Approaching the One Year Anniversary, what will you think if there aren't any big updates coming?

[Nefarious]

Even if Nintendo told us themselves there won't be a significate update for NH's anniversary I'll still be disappointed either way. I'm just prepared for the let down. If they want to throw in a surprise no one sees coming though... no complaints here.

All that can be done right now is just sit, wait and speculate. I would like a big update, but that's me being impatient for the full game.

 

[Cosmic-chan]

Mario Update will be by far the lamest

 

[coldpotato]

It’s Mario items (for the Mario anniversary). I’m guessing: star, mushroom, hopefully M&L hats.

I think we will get those plus a lot more. I'm guessing we'll get most of the same ones that were in NL.

My prediction is that we will get around 10-15 new mario items (including wallpaper and flooring) and some mario/luigi/princess peach/toad clothing items.
Nintendo loves Mario and I can see them putting quite a bit of effort into these items.

I'm so excited to see all the mario furniture and interact with it (and see our villagers interact with them!!). They were some of my favorite items in NL.

 

[SheepMareep]

The Mario update actually seems like it will be interesting.

Spoiler: Data mine spoilers bewarb

there was coding found in a recent data mine that includes actions such as jumping, falling, etc. This may be pointing towards mini games making a return! Which would be really cool.

But I think nintendo will save the big update for 2.0; im hoping they just wanted to focus on the holidays for this first year (we have also been dealing with a pandemic which slows progress!).

If we are following patterns of the previous titles regarding game progression I'm thinking the 2.0 update should be pretty big and include nookling upgrades and maybe a new area for shops such as kicks and leif.
Nintendo mentioned this would be a slower paced game prior to release so im not surprised or shocked we haven't gotten very far in just one year, let alone a year where an unexpected pandemic occured.

 

[Berrymia]

Imma keep my expectations at an all time low for the March update. I’ve learnt it the hard way from the January one lol.
I think we’ll get some blue pants, the iconic hats, a super star item and that’s it lol.
I’m also careful about the data-mining because last time everyone thought villager visits might return along with ceiling items so imma keep my expectations low for March, only expecting a few Mario items. If Nintendo proves me wrong I’ll be happy!
Man, At this Point, honestly I don’t think either that there’ll be a big anniversary update. As people said before, maybe a cake lol.
But I do think Nintendo listens to their fans (sometimes) and the feedback of the latest update was extremely bad. So maybe they’ll react to it?
We’ll see I guess. I’m just pretty pessimistic at this point

 

[Cosmic-chan]

I don't pay attention to data mines they're always better than the updates and that only upsets me more. This update will be an ass of an update with lame af clothes and furniture lol

 

[RollingAntony]

Just a headsup, I read an interview from November where a higher up at Nintendo was commenting on a slight drop off of New Horizon sales, and he said they would respond to that by accelerating new content.

Nope, that's not what they said.

Q10Unit sales of Animal Crossing: New Horizons were down a bit in the second quarter compared to the first, but do you expect sales to pick up again during the year-end sales season and to continue to drive good business momentum?

A10 Furukawa: The sales pace of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has eased compared to the period around its initial release, but among all our titles, this one continues to maintain high sales levels. As I mentioned in response to a previous question (Q7), this title is also driving Nintendo Switch hardware sales in Asian markets, which have relatively smaller sales numbers than the markets in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. Going forward, we will continue to implement in-game events and would like to create a situation where consumers will keep enjoying the game for a long time. This will be the first year-end sales season for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and we hope even more people will take that opportunity to purchase the game.

I mean, let's explain a bit about sales. The latest sales reported, which is where this investor question comes from, are from FY3 2021 Q2. Animal Crossing New Horizons released at the tail end of FY2 2020, at Q4 (March 2020). FY3 2021 Q1 then corresponds to the following three months, which at least the first one (april) is still boosted by launch-effect. During Q1, the game sold 10.63m which is way too much. Q2, which spans July-September is usually a quiet sales period, because although it has some boost there and there like Obon on Japan, the months are usually slow. Despite that, the game still sold 3.64m.

Looking without any context, of course there is a drop quarter over quarter. We usually tend to see the true power of legs on display on these quarters if a game is able to have slight drops compared to the previous one, for example, Smash Bros Ultimate or BOTW had a very tine drop on sales, because they are true evergreen titles (or if you're insane like Mario Kart you go slightly up). ACNH had the biggest second quarter for any Switch game, so it's obvious that its 3rd quarter (FY3 2021 Q2) wasn't going to keep up- the game had an attach rate of around 36.5% which is insane. Still selling what it sold on Q2 is a show of the game's legs.

On a few hours we'll get the results of FY3 2021 Q3 which is Christmas period- that means sales will be huge for everything (it's the biggest quarter for Nintendo). Of course NH won't reach the 10m of Q2 because those sales were out of this world, but it will display the tremendous amount of power it has (thus any notion of the game selling based on the franchise previous success will be even more false). No game sales quarter over quarter the same as its initial release, that's a given. However, many Nintendo franchises tend to be evergreen for the rest of their lifes and keep selling well instead of being frontloaded like other titles. For example, Pokémon is a series that is more frontloaded, selling everything it can on the first year and then fading out (and SwSh is reversing that trend, ironically). MK8D had around 4m during its two first quarters but has now reached around 30m. Therefore, its sales dwindling a bit is normal and expected (and well, not expected because they are still insane). They are not affecting anything related to content or its release, well, if anything, they will just make Nintendo ask Kyogoku/Nogami for more updates.

And for bonus context, investor questions are noted for being silly sometimes. The investor here seems worried that NH didn't sell another 10 million copies which like explained above, is nonsense. But they are an investor and don't know a lot, so they just ask whatever they want.

(i know i said i wouldn't post again but the sales-talk that is happening is pretty misinformed and i hope i can clear some things)

 

[Bk1234]

I don't pay attention to data mines they're always better than the updates and that only upsets me more. This update will be an ass of an update with lame af clothes and furniture lol

I don’t have high hopes for the Mario-themed update either, but maybe my low expectations will lead to a pleasant surprise when the update drops.

 

[Cosmic-chan]

I don’t have high hopes for the Mario-themed update either, but maybe my low expectations will lead to a pleasant surprise when the update drops.

I'll be surprised if it's actually good lmao

 

[Bk1234]

I'll be surprised if it's actually good lmao

Maybe they’ll throw in some Fire Emblem stuff.

 

[azurill]

I don't pay attention to data mines they're always better than the updates and that only upsets me more. This update will be an ass of an update with lame af clothes and furniture lol

I agree it’s best not to look at the data mines. Just because something is there doesn’t mean we will get it. People are getting disappointed because of it example would be cooking and new veggies. Cooking could have just been that Franklin cooks on turkey day and we might not get anything more then that. I don’t have high expectations for the next update whatever we get we get.

 

[Cosmic-chan]

I think personally people shouldn't focus on data mines. That's what leads to a lot of disappoinment.

 

[John Wick]

I'm now certain we will never get decent content.

IMO, just about every item from every update has been poorly created garbage.

I still prefer the NL items, and wish they would hire a talented artist to upgrade and add those items to NH.

Dear nintendo, stop allowing your grandkids to design the items with their feet.

 

[Jaco]

Yea, that article jogs my memory. It wasn't a cause-and-effect from dipping sales.

They are not affecting anything related to content or its release, well, if anything, they will just make Nintendo ask Kyogoku/Nogami for more updates.

Still, I think it's a stretch to infer from that 10 question brief that New Horizon's content schedule has not been impacted by its huge sales. Like you said, it's an investor call so he can't give away the farm (the Q&A summary even says "I can't get into any specifics here" in Question 8) but he mentions a few times New Horizon's positive impact on the overall Switch life cycle and and that they "will come up with and undertake a variety of initiatives so that many people will maintain interest in our games and entertainment", and he specifically cites New Horizons in this context.

And for bonus context, investor questions are noted for being silly sometimes. The investor here seems worried that NH didn't sell another 10 million copies which like explained above, is nonsense. But they are an investor and don't know a lot, so they just ask whatever they want.

In my opinion, I didn't think any of the questions in that interview were silly. I think it's fair to call New Horizons a Mario Kart 8 tier game for the Switch so investors are naturally intrigued by the continued sales pattern.

 

[Anj2k6]

I don't think there will be an big anniversary update, but all I want in life is Brewster to come back and more design slots ;n;

 

[Boidoh]

Exactly. Besides, Resetti is already a part of the game working at rescue services. We already have him, we just unfortunately don't get to see him as he's helping us.

This is honestly just a technicality. This could have replaced with any character and a new character. It's honestly ridiculous to say "we have him" because of a line of dialogue that most players will never even see. He could have, I don't know, physically appeared for Groundhog Day? Or have the little manhole be his home like in New Leaf? Maybe he could have been repurposed to attack time travellers (hot take).

We don't "have him".

 

[Lanstar]

For those who complain about the lack of continuity between AC game features:

Nintendo has an odd philosophy about designing video games, in that they tend to avoid continuity in game features. They like to base their games off of very different and new themes so that each game - new and old - has longevity to entice people to play them. That's as opposed to every new game just being the exact same game, but with additional enhancements.

Take 3D Mario Games, for instance: Mario 64 was a basic dabbling into various ideas about 3d Platforming. Then Mario Sunshine was themed more about using a water pump named Fludd in a tropical envorinment removing many of the power ups and world variety from 64. Then Mario Galaxy twists the whole way you have to do the Platforming, and removes the Fludd mechanic. Features never accrue between games, but you'd be crazy if you complained about the lack of Fludd in Galaxy, no? What isn't in such games is just as important as what is in them.

In such, I sort of recognize how they tried to theme New Horizons compared to past games. The game is heavily themed around building up a town from scratch, and also around crafting and outdoor decorating. To make sure of that, they muffled up a lot of other features: A lot of interior based decorations from past games were left out, and they even shrunk the rooms in our homes. It's actually quite intentional, so to encourage players to go outdoors and decorate, as opposed to play the exact same way as past games.

Sadly, the nature of Animal Crossing really conflicts with this method of design. Such a franchise is a gigantic feature void that engulfs everything in its wake - And its all due to being played for years in real time. The missing sets of furniture and other things are always brought up because the memories of them in past games are quite strong after bonding with them over the years - And it spirals out of control to the point that a lot of players want the game to work like Smash or Madden, where each new game must have all the major content of the old game, plus more.

Hence why threads like this come up.

 

[Kalle]

I think they need a massive update with gyroids and other missing common features and characters.

 

[LoyalDragonfly]

It's not perfect, no game is, and not even New Leaf was a masterpiece. If you think so, check it out again, and you will instantly be reminded of the many limitations and inconveniences we dealt with in the game.

Actually...

I bought New Horizons and played it for a few weeks. To make a long story short, I didn't like it! For a while, I tried to force myself to think positively about it, because I loved NL so much and I felt like I should love this game, too... but after some time, I just had to admit that I wasn't having fun. At first, I blamed my distaste and disappointment on the severe lack of furniture. However, my issues with the game are with the core design and gameplay decisions. I didn't care at all for crafting, nor did I care that outdoor design stuff had trampled all over indoor design, which was a part of NL that I loved so much. On top of that, I felt that the villager personalities were lobotomized, especially the lazies. Beau was my first lazy move-in in NH, and after just a few weeks of enduring the new lazy dialogue, it's actually kind of made me dislike Beau, now. I just felt that no amount of waiting for more furniture, NPCs, or future QOL improvements would ever make the game better for me.

So, I returned the game, and went back to playing New Leaf to try and cheer myself up. And I rediscovered what I knew to be true all along; that NL actually is a masterpiece. I love it; it would place at least somewhere in my top 20 games. The graphics are gorgeous, the atmosphere is fantastic, and it's just plain fun to play. I can decorate both indoors and outdoors exactly how I like, and there's always stuff to do every day, even if there's not a holiday going on. What other people may call limitations or inconveniences, to me, is just part of what makes Animal Crossing so special.

My only regret is that I bought NH in the first place. At the time, I was just so excited to have a new Animal Crossing game, but if I had just waited to see that it was actually completely different than what I thought it was going to be, I wouldn't have given them my money.

As for the March update, to rope this post back on topic, I imagine it's just going to be a handful of Mario items... I wouldn't expect any other Nintendo-themed things, and I also wouldn't expect a massive update for the anniversary.

EDIT: I know I've had a history of being mean to NH (including in this very post), but I will say this, though... In spite of my distaste for the game as it is, if they introduce any really good Bowser-themed items or villagers as part of the Mario update, I will actually have to seriously reconsider trying it again to see if it's at least tolerable. I love Bowser that much.

 

[DrewAC]

And it spirals out of control to the point that a lot of players want the game to work like Smash or Madden, where each new game must have all the major content of the old game, plus more.

This is comparing apples to oranges in the worst way possible.

Madden gets yearly releases, firstly. Each release recycles almost exactly what was in the past game with almost no improvement at all, mainly because there is little to improve in a football game that gets releases every single year. They're able to continue doing this because the players not only foot the bill of the game itself, but spend tons and tons of money on Madden coins to fund their team, which gives them an advantage over others who do not pay. Is this truly what you want Animal Crossing to become? I know I'd rather not have Pocket Camp for a main series game, lol.

As far as Smash, Smash: Ultimate is an excellent game, without one doubt. However, even Sakurai has said that it is unlikely any other future Smash game will have as many characters going forward. You reach a point where it becomes borderline impossible for developers to improve upon the formula of the game while also trying to 1:1 match every single bit of content that came before it.

And I honestly feel like we have a good amount of furniture and items in New Horizons as it is. Each one has numerous variations that one can customize it to look like, too. In terms of sheer furniture series, there are less, but there is such a wide range of objects for interior, and especially exterior, placement that makes me feel the way I do. It's certainly a case of quality over quantity as well, given every single object they designed has a massive better mesh and texture than the 240p quality we were staring at in New Leaf. At any rate, it is without a doubt, this year will be full of more furniture items delivered through patches.