookin back to see.

I saw my dad play City Folk and I wanted to play it, so he looked up Animal Crossing games and saw there was one for the DS, which I already had. I don't know if he got City Folk right when the Wii came out or later. I just voted for City Folk since I was playing AC in that time anyway. I remember being really excited for NL's release back in summer. NL was the first time I ever actually watched a Nintendo Direct.

I'm also surprised at the small amount of votes City Folk has.


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## Rika092 (Feb 21, 2022)

New Leaf is my first AC game and to this date I still feel like it was the best AC game I've played (sorry NH!). At first I was a little unsure about it since I'm generally not into the life simulation gaming genre and a friend who had played it told me it was very boring lol

I think YouTube videos helped me gain interest in it and I'm so glad I found it because I had so much fun with it. Probably played it for a good 4 years before putting it down and moving on to other titles.


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## TurnipBell20 (Feb 21, 2022)

I don’t remember the exact date, but my first game was Wild World and I got it around 2007 to 2008.


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