

Eguchi also wanted to create a game that catered to a wider audience inclusive of those unfamiliar with video games.Īnimal Crossing was a critical and commercial success domestically and internationally, attracting many non-traditional gaming audiences. Reviewing the existing developments, designer Katsuya Eguchi decided to create a non-linear life simulator, which would carry the themes of family, friendship, and community as well as allow several players to develop a virtual town at different times. However, development was stalled by the failure of the 64DD peripheral. The game was originally conceived as a role-playing adventure, with the main action taking place in dungeons.

The game's western localization differs significantly from the original release in that Japanese holidays and cultural references are replaced with Western ones. The human can engage in everyday life in the village, interact with the animals, attend events, and contribute to the village's development. This requires collecting natural materials and selling them.

The main goal of the game is to save money in order to pay off the mortgage on the human's house. It is an enhanced version of the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, which was only released in Japan earlier the same year, and was followed by another edition, Dōbutsu no Mori e+, in 2003.Īnimal Crossing is an endless and non-linear game in which a human takes up residence in a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Animal Crossing, known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori+, is a 2001 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube.
