Classic Video Games Codexery

Animal Crossing

A life simulation series where time passes in real time.

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Since its initial release in 2001, five main Animal Crossing games have been released worldwide, with the best-selling entry, New Horizons, selling 49.91 million copies as of March 31, 2026.[1] A human player character resides in a village filled with anthropomorphic animal residents, where they can fish, catch insects, and search for fossils.[2]

Timeline of the series

12 releases, 2001–2026. Select one to open its entry.

  1. 2001Animal CrossingNintendo 64, GameCube, iQue Player
  2. 2005Animal Crossing: Wild WorldAnimal Crossing: Wild WorldNintendo DSPhoto: Nintendo · via Wikipedia: Animal Crossing: Wild World · Fair use
  3. 2008Animal Crossing: City FolkWii
  5. 2013Animal Crossing PlazaWii U (Wikipedia, opens in a new tab)

Dates: Wikipedia: Animal Crossing (CC BY-SA 4.0) · pictures are the credited photos of the linked entries

Making and release

New Leaf for the Nintendo 3DS appointed players to the role of Mayor for the first time in the series.[3] Happy Home Designer, the first spin-off, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on July 30, 2015.[4][5] That same year, an enhanced GameCube version came out; it reached North America on September 16, 2002.[6] Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was first employed by a series title in Wild World for the Nintendo DS.[7]

Online voice chat via the Wii Speak accessory debuted in a Wii game with City Folk.[8] A September 2018 Nintendo Direct revealed New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch, with a worldwide launch occurring on March 20, 2020.[9]

What the cited sources add

Sakurai's page on Mr. Resetti identified him as a character from Animal Crossing.[10] Sakurai's page on the Pitfall item stated it appeared in the game Animal Crossing.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hood, "Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch: release date, news and features", TechRadar; "Top Selling Title Sales Units: Nintendo Switch Software", Nintendo (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Knezevic, "How Animal Crossing Was Born From One Of Nintendo's Biggest Flops", GameSpot, April 6, 2020; "Learn more about the development of the Animal Crossing series in our interview!", Nintendo, November 25, 2016; Andrew H, "While Animal Crossing may never see a mobile game, there could be companion apps on the way", DroidGamers, March 27, 2014; Stephen Totilo, "No Retro Games in Future Animal Crossings—With One Possible Exception", Kotaku, June 8, 2013; Brett Elston, "E3 08: Nintendo Press Conference", GamesRadar+, July 15, 2008 (or en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas, "E3 2010: Animal Crossing 3DS Announced", IGN, June 15, 2010; "Animal Crossing: New Leaf", IGN; Drake, "Animal Crossing 3DS Has a New Name", IGN, October 25, 2012; "Welcome Amiibo", mojenintendo.cz, September 13, 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Romano, "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Japanese release date set", Gematsu, May 31, 2015; "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer", Metacritic; Abou-Nasr, "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Bundles Announced for UK and Australia", Nintendo World Report; Abou-Nasr, "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Bundles Announced for UK and Australia", Nintendo World Report (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Abou-Nasr, "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Bundles Announced for UK and Australia", Nintendo World Report. facts only, no text reused. nintendoworldreport.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harris, "The Evolution of Animal Crossing (page 2)", IGN, November 13, 2008; "Animal Crossing Review", IGN; "Doubutsu no Mori e+", IGN; "Animal Forest", iQue Ltd. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Animal Crossing: Wild World Review", IGN (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Animal Crossing: City Folk Review", IGN; "타운으로 놀러가요 동물의 숲", Nintendo (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Animal Crossing" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Plante, "Animal Crossing: New Horizons looks magical, but is delayed to March 2020", Polygon, June 11, 2019; "Worldwide digital games market", SuperData, a Nielsen Company; Hernandez, "Animal Crossing villagers have started talking about missing features", Polygon, 2020-04-09; "Animal Crossing Didn't Win Game Of The Year At The Game Awards, But Definitely Won It In Our Hearts", TheGamer, 2020-12-11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Sakurai, "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Mr. Resetti", Nintendo, September 26, 2007. facts only, no text reused. smashbros.com
  11. Sakurai, "Smash Bros. DOJO!! Pitfall", Nintendo, September 26, 2007. facts only, no text reused. smashbros.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Animal Crossing (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Animal Crossing · Social Simulation Video Games

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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