What do you think determines which villagers get "cut" from the games?

[DJ-Mika]

This is something I've been wondering ever since I found out there was a whole cast of "cut" villagers from past games; what exactly determines a villager's longevity in the character line-up??

There's so many villagers that have been there since the beginning, and ones that were there in the beginning for a little bit but eventually let go; what did the first group have that the cut ones didn't?
It couldn't just be solely based on popularity right? There's many long-time villagers that aren't exactly on a lot of people's #1 most favorite lists, yet they remain (not trying to throw shade on anyone's favorites, I'm just speculating )

On a side note, if anyone has a favorite that's obscure/unpopular, do you ever get paranoid they'll be cut one day without warning? ;-;

 

[RemMomori]

Well I notice that some villagers were removed because they would not be understood by international players (like Meow, Bow, Nindori ect.) and some of the other villagers were the crossover amiibo villagers from NL like Cece and Inkwell. Not sure why they were removed but they are crossover characters so maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe some collaboration villagers like Filly (7-Eleven) and Felyne (Monster Hunter) can't come back until Nintendo sets up another agreement with the companies involved, like how the Sanrio villagers came back. As for the rest of the villagers I'm not sure why Nintendo would chose to remove those specific villagers (it seems like they are just randomly picking unpopular villagers to remove in my opinion).

Most of my favorite villagers seem safe from removal but I am scared that they would remove Cousteau. He was one of my first villagers in CF and I've always liked him. I don't think he's that popular so he might be removed in a future game.

 

[Giddy]

What about Tarou the wolf? I felt like he would have been interesting. It's one of the reasons I brought the older game to try and hopefully have him in the town and see what he's like.

 

[DJ-Mika]

@RemMomori Yes, I do understand why villagers associated with other companies/crossovers would be removed (legal stuff), as well as a western audience not having the same context for certain villagers that a Japanese audience would; I'm more talking about the "regular" villagers not associated with anything
It does feel kind of random; a lot of cut villagers look like they'd fit right in no problem, but I guess Nintendo felt differently for whatever reason

Cousteau is cool! I think he's one of the more recognizable frogs imo

Post automatically merged: Sep 22, 2022

What about Tarou the wolf? I felt like he would have been interesting. It's one of the reasons I brought the older game to try and hopefully have him in the town and see what he's like.

I know! I'm really not sure why Nintendo felt Tarou shouldn't continue in the series and it's such a shame Of all the cut villagers he seems to be one of the most in demand to be brought back, but if Vivian and Dobie can make comebacks then I'll still hold out hope for Tarou
On the bright side, I've seen some NH mods that actually bring Tarou back! It was so cool to see him in the NH engine!

 

[RemMomori]

What about Tarou the wolf? I felt like he would have been interesting. It's one of the reasons I brought the older game to try and hopefully have him in the town and see what he's like.

Considering that the 2.0 NH update brought back some old villagers from the gamecube era shows that the devs are intrested in bringing back old villagers. Maybe Tarou could come back in a future game!

 

[Giddy]

Considering that the 2.0 NH update brought back some old villagers from the gamecube era shows that the devs are intrested in bringing back old villagers. Maybe Tarou could come back in a future game!

I hope so~ He generally looks interesting, and is a Jock. Which is something I need since I don't really adore a lot of the Jocks. But yeah, I loved how they brought Roswell back, and he's now on my Island.

 

[kemdi]

I know some villagers are cut because of culture differences, like Leigh and Quetzal. I don't think we'll see them any time soon unless they get redesigned.

 

[ParabolaBeam]

I miss Nosegay! She was a really cute anteater and lived in my gamecube town.

 

[Croconaw]

I like Mac. He’s my favorite villager, so I hope he isn’t cut, but I wouldn’t see it as unlikely. There are a bunch of dogs, most of which are way more popular. It’s inevitable. He’s the only jock dog, though.

 

[QueenCobra]

I’m disappointed about the amount of villagers that have been cut, and while I want most of them to make a comeback, I’d love to see Poko in future games. He’s adorable, AND he’s Ike’s son, after all. Would love to see a father-son reunion!

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I don't know - maybe they put it up to a vote?? I don't know how they could NOT put in Tarou though. I've never played anything before NL but Tarou looks like such a cool wolf - a purple jock wolf! It doesn't get any cooler than that.

Also want Champ. Since Porter isn't around for NH, why not.. He's easily the cutest monkey.

 

[Croconaw]

-snip-

I second Tarou and Champ. I love them both. I even had a Champ plush at one point, of him in his yellow paw print shirt. My favorite personality is jock.

 

[S.J.]

I would love to see some of the villagers that weren't in ACNH arrive in the next AC instalment! I think Azalea is adorable, and I love that she returned, although I preferred her name as Petunia. The villager I'd like to see return is Carrot, the normal cow! I just think she's pretty cute.

 

[Akeath]

Admittedly New Horizons is the first Animal Crossing game where I've known all the villagers, so I often don't notice when a villager is added or cut in the series. But just by looking through a list of the ones no longer around I noticed a trend. The old villagers often have villagers still in the game that are similar looking to the cut one. Such as Clara and Bitty. Jane and Violet. Kit and Poppy. Tarou and Lobo. Belle and Tipper, etc.
In which case they aren't focusing on a specific villager's overall popularity. Instead they're comparing two villagers with similar designs, or possibly an existing villager with a new but similar design they've come up with in development. From there they choose one of the pair to include in the game. Hoping that by doing so they'll either avoid having too many super similar villagers in the pool or come up with a design more distinctive or popular than one they already have. That method would likely make it easier to decide on one to eliminate without too much favoritism, as you're deciding on which of 2 with similar appeal to keep.

 

[Rosch]

This does not really answer the thread's question but just an observation with the added ver2.0 villagers.

They didn't want repeating species. They also chose to limit themselves with just 2 sets of personalities. So in effect, they had to choose specific villagers to fill in the "returning villagers" set.

If the new villagers were a group of different species, then in effect, the returning villagers will also be completely different.

 

[Corrie]

Well I notice that some villagers were removed because they would not be understood by international players (like Meow, Bow, Nindori ect.) and some of the other villagers were the crossover amiibo villagers from NL like Cece and Inkwell. Not sure why they were removed but they are crossover characters so maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe some collaboration villagers like Filly (7-Eleven) and Felyne (Monster Hunter) can't come back until Nintendo sets up another agreement with the companies involved, like how the Sanrio villagers came back. As for the rest of the villagers I'm not sure why Nintendo would chose to remove those specific villagers (it seems like they are just randomly picking unpopular villagers to remove in my opinion).

Most of my favorite villagers seem safe from removal but I am scared that they would remove Cousteau. He was one of my first villagers in CF and I've always liked him. I don't think he's that popular so he might be removed in a future game.

This would be my best guess too. Why put in villagers your audience won't understand? Similar to how fast food places sell different food depending on what country they're in.

 

[Mink777]

They haven’t cut any non-spin-off villagers since Wild World with the exception of Champ, who has an obvious explanation. Given how popular the series has gotten since then, I doubt they’ll cut any more villagers in any future game. I think the main reason so many were cut in WW is because of the smaller towns and having a less amount of villagers in them than in the GC game.

 

[ShinyDungeoneer]

I don't know what determines which villagers get cut, but I am paranoid that Miranda will get cut sooner or later. She's my favorite snooty, and her design is interesting for a duck villager. I really hope she stays in the series!

 

[VanitasFan26]

I don't get Nintendo's mindset. Why create new villagers if they are just going to speak and talk the same way as each other? (I know this is beating a dead horse but the point still stands). Even if they brought back the villagers who were cut what sense does it make? I don't mean this in a rude way but if some villagers get cut in the next AC game it won't surprise me as much. Maybe the least they can do is just add more development to the villagers so that way they make them more stand out.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I don't mean this in a rude way but if some villagers get cut in the next AC game it won't surprise me as much. Maybe the least they can do is just add more development to the villagers so that way they make them more stand out.

Unfortunately Animal Crossing is heading the same way as Pokémon. Inevitably there will be too many villagers to include in one game so some will start getting cut.
I would prefer if they focused on reintroducing the forgotten villagers as opposed to creating new ones though…unless they’re going to introduce new species.