Animal Crossing (video game)

Animal Crossing
North American cover art of the GameCube version
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Katsuya Eguchi Hisashi Nogami
Producer(s)	Takashi Tezuka
Programmer(s)	Yuhiki Otsuki Masaru Nii[3]
Artist(s)	Noriko Ikegawa Yoshihisa Morimoto
Writer(s)	Makoto Wada Kenshiro Ueda Kunio Watanabe
Composer(s)	Kazumi Totaka Kenta Nagata Toru Minegishi Shinobu Tanaka
Series	Animal Crossing
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64 GameCube iQue Player
Release	Nintendo 64 JP: April 14, 2001 GameCube JP: December 14, 2001[1] NA: September 16, 2002 AU: September 15, 2003 EU: September 24, 2004 e+ JP: June 27, 2003 iQue Player PRC: June 1, 2006[2]
Genre(s)	Life simulation
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Animal Crossing, stylized as Welcome to Animal Crossing, and known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori+,^[a] is a 2001 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the first game in the Animal Crossing series, and is also an enhanced version of the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori,^[b] which was only released in Japan earlier the same year, and was followed by another edition, Dōbutsu no Mori e+,^[c] in 2003.

Animal Crossing is an endless and non-linear game in which a human (the player) takes up residence in a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. The main goal of the game is to save money in order to pay off the mortgage on the player's house. This requires collecting natural materials and selling them. The player can engage in everyday life in the village, interact with the animals, attend events, and contribute to the village's development. The game's western localization differs significantly from the original release in that Japanese holidays and cultural references are replaced with Western ones.

The game was originally conceived as a role-playing adventure, with the main action taking place in dungeons.^{[citation needed]} However, development was stalled by the failure of the 64DD peripheral. 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. Eguchi also wanted to create a game that catered to a wider audience inclusive of those unfamiliar with video games.

Animal Crossing was a critical and commercial success domestically and internationally, attracting many non-traditional gaming audiences. Critics praised the game's unusual but immersive and addictive gameplay, which was devoid of purpose and stressful elements. Criticisms centered on its outdated graphics and simple art style. The game is considered one of the earliest examples of the casual game genre, and marked the beginning of a franchise of the same name, which saw further success in its sequels. It is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time.

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