Does Animal Crossing work better on handheld or home console?

[Klave]

Although Animal Crossing originated on a home console, New Leaf was overwhelmingly successful and I wonder if the Animal Crossing formula works better on handheld consoles in general.

For handheld consoles, it's easier to just pick up and play for a little bit at a time - to just check up your town. (Local) multiplayer is also a lot better and easier as you can take your console with you and your friends can talk with each other e.g. during island tours.
That portability also favours playing in short bursts at any time of day.

For a home console, those would be a bit more difficult. It would be harder to pick up and play for a bit by nature of home consoles. Also, being able to play with your friends and talk would be difficult because visiting each other's towns would have to be using online multiplayer. So you'd need to be home.

However, home console may suit Animal Crossing but in a different way we haven't seen. Maybe a higher powered console could render larger towns and villagers that look better and with more personality. Our towns could be greater. Anyone have any other ideas how a home console could improve over handheld?

So what do you think - is Animal Crossing better on a handheld or a home console?

 

[cornimer]

I was just thinking about this last night! XD

I definitely like AC better on a handheld device. Wild World was my first AC game, and then when I got City Folk I thought it just didn't work. With a handheld device, as you said, it is much easier to check up on your town whenever you want. You can even take it on vacation so that nobody moves out while you were away! And for me, there's just something about having your town in your hands at the flip of a D.S. switch. I always feel more connected to my towns on handheld devices.

I find home consoles inconvenient. I can't take it with me when I am out, and even when I am home, is my mom going to let me sit in front of the Wii for two hours? Nope. I never feel like going on because I don't want to load up the Wii, and when I do go on it's only for about 20 minutes. I just can't get into the game on home consoles and end up not caring about my town or villagers at all.

 

[creamyy]

I've only played the game on handheld consoles. It was so much easier with the portability and the ability to be able to play the game without having to get out of bed. My 3ds lives under my pillow because it's the last thing I touch before bed and the first thing when I get up in the morning.
Also, home consoles aren't that great unless you have a TV to yourself, which is something I don't have. My family is not going to let me use the TV to talk to needy villagers, catch fish and bugs and water flowers for at least 2-3 hours. No. Plus, with all my home consoles I have to think about whether or not I would like to play, I then have to turn it on and load up the game and by the time it's done I am so done I don't even want to play or don't even end up playing for that long.

 

[Jake]

the game works a lot better on a handheld because it runs the real time clock and you can take it anywhere but i've still always preferred it on home console

 

[hedgimon]

For me, handheld. I've owned ACGC, ACWW, Let's Go to the City and ACNL and just haven't been able to get as into the home console games as much as the handheld. Probably because I prefer to play it in small stints when convenient to me - half an hour here, ten minutes there etc - but the home console games felt like too much hassle.
So, yeah. For me it isn't a portability issue (don't really take my DS out with me) but it's still a convenience issue.

 

[disneydorky]

It works far better on a handheld console. My first game was City Folk, and I loved it dearly, I went to my sister's town often. I didn't talk to her much otherwise, as she's much older than me and across the country. Animal Crossing brought us closer for a while. I really enjoyed the Wii speak's use in the game. However, because there's no local multiplayer it doesn't work for a home console. My mom and I had to take turns playing, while the other just sat and watched. The music also drove my dad insane. On a handheld console, I can have my town and play whenever I want to. I still share with my mom, but it works better this way.

 

[Celty]

I've never played Animal Crossing on a home console. I began playing when New Leaf came out, so it's unimaginable to me that people can play on something other than a handheld console.

 

[tealeaps]

I personally prefer playing Animal Crossing on a handheld device, because you can pick it up whenever you want, even if it's just for a few minutes, which is what I usually do. You can also take it with you, so if you are traveling, you can take your town with you!

 

[Akimari]

Handheld device all the way. I really do want to play the other home console games (GameCube version and CityFolk) but it's hard for me to imagine myself being able to wind down and relax and play the game as I want to play it on a home console. One of the things that I love about the handheld is being able to just open up my 3DS at midnight and do whatever without disturbing anyone. Plus, it's an easy game to play when passing time on a car trip. Playing it on a home console just feels very limited.

 

[GurglingT]

Handheld because they're always with me.

 

[RLinksoul]

Handheld for one particular reason. Where I live the power occasionally goes out for just a second at completely random. I do not want Resetti yelling at me for something completely beyond my control.

In general I think handheld works better for this game since it's kind of relaxing. You can lie down while playing it.

 

[Astro Cake]

Handheld. Animal Crossing on a console sounds tedious and cumbersome.

 

[ams]

Definitely handheld. It's the kind of game you want to take with you wherever you go. I'd be really disappointed if the next main series game was on a home console.

 

[cocobells]

Handheld. The first Animal Crossing game I've played was Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I am hoping I can get Wild World or Happy Home Designer!

 

[PeggyCarter]

I've played City Folk and New Leaf so far and based on that I have to say handheld. I just find it much more convenient, since you can take the console with you if you're going somewhere and you don't have to worry about ditching your town. In addition, I found making designs on Wii really tedious, it was driving me mad at a point. I've just always been more dedicated to handheld consoles.

 

[Scarlette]

Handheld! AC is just one of those casual games perfect for lazy days or whenever you're on a break. I especially like to lie down on my bed whenever I'm playing.

 

[visibleghost]

it gets really annoying to play on console imo. in my family we only have one tv so when i sitll played city folk i couldnt play in the evenings because my family wanted to use the tv then.
also it's a great game to play while traveling or while doing something else like watching a tv show. it's not that easy to multitask when you're playing it on the tv imo....

 

[stinaj68]

I think the handheld version is the better way to go. The only animal crossing game that I had on a home console was animal crossing city folk. For some reason I didn't really get into that game that much. I loved animal crossing wild world because that was my first video game ever let alone for animal crossing. New leaf is my favorite so far and that is also on a hand held system. I think the handheld just works better for animal crossing because that way you can take it with you wherever you go and a home console can't do that. I find the home console to be lonely because I don't have people to play it with.

 

[SoraSmiles]

From my own experience I have to say handheld. The controls just seem better to me on a 3DS. I've played since the gamecube so I'll also say, if they made an actual animal crossing game for home console the graphics would look amazing (plus bigger screen )

 

[jiny]

Handheld is way better. I don't wanna get tired holding a control for so many minutes.
My first experience was with a handheld