With the eagerly anticipated Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 update launching today, it's safe to say I've had Nintendo's animal-themed life sim on the brain. So I thought it might be a good idea to put a new Animal Crossing-themed question to you, our lovely readers.
While Time Extension's sister site Nintendo Life will understandably be your port of call for everything that's new in the latest update over the next couple of weeks, I wanted to use the 3.0 update as an opportunity to reflect back on the series's history, sharing the story of how I first came across the games in the UK, and asking you for your own memories about how you discovered Animal Crossing, to begin with.
Whether you're someone who has been a fan of the series from its first-ever localized release on the Nintendo GameCube or simply jumped on board with New Horizons back in 2020, I'd be curious to know when your relationship with the series began. And as a chaser, whether that has had any bearing on which game in the series is your favourite all these years later.
For me, personally, I've been an Animal Crossing fan pretty much since the UK release of the "original" Animal Crossing on the Nintendo GameCube in May 2004, though my knowledge of the game actually dates back a little further. I first came across the images of the Japan-exclusive N64 title, under the name Animal Forest, in the UK-based N64 Magazine in the year 2000 (Issue 47), and was immediately curious about the mysterious game that had just been announced at Space World, based on the series of images depicting a small humanoid figure walking through a wooded area filled with animals.
Given the lack of information, however, I didn't really have much of an idea regarding what the game was actually about, besides the fact that it was apparently a "communication game" based around forming friendships and talking to villagers, and that it would feature a real-time clock. As a result, I spent ages looking at the six images on the page, imagining the world beyond the corners of the screenshot and what it might possibly be like to play. What exactly was a "communication game"? And what exactly was the story, if it had one?
Expecting more news on the title in subsequent issues, I made a repeated effort to look for any mention of the game in subsequent Nintendo magazines I bought to see whether it might eventually be released in the West. Though after pretty much hearing nothing else about it in the months following, I ended up putting it out of my mind, believing it to be simply another cool Japanese game that would never see the light of day outside of the country.
All of a sudden, though, in 2001, I came across a mention of a GameCube follow-up to the mystery title set to be released in Japan under the name Animal Crossing in 2001, which would take advantage of a special e-reader for the GBA.
Once again, my excitement went into overdrive, believing an international release could be just around the corner.
However, little did I know then that I would have to wait a further three years before getting the chance to finally play it, with the UK version not hitting store shelves until 2004 (with the e-reader functionality removed). Because of this, the GameCube version will always hold a special place in my heart, having brought an end to the years of anticipation and hype.
You can vote below to let us know which of these was your introduction to the series. We'd also love to hear your stories in the comments: