A portion of a Gamasutra interview with Nintendo producer Katsuya Eguchi...

GS: I think that this game is more free. It's been awhile since I played an Animal Crossing, but I feel like you have freedom. Weeds don't pop up as much. There are more choices. The animals don't seem to get mad at you as easily. Was it your decision to make the game more free for players to enjoy it without consequences?

KE: Yes, you're absolutely right. With regard to the animals and their not getting so angry so easily, our basic stance is that these animals are friendly. There are certainly some stronger personalities among the animals, and that's reflected in their conversations, but they all still default to loving the player character. That's something we made sure to put across through the text.

In regards to town living, we didn't want it to feel like a place you had to go, like it was a pain, or a hassle, or anything like that. Something as simple as watering your flowers, while it's something you still need to do -- flowers will still dry up -- we added things like your flowers will sparkle after you've watered them, so the player doesn't have to be like, "Okay, I've watered that one, I've watered that one..." There's a visual cue there that says "Okay, I've taken care that, that's done. Let's take care of something else."

We've tried to lighten the stress of town life and made sure it's somewhere players want to go, not somewhere they have to go.

Mr. Resetti has also been made a nicer guy this time.