[Confirmed] Animal Crossing: New Horizons will force every individual Switch user account to share the same island

[Minsc]

A. This was never expected, not from me at least. This is not the same as what previous games did at all.

- Gamecube: need a different memory card for a different town.
- DS: need a new copy of the game for a different town.
- Wii: Only one town because there were no such thing as player profiles.
- 3DS: need a new copy of the game for a different town.
- Switch: Can't use a new copy of the game, can't use a new memory card, but instead you need a new console despite having player profiles unlike the Wii.

Not that I needed different towns anyway, I only kept one, but still.

Moreover, why can't a series evolve? "That's how it's always been" is a shit excuse. I've never had to share a town with someone because the ones I played most (Wild World and New Leaf) were on an individual handheld console. New Horizons is supposed to be a hybrid, which means at least part of the time it's meant to be a home console that's shared with others in the home. That doesn't mean I want to share all my saves with everyone, that's why we have player profiles to separate our save files.

B. Good for you? Some of us live with someone who will utterly take over the save file. Dude played Minecraft on Switch for 100 hours in one week once. Why do I want to buy a game all about personalizing your town to your taste and then just... exist in someone else's grand creation?

Woke up hoping this was a nightmare, but now one of my most anticipated titles in years has all but evaporated from my radar. :(


This dismissive strawman is honestly kind of rude. I'm shocked so many people are saying it (or some variation) in here. :\

Nobody is saying they shouldn't have a shared island. They're saying it should be an option to have an individual one. Does that really offend you so much? Not everyone lives the same life as you.

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Animal crossing evolving? Hell will freeze over first. The game is essentially brainless copies of the formula over and over, and that's not even an exaggeration. Switch "remasters" like Tokyo Mirage Sessions probably have more differences in them than any two Animal Crossing games.

And expecting anything considerate from Nintendo is a fool's game. You're just going to have to skip the game or get your own Switch imo. The system is probably the least useful handheld in existence when it comes to the non-game features. And Nintendo is probably the worst company in the world for consumer rights / platform features.

 

[Parthenios]

This dismissive strawman is honestly kind of rude. I'm shocked so many people are saying it (or some variation) in here. :\

Nobody is saying they shouldn't have a shared island. They're saying it should be an option to have an individual one. Does that really offend you so much? Not everyone lives the same life as you.

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I'm not offended lol. Just trying to make a funny internet forum post.

That said, I like when game designers make concrete design choices, and often like when these choices make me play in ways I otherwise wouldn't have. Games should offer some sort of challenge, and challenge isn't always a hard boss that you can't beat. Maybe the challenge in Animal Crossing is getting your brother to stop time-traveling and leaving weeds all over town.

 

[THErest]

My wife wants to get her own Switch for this. We currently share one. Can she divorce her account from our shared switch and carry it to her new one? Or make her new switch primary for herself but keep the old switch primary for me?????

 

[.exe]

My wife wants to get her own Switch for this. We currently share one. Can she divorce her account from our shared switch and carry it to her new one? Or make her new switch primary for herself but keep the old switch primary for me?????

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Yeah, there's an account transfer thingy that does this.

 

[Bob Beat]

My wife wants to get her own Switch for this. We currently share one. Can she divorce her account from our shared switch and carry it to her new one? Or make her new switch primary for herself but keep the old switch primary for me?????

Click to shrink...

Yup. And she'll be able to play the same games, with a little help. Primary and secondary switches.

 

[Enduin]

So say you have 8 people in your family that all live on your island. Add that to having the max number of villagers, let's say, 10-15 since we don't know the real numbers yet. Won't the island be a little...crowded?

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Maybe, the island is larger than New Leaf's, though it's not clear exactly how much larger. I've seen analyses that are anywhere from 10% bigger to twice as large. But more concretely we know you don't have the same limitations on housing location as in previous games, so the effective amount of usable land is much greater. So even with a full 8 players and max villagers I don't think it will be too bad.

 

[Chucker]

I expected this and look forward to playing with my Wife and oldest Daughter.

Different strokes I guess.

 

[nikos]

How does this work for the physical version on two Switches? Different islands?

What happens if you share a digital copy between two Switches with the same user profile? They should each have their own island considering there's no cloud saving.

Would transferring your save also transfer your island? I had to constantly transfer my Pokémon save between two Switches to play on both.

Also, it's possible to play digital games on two different Switches simultaneously using two different profiles. Wouldn't this give both players their own Island on each Switch using one copy of the game?

 

[Dreavus]

This is how my SO and I have been playing NL and it's really fun.

I feel for people who have kids that use their console though, lol. Although given the right mindset I think that could be a lot of fun too.

 

[Pancho]

It was the right call getting a switch for my SO on Christmas

 

[Satori]

Looks like my SO is getting the animal crossing switch in a few weeks lol.

 

[Deleted member 33533]

Animal crossing evolving? Hell will freeze over first. The game is essentially brainless copies of the formula over and over, and that's not even an exaggeration. Switch "remasters" like Tokyo Mirage Sessions probably have more differences in them than any two Animal Crossing games.

Click to shrink...

Animal Crossing is pretty formulaic but let's not get carried away now haha

 

[Woylie]

ok, i don't usually get mad about game stuff, but like, why in the world would they make it like this?

at least give people the *option* to have more than one town without having to buy another switch

 

[dallow_bg]

So stupid.
With the cart, I guess you can "delete" the game and save after uploading, and then have another player play.
Then they have to do the same and you download your own save back?

Or maybe removing the save is enough?

 

[Squid Bunny]

Animal crossing evolving? Hell will freeze over first. The game is essentially brainless copies of the formula over and over, and that's not even an exaggeration. Switch "remasters" like Tokyo Mirage Sessions probably have more differences in them than any two Animal Crossing games.

Click to shrink...

This is just flat out wrong.

 

[Vivian-Pogo]

So with 2 Switches and 1 copy of the game, is there a way to live on the same island on both systems? Or would I have to play on my mom's Lite to live on the same island?

 

[Nilou]

Looks like my SO is getting the animal crossing switch in a few weeks lol.

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Can I live in your timeline where AC switch / game is releasing in just a few weeks? It's exactly 6 weeks today from releasing in my timeline😢

 

[Tavernade]

I'm really confused by this. Hasn't this been how AC has always been? Why is it news/why are people upset?

 

[Greywaren]

It's always been the same, but I agree that it should be optional. Oh well. I only have one profile on my Switch so it doesn't really bother me.

 

[Zacmortar]

Listen, I get it, its dumb to restrict the game to 1 town per console. On the other hand, just share an island with the people you share a Switch with and enjoy it you dorks. Who is using your Switch that you don't want fuckin up your town experience?

Nintendo could do better.

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there are so many families where kids play games too, and kids typically dont have much consideration

like do yall live in a fantasy world where everyone plays the same game the same peaceful way? because lol

 

[Timeaisis]

I bought my wife a Switch Lite for this very reason. I didn't know for sure, but it's about what I was expecting.

 

[Pooh]

It was like this in the first one and it was amazing, y'all don't knock it til you try it. It's super fun to see what your friends/family have done in town while you were away.

 

[dallow_bg]

I'm really confused by this. Hasn't this been how AC has always been? Why is it news/why are people upset?

Click to shrink...

Just read some posts. It's explained that it hasn't been this locked down before.

 

[dallow_bg]

It was like this in the first one and it was amazing, y'all don't knock it til you try it. It's super fun to see what your friends/family have done in town while you were away.

Click to shrink...

Nah, it's not fun to wake up to every tree being gone, and all flower gardens trashed. Luckily my sibling has grown up since then, lol.

I imagine there's other people that will go through this now.

 

[The Boat]

Animal crossing evolving? Hell will freeze over first. The game is essentially brainless copies of the formula over and over, and that's not even an exaggeration. Switch "remasters" like Tokyo Mirage Sessions probably have more differences in them than any two Animal Crossing games.

And expecting anything considerate from Nintendo is a fool's game. You're just going to have to skip the game or get your own Switch imo. The system is probably the least useful handheld in existence when it comes to the non-game features. And Nintendo is probably the worst company in the world for consumer rights / platform features.

Click to shrink...

Ahahah wow, you managed to fit so much bs in one post! Bravo!

 

[Soulsis]

This sounds like a really cute feature, but understandably disappointing for shared users who were hoping to have their own unique towns.

 

[pikachief]

I'm really confused by this. Hasn't this been how AC has always been? Why is it news/why are people upset?

Click to shrink...

this is how pokemon had always been too until the switch. I was hoping this one was finally the one my wife and I didnt need to share the same world.

 

[atbigelow]

It's been a bad design decision since the inception of Animal Crossing.

 

[Canas Renvall]

So stupid.
With the cart, I guess you can "delete" the game and save after uploading, and then have another player play.
Then they have to do the same and you download your own save back?

Or maybe removing the save is enough?

Click to shrink...

You can't upload, the game doesn't support cloud saves either.

It was like this in the first one and it was amazing, y'all don't knock it til you try it. It's super fun to see what your friends/family have done in town while you were away.

Click to shrink...

Some of us live with people that will make playing the game our way nearly impossible (see my previous posts).

 

[Minsc]

Ahahah wow, you managed to fit so much bs in one post! Bravo!

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It's all at least half true. I know that for a fact having played 300+ hours easily in the original AC and 100+ in the Wii one, and a little bit on the 3DS.

I'll be buying this one too, but Nintendo is Nintendo at the end of the day. We're talking about a system the replaced both the Wii/WiiU and 3DS which both had a million more features than the Switch does now. And historically AC has always been the stingiest of stingy when it comes to permissions on the save data, you can't ever copy or share it etc.

 

[dallow_bg]

You can't upload, the game doesn't support cloud saves either.

Click to shrink...

Ah damnit!

 

[RedDevil]

Per console.

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Ah, so every user profile on each console will be on the same island.

 

[The Boat]

It's all at least half true. I know that for a fact having played 300+ hours easily in the original AC and 100+ in the Wii one, and a little bit on the 3DS.

I'll be buying this one too, but Nintendo is Nintendo at the end of the day. We're talking about a system the replaced both the Wii/WiiU and 3DS which both had a million more features than the Switch does now. And historically AC has always been the stingiest of stingy when it comes to permissions on the save data, you can't ever copy or share it etc.

Click to shrink...

Nintendo being the way it is with features and save data doesn't mean you can just say these outlandish, flat out wrong things. There is a way to criticize legitimate shortcomings and flaws, this ain't it.

New Leaf had plenty of new things, it was a legit evolution for the series (the first one since the original) and this one seems like it too. Comparing it to #FE is... lol. Nintendo being the worst in the world in consumer rights? C'mon, that's absurd. System features aren't consumer rights.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

This is the same as every other entry, no?

Click to shrink...

This is exactly what I was thinking. I don't remember any other AC being different.

 

[Asbsand]

Incredible. I'm in.

 

[weemadarthur]

For people wondering why a whole island to oneself is important, it is for customization. I know people who had at least 4 themed New Leaf towns, all completely dedicated to a single decor. It's a popular side game, and restricting "one town per cartridge" was already bad enough for that purpose. "One town per console" really kills the fun Of designing towns.

 

[Datajoy]

Animal crossing evolving? Hell will freeze over first. The game is essentially brainless copies of the formula over and over, and that's not even an exaggeration. Switch "remasters" like Tokyo Mirage Sessions probably have more differences in them than any two Animal Crossing games.

Click to shrink...

This is a joke right? Because if not then I feel sorry for you.

 

[BearPawB]

I don't want to play on the same island as my wife.

I get that some of you want that coop experience. So make it an option. But it sucks that my wife and I can't have a full game experience on our own.

 

[RoboitoAM]

Part of the fun growing up with animal crossing and siblings was writing lewd letters and/or catch phrases and waiting for your sibling to discover it

 

[Cyanity]

Yea, this is nothing more than a scummy attempt to sell more consoles. Like seriously? The other games at least let you make a new town if you had another memory card or copy of the game. But the whole hecking system? That's fucking outrageous.

Spoiler

I'm gonna buy it regardless

 

[Unicorn]

For people wondering why a whole island to oneself is important, it is for customization. I know people who had at least 4 themed New Leaf towns, all completely dedicated to a single decor. It's a popular side game, and restricting "one town per cartridge" was already bad enough for that purpose. "One town per console" really kills the fun Of designing towns.

Click to shrink...

They just need to be better fans now.

 

[Minsc]

This is a joke right? Because if not then I feel sorry for you.

Click to shrink...

I expected more from them. The GC one and Wii one really disappointed the shit out of me. Sorry I'm not as easy to please as you. But it honestly felt like they tried to sell me the same game twice (and they took all the fun NES games out in the process, which were one of my favorite parts of Animal Crossing). And then I bought the 3DS one cause I'm an idiot, and that one didn't really seem too different either. And I'm buying the Switch one too, but I'm sure I'll regret that as well.

 

[Portalbox]

I expected more from them. The GC one and Wii one really disappointed the shit out of me. Sorry I'm not as easy to please as you. But it honestly felt like they tried to sell me the same game twice (and they took all the fun NES games out in the process, which were one of my favorite parts of Animal Crossing). And then I bought the 3DS one cause I'm an idiot, and that one didn't really seem too different either. And I'm buying the Switch one too, but I'm sure I'll regret that as well.

Click to shrink...

If you haven't liked a single game in the series, why are you still looking forward to this one?

 

[Minsc]

If you haven't liked a single game in the series, why are you still looking forward to this one?

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I loved the first one to death, maybe I just burnt out on it I'm not sure, but I keep hoping they catch my interest again. I suppose my quoted post is a bit confusing looking over it, it should have said The CG one was great and the Wii one really disappointed...

I don't know to expand further the CG brought so many things to it, holidays, the cleaning up of the town, the tree, the collecting, museums, the quirky characters, the NES games, and it was really something amazing. Then the Wii one comes out many years later and it feels like they added 5 hours of content to it and packed up the same game to me. I looked forward to it so much, really tried to love it, but it just felt exactly the same as the one I played for so much.

 

[delete12345]

So with 2 Switches and 1 copy of the game, is there a way to live on the same island on both systems? Or would I have to play on my mom's Lite to live on the same island?

Click to shrink...

If you liked system transferring many times, transfer your profile back and forth, and play the game using your profile.

 

[Datajoy]

I expected more from them. The GC one and Wii one really disappointed the shit out of me. Sorry I'm not as easy to please as you. But it honestly felt like they tried to sell me the same game twice (and they took all the fun NES games out in the process, which were one of my favorite parts of Animal Crossing). And then I bought the 3DS one cause I'm an idiot, and that one didn't really seem too different either. And I'm buying the Switch one too, but I'm sure I'll regret that as well.

Click to shrink...

This is like saying the new Call of Duty didn't evolve the series at all because it is still all about first person action and gunplay. Of course the core gameplay is the same, but there have really been a lot of innovations and evolutions to the series, and NH looks to take that to the next level. I'll admit WW and CF are quite similar though.