Important Warning about Animal Crossing: Nintendo please fix this

[HustleBun]

Before the influx of Animal Crossing defenders yell at me or trivialize why I'm so upset, please know this: I love this game and this franchise. I have purchased every Animal Crossing mainline game since the GameCube era and was so excited to purchase this game for my girlfriend and I to share an island together.

I jumped into the OT Discussion to clarify this issue before I started a thread. It turns out my worst fears were right and the OT has lots of other people asking the same question or shocked by the result, enough that it should warrant a separate topic (that hopefully catches more eyes).

Animal Crossing New Horizons punishes you for sharing an island on the same console.

High on the AC hype train, I was glued to this forum, I watched dozens of reviews and no one has mentioned this yet.
In previous Animal Crossing games, sharing an island with someone meant that you were working together to share the experience and helping each other upgrade the island in various ways. In New Horizons, the second islander is now a glorified visitor.

As millions of people are, my girlfriend and I have been depressed and anxious during our quarantine but looking forward to sharing the Animal Crossing experience together. Because I happened to be the first person to start a new game:

- She doesn't seem to get new DIY recipes
- She isn't asked to help upgrade the island
- She isn't invited to participate in new projects
- She cannot help me with my own island projects
- She isn't even allowed to check in-progress projects to see what resources are needed.

Tom Nook literally tells her to ask me what I need.

This is really sad and destroys the backbone of what makes me love Animal Crossing. Very understandably, she's sad and losing interest. She may wait to save up for a second Switch (may be a while, we were hit financially by this mess) and start her own island or I'll just give up and start this over.

I was really looking forward to sharing an island with my girlfriend and building it together. I wish I had known that Nintendo did this.
I really hope they fix it or at least give us the option to give our co-villagers the ability to share island responsibilities with us.

Nintendo please fix this.

Update:

Unfortunately, there's no way around this unless you buy another Switch and another copy of Animal Crossing. Second villager gets shafted so hard, they can't really do much except mine resources. Hopefully Nintendo can implement some kind of fix for this in the future, but I see a ton of people in this thread with the same issues.

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ya it's true - it's why the game is getting review bombed atm.

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[Mullet2000]

Yeah this really sucks. My partner is the main profile and I can definitely tell I'm a lesser citizen than she is.

Ultimately we would still play in a shared town either way but if Nintendo insists on setting it up this way it's really shitty than there isn't at least the option of having separate towns.

 

[criteriondog]

In New Leaf could your co-villagers do mayor stuff?

 

[Common Knowledge]

Everything about multiplayer in this game, be it local co-villagers or online, just seems to be brought down by a ton of asinine decisions on Nintendo's part. Hopefully if enough noise is made Nintendo will change their minds on some things.

 

[Vic Damone Jr.]

Everything about multiplayer in this game, be it local co-villagers or online, just seems to be brought down by a ton of asinine decisions on Nintendo's part. Hopefully if enough noise is made Nintendo will change their minds on some things.

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Doubt it.

 

[TheKid]

Welp I was gonna try to get this game to play with my gf but that ain't happening now. Gonna focus on doom

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

Yeah i didnt buy it because of this ): Not an AC fan but looked like fun for me and the other half

 

[--R]

Everything about multiplayer in this game, be it local co-villagers or online, just seems to be brought down by a ton of asinine decisions on Nintendo's part. Hopefully if enough noise is made Nintendo will change their minds on some things.

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The only problem with the online is how long it takes to get multiple people into an island, but it's completely lag-free and it works perfectly.

 

[Nature's finest mango]

I was pretty sure I read something about this on this forum.

Hey, it's Nintendo, what do you expect? In spite of this, it'll still sell millions. People accept it. So, either go with it or move on.

 

[HustleBun]

Welp I was gonna try to get this game to play with my gf but that ain't happening now. Gonna focus on doom

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Yup. Wish I hadn't bought it for us...or that literally any of the reviews I read/watched had warned us.

I'm used to Nintendo having restrictive online functions, but removing previously established local-features in a community-based game?

 

[Ultima_5]

yeah when i heard this is how it set up im really glad i went ahead and got my girlfriend her own switch for this

 

[gig]

Really shitty. We've resorted to just making sure we're playing together when planning building things, but it's such a hassle and the second player gets zero reward for it.

 

[andymcc]

In New Leaf could your co-villagers do mayor stuff?

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i don't think so, no.

it seems pretty par the course for animal crossing.

 

[Kaelan]

It sucks, without another switch you are out of luck. Luckily my girlfriend has a second switch and we gameshare my account and no issues. A 2nd switch is costly though, so I feel for you.

 

[Squid Bunny]

In New Leaf could your co-villagers do mayor stuff?

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As far as I remember, no, but there were fewer limitations. It sort of seems a second villager in this AC is on training wheels.

EDIT: Also, not many people share 3DS/handhelds, so this wasn't much of a problem.

 

[cgpartlow]

Yeah I have been playing with my wife. Really happy that I made her the main account because being the second player you have way less to do. They really should have thought that through better.

 

[Yuntu]

Now we know how Nintendo plans to push multiple systems per household.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

Oh. Ah. Well I guess my island is going to get nuked when my partner is done with the current bout of Skyrim.

 

[Pickle]

Has anyone tried playing on a different profile which owns a separate copy of the game? Will it still only allow the hardware to store 1 island? This is fucked. Im glad the SO and I have our own Switch. We almost considered only buying 1 copy

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Yeah, it's pretty much killed my motivation to play the game. Really sad stuff.

 

[Syril]

That's ridiculous.

 

[Bit_Reactor]

Sorry I haven't tried doing much yet but my GF and I are best friends on each others islands, doesn't that mean we can do the same stuff in terms of landscaping and crafting on each others islands? Or was I wrong on that? Pretty sure that was explained as a feature?

Or are you specifically referring to different profiles on the same switch?

 

[Etrian Darkness]

The issue of the Switch being a handheld but also a console at the same time. Good thing my gf got a Switch recently mainly for Animal Crossing, I would've hated to go through this.

It wasn't as much of an issue back with Wild Wood because you had so little power compared to New Leaf and New Horizons.

 

[Tayaya]

Good thing we have four Switches (2 regular, 2 lite). Because that's totally practical for everyone.

 

[808s & Villainy]

Everything about multiplayer in this game, be it local co-villagers or online, just seems to be brought down by a ton of asinine decisions on Nintendo's part. Hopefully if enough noise is made Nintendo will change their minds on some things.

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Not really. When it comes to online, the online downside is the message when people are arriving/leaving. Other than that it has everything I could want

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Can I also ask why very few reviews even mentioned this? It seems like a big issue people should be aware of before they buy the game. I certainly had no idea before I actually played it for myself.

 

[Raccoon]

Yup. Wish I hadn't bought it for us...or that literally any of the reviews I read/watched had warned us.

I'm used to Nintendo having restrictive online functions, but removing previously established local-features in a community-based game?

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second players in New Leaf couldn't do mayor stuff either

this sucks for you and I'm sorry but it was known that one person gets the full experience, though they should've emphasized it more

iirc only the 1st player gets access to landscaping too

 

[HustleBun]

second players in New Leaf couldn't do mayor stuff either

this sucks for you and I'm sorry but it was known that one person gets the full experience, though they should've emphasized it more

iirc only the 1st player gets access to landscaping too

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New Leaf wasn't a console game and it didn't advertise a system that encouraged players of the same system to share an island the way this one did.

I'm sorry. I'm just really heartbroken.

Sad to see how many people are starting to realize this too. I love Nintendo's products but I'm not optimistic that they'll amend this in any way.

 

[Komo]

Now we know how Nintendo plans to push multiple systems per household.

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In the absolute worst fucking way.

 

[Qwark]

Ah crap. I wish I would've known this before I became the primary player. My s/o was more excited for this and now he's stuck as a secondary citizen :/

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

second players in New Leaf couldn't do mayor stuff either

this sucks for you and I'm sorry but it was known that one person gets the full experience, though they should've emphasized it more

iirc only the 1st player gets access to landscaping too

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The 3DS isn't a system which allows for multiple profiles and can be played on a TV in a family household. The 3DS was a much more personal system whereas most people I know with Switches share it with their family or their S.O. It wasn't absurd to think the restrictions would have been changed a bit. Pokemon on Handheld only ever allowed for one save but when they moved to Switch they allowed for multiple because of how people use the Switch versus how they would use a traditional handheld. Honestly, it's complete garbage that it's been done like this.

 

[Tophat Jones]

Second class citizen checking in, and yea it sucks. I work all day, so I'm glad the GF is the primary since she gets to play a lot more than me. It would almost be okay if I could at least get all the DIY recipes she has. Really is a huge bummer, hope something happens to address it.

 

[HustleBun]

Can I also ask why very few reviews even mentioned this? It seems like a big issue people should be aware of before they buy the game. I certainly had no idea before I actually played it for myself.

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I'm guessing because reviewers played a solo island coupled with the fact most people didn't notice it until after a few days of gameplay.

It still would have been nice to be warned about it. I get where you're coming from by the way. I'm so fucking sad about this and I don't even want to play it anymore.

 

[Raccoon]

New Leaf wasn't a console game and it didn't advertise a system that encouraged players of the same system to share an island the way this one did.

I'm sorry. I'm just really heartbroken.

Sad to see how many people are starting to realize this too. I love Nintendo's products but I'm not optimistic that they'll amend this in any way.

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The subtle "Island Representative" title they give the first player is too unclear. I think they should've made clear from the start that the 1st player is the main player, with a title like "Founder" or something, and that the others are secondary.

That being said, the smartest thing to do given the backlash would've been to have only 1 player per island, and give each island an account. You wouldn't be able to play together, but it sounds like you care more about each being able to play the full game, and most people no-doubt agree

 

[808s & Villainy]

Can I also ask why very few reviews even mentioned this? It seems like a big issue people should be aware of before they buy the game. I certainly had no idea before I actually played it for myself.

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Probably because they didn't share their island with someone? If you aren't sharing one, none of this applies. Local and online with your own games works just fine, aside from the inconvenience of the arrival/departure messages

 

[GarthLordOfTheSith]

I don't understand why they thought it was a good idea to have everyone on the switch share the same island.

 

[HustleBun]

That being said, the smartest thing to do given the backlash would've been to have only 1 player per island, and give each island an account. You wouldn't be able to play together, but it sounds like you care more about each being able to play the full game, and most people no-doubt agree

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Or allow multiple founders per island.
Or allow you to switch who the main islander is.

Even if we could afford a second Switch, what we do at this point? Will the game allow her to move her profile out of my island and create a new one?

 

[Raccoon]

The 3DS isn't a system which allows for multiple profiles and can be played on a TV in a family household. The 3DS was a much more personal system whereas most people I know with Switches share it with their family or their S.O. It wasn't absurd to think the restrictions would have been changed a bit. Pokemon on Handheld only ever allowed for one save but when they moved to Switch they allowed for multiple because of how people use the Switch versus how they would use a traditional handheld. Honestly, it's complete garbage that it's been done like this.

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Anecdotally, I don't know too many people who share 1 Switch because of how impractical it is to share a handheld.

The biggest issue here is one of communication, I feel. The primary player should've had a more serious title and explicit role, like founder as I suggested above. Or, a more popular decision would be to not let people share islands, but give each account its own island and save

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Probably because they didn't share their island with someone? If you aren't sharing one, none of this applies. Local and online with your own games works just fine, aside from the inconvenience of the arrival/departure messages

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Well at least a few reviewers should have tested to see how the game works with a second player.

 

[Coríu]

I agree with the general sentiment but I'm not sure about the recipe thing. I'm the primary player and my partner has some recipes that I don't have.

 

[treasureyez]

Or allow multiple founders per island.
Or allow you to switch who the main islander is.

Even if we could afford a second Switch, what we do at this point? Will the game allow her to move her profile out of my island and create a new one?

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No, you'd have to start over. But it doesn't sound like there's any progress to carry over anyway, since the second player cannot really do anything.

 

[Tophat Jones]

I agree with the general sentiment but I'm not sure about the recipe thing. I'm the primary player and my girlfriend has some recipes that I don't have.

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Either of you can randomly get recipes from gift balloons and such that will be unique to whoever finds them. But as you progress you will naturally get dozens that she won't be able too.

 

[DontHateTheBacon]

I'm a little confused, is this different from previous Animal Crossing games? I never really played multiplayer Animal Crossing til this one, my wife and I both have our own Switches though.

 

[808s & Villainy]

Or allow multiple founders per island.
Or allow you to switch who the main islander is.

Even if we could afford a second Switch, what we do at this point? Will the game allow her to move her profile out of my island and create a new one?

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It doesn't sound like she was able to do anything so aside from not being on your island, what would be the issue with her starting over? All the progress was stuff you did, right? I guess the problem with your ideas is that there's now the progression system, which was clearly made with a single player in mind, and is tied to other island progression. That might be difficult to split between a number of players on the same island since they simple wouldn't be able to get some of the achievements that are one time only

 

[MrHedin]

It really sucks but it has been known for awhile. I got the game primarily for my daughter but I want to play some too but I don't want to go in and do things on her island (after all her phrase is "It's my paradise and I can do whatever I want.") . It really should be one island per account.

 

[Raccoon]

Or allow multiple founders per island.
Or allow you to switch who the main islander is.

Even if we could afford a second Switch, what we do at this point? Will the game allow her to move her profile out of my island and create a new one?

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I don't think having multiple people driving the progression of the island makes much sense, and in some cases it would make no sense at all, as the island representative chooses where shops go, names the island, etc

I think it's interesting that second players have everything that players of old Animal Crossing games did but nowadays it's not enough to satisfy anyone

 

[Zaro]

I'm happy that i let my girlfriend start the game, she will play more than me so it's perfect.
But it suck that we don't have all the same possibility.

 

[HustleBun]

No, you'd have to start over. But it doesn't sound like there's any progress to carry over anyway, since the second player cannot really do anything.

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Wait...if she buys her own Switch, I'd have to delete my entire island just so she could start a new one?

There's no way that's true.

That basically leaves all of the people who are discovering this issue with no reasonable alternative option.

 

[MrWindUpBird]

Can't you just swap the leader when you're playing co op so the 2nd player has things to do?

 

[Deleted member 4247]

What, you can't have two separate profiles/saves by using different users/accounts? That's ridiculous.