Nintendo on evolving Animal Crossing, adding real-life elements, bringing the series back to consoles
Coming from a USGamer interview with Nintendo's Katsuya Eguchi...
"With [Nintendo's] products, it’s only when people play them and enjoy them that the product actually has value. We constantly have to create something new and provide something new. When we put out a product, at that time, it’s the best thing we can offer. But as time passes, we look back and realize that it’s not going to work now. We’re in a different environment. The world outside is a different place. We have to constantly think about what we can create that’s new and refreshing for people who play. That’s the constant sense of pressure that I feel."
Coming from ACNL director Aya Kyogoku...
"As the series grows, time passes outside. Technology changes. The way players feel and think, their perspective about gaming changes. As a franchise, to stay relevant, we have to evolve along with that change. For example, that beautiful town ordinance may reduce some of the stress the game could cause. Things like that, we have to take them into consideration and constantly think about them and adjust to how the world has changed around us."
Coming from Katsuya Eguchi...
"Starting with the Nintendo 64, the communication aspect of Animal Crossing back then was about communicating with your family, or your friends that come over, and you would play after you go home. It would be communication with people you actually share a physical space with. As technology becomes more advanced, it expands the scope of what we can do. With the introduction of memory cards on the GameCube or the wireless Internet connection now, the scope of who you can reach out to and who you can communicate with has expanded.
In real life, back in the day, people would gather physically to talk about their lives – here’s what’s been going on, here’s what’s happening around the world. Now, with the introduction of the internet, that’s done on a global scale, and very quickly. I feel like, as Nintendo’s hardware takes in those new technologies like the wireless internet connection, we’re able to be in sync and move in parallel with how the world is moving forward. I feel like the introduction of technology into our games is a reflection of how we’re moving in parallel with the rest of the world.
I’d also like to include aspects of our real lives and the real world in the games that we create. Within that process, the thing that hasn’t changed is the desire to express oneself, to show that expression to others, and to find out what others are feeling, what others are going through, what others are doing. With the introduction of new technology, that scope is widening. We’re able to widen that scope in terms of our games that we create at Nintendo.
I think that the current style, the way Animal Crossing is set up, is definitely catering toward a portable system, but the core concept, the world of Animal Crossing and the concepts involved in it, can be brought to a console just as easily. If we were to make another Animal Crossing for a new console, the thing I would focus on would be how to fully utilize the features of that console, and how to integrate that into the concept and the world of Animal Crossing, to create a new way of playing Animal Crossing."
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"With [Nintendo's] products, it’s only when people play them and enjoy them that the product actually has value. We constantly have to create something new and provide something new. When we put out a product, at that time, it’s the best thing we can offer. But as time passes, we look back and realize that it’s not going to work now. We’re in a different environment. The world outside is a different place. We have to constantly think about what we can create that’s new and refreshing for people who play. That’s the constant sense of pressure that I feel."
Coming from ACNL director Aya Kyogoku...
"As the series grows, time passes outside. Technology changes. The way players feel and think, their perspective about gaming changes. As a franchise, to stay relevant, we have to evolve along with that change. For example, that beautiful town ordinance may reduce some of the stress the game could cause. Things like that, we have to take them into consideration and constantly think about them and adjust to how the world has changed around us."
Coming from Katsuya Eguchi...
"Starting with the Nintendo 64, the communication aspect of Animal Crossing back then was about communicating with your family, or your friends that come over, and you would play after you go home. It would be communication with people you actually share a physical space with. As technology becomes more advanced, it expands the scope of what we can do. With the introduction of memory cards on the GameCube or the wireless Internet connection now, the scope of who you can reach out to and who you can communicate with has expanded.
In real life, back in the day, people would gather physically to talk about their lives – here’s what’s been going on, here’s what’s happening around the world. Now, with the introduction of the internet, that’s done on a global scale, and very quickly. I feel like, as Nintendo’s hardware takes in those new technologies like the wireless internet connection, we’re able to be in sync and move in parallel with how the world is moving forward. I feel like the introduction of technology into our games is a reflection of how we’re moving in parallel with the rest of the world.
I’d also like to include aspects of our real lives and the real world in the games that we create. Within that process, the thing that hasn’t changed is the desire to express oneself, to show that expression to others, and to find out what others are feeling, what others are going through, what others are doing. With the introduction of new technology, that scope is widening. We’re able to widen that scope in terms of our games that we create at Nintendo.
I think that the current style, the way Animal Crossing is set up, is definitely catering toward a portable system, but the core concept, the world of Animal Crossing and the concepts involved in it, can be brought to a console just as easily. If we were to make another Animal Crossing for a new console, the thing I would focus on would be how to fully utilize the features of that console, and how to integrate that into the concept and the world of Animal Crossing, to create a new way of playing Animal Crossing."
Link
