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Animal Crossing+ Japanese Details Revealed

Posted by simoniker on from the buffing-up-skylines-bonus-minigame dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an IGN Cube story summarizing the new features in the Japanese expanded re-release of sleeper Gamecube hit Animal Crossing. These include brand new features such as "..upgraded animal designs.. all-new events added.. more than 100 additional items.. visit the island without a GBA.. take photos of village life, store on SD Cards, and print using photo printers", and a number of features previously only found in the US version of the game. Gamers.com has some new screenshots of this release, which follows the pattern of titles such as Kingdom Hearts:Final Mix in exporting US-release improvements back to Japan in a 'special edition'. Although non-Japanese Animal Crossing fans may be looking hopefully for this expansion, a release outside Japan seems unlikely, and the poor Europeans still don't have the original Gamecube version.

28 of 31 comments (clear)

  1. Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I just saw a commercial for some game where you buy game cards at 7-11 and then scan them into the game using a swipe reader. You can then challenge other players with your upgraded characters.

    Is this the same game?

    (Also, how many other ways can game companies squeeze every last cent out of gamers? It's pretty amazing what they've come up with so far.)

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by n0wak · · Score: 1

      You might be thinking of Barcode Battler, which is not the same as the GBA e-Reader (which helps tie in with Nintendo's CCG market. ie. Pokemon).

      (Also, how many other ways can game companies squeeze every last cent out of gamers? It's pretty amazing what they've come up with so far.)

      I must have missed the part where Nintedo puts a gun to your face to force you to buy their games.

    2. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

      I must have missed the part where Nintedo puts a gun to your face to force you to buy their games.

      The gun has a name. It's called Kids.

      --
      I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    3. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by n0wak · · Score: 1

      Actually, I don't know what you're thinking of. Barcode Battler is kind of retro. Whatever you're thinking of sounds like a rip-off, or just the e-Reader.

    4. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by AvantLegion · · Score: 2, Insightful
      (Also, how many other ways can game companies squeeze every last cent out of gamers? It's pretty amazing what they've come up with so far.)

      How so?

      Animal Crossing players have explored every facet of the game and beg for more. The following is very similar to that of The Sims (not surprising, given the similar nature of the 2 games).

      I don't think having swipe cards or anything like that is "squeezing every last cent out of gamers". They're nice little low-production-cost extras for the fanatics.

    5. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

      It's definitely a current title. I just saw the tail end of the commercial where the kid was opening packs of cards and scanning them in. The graphics looked sort of like Animal Crossing's screenshots.

      --
      I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    6. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by jayoyayo · · Score: 5, Informative
      I don't know what game you're referring to but its definitely not Animal Crossing as there is no "challenge(ing) other players with your upgraded characters" in AC.

      The Animal Crossing cards are cards that you can scan in via an attachment to a GBA which is hooked up to the GameCube. They unlock new items (including fully playable NES games), designs that you can put on your character's clothes, and songs which will play in the background. In addition, one does not need the GBA card-reader peripheral, as Nintendo has provided a password on each card which also unlocks something. The password unlocks a different item than scanning it. Needless to say, one can simply head over to certain websites and get all the passwords without having to purchase a card. Certain hackers have also been able to "unlock" (ie, provide a password for) items that could previously only be unlocked via scanning a card. IIRC, the only items that still require scanning a card and cannot be acquired any other way are a couple NES games.

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      WANT INFO ON A COUNTRY?
    7. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by mink · · Score: 1

      YOu have a couple things going on.

      The E-reader is used with the Gameboy Advance. You can buy packs of cards (5 cards I think per game) that contain classic NES games. By reading the cards into the GBA you can store and play a classic NES game.
      The animal crossing cards are unrelated to that. The AC cards give you items or other things in the game, once you scan them in the e-reader (GBA must be hooked to gamecube running Anime Crossing aFAIK).

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
    8. Re:Is this the one where you scan your game cards? by mink · · Score: 1

      Grr. I forgot to add there is no battleing taking place in AC, so I'm not sure what commercial you saw, but there are recent versions of barcode battlers out now a days, saw them at TRU.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  2. Good planning by suineg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't think this is really all that bad idea or money grubbing. Most likely if the person already has the game they are just going to glance at a re-release with nothing in the fundamentals of it changed just a few bonuses. This kind of "remix" appeals to the people who have heard lots about the game and are still on the fence on whether or not to buy it. They think 'Hrmm maybe I should get it now that is a little updated.' GG Nintendo

    --
    Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. George Patton
  3. Well... by Suicide · · Score: 1

    If they would just develop the games for US release first, then they could have the Japanese be the expanded version the first time, and I'd get the games first... Sounds like a win, win situation.

    1. Re:Well... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      Look on the bright side: We were the first ones with an e-Reader with a game link cable pass-through, which means that you could buy and use Animal Crossing e-Reader cards in North America months before the Japanese had the ability.

  4. Not quite the right name by Bagels · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Animal Crossing Plus" isn't quite the right name - I don't speak Japanese, but I do remember that Animal Crossing was called Animal Forest + in Japan. Since this is 'Doubutsu no Mori e+', I'm guessing one might actually call it Animal Forest e+ (the e designates the e-Reader capability that the previous one lacked). Anyone who actually knows Japanese care to translate properly?

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    --- Bwah?
    1. Re:Not quite the right name by PKFC · · Score: 1

      No mod points for me since I am late to the party, but Animal Forest e+ is the english translation of the title. One look at http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ngc/gaej/index.html will tell you that.
      Animal Forest was an N64 game that you could buy with or with out a memory card (the cart had an EPROM - memory card was for those train visits to other towns) and iirc was the only cart with a clock in it. Animal Forest + was the "rerelease" of the game and added a few more features.
      The biggest reason why Animal Forest e+ would have e-reader support and Animal Forest + didn't? The e-reader for Japan only recently had a hardware revision that included a communication port in the e-reader. Its essentially the US e-reader anyways...

      (Surprisingly, that IGN Insider crap isn't too bad [since they have an eight part series on Animal Forest])

  5. Re:2 dang questions! by jayoyayo · · Score: 1

    sorry guy, i dont think Nintendo will spend the effort on something requiring as massive localization as Animal Crossing does for such a small market. please be aware, by small market i do not mean that Australia isn't something major, but that there just aren't enough people with GameCubes there to warrant another localization. I suggest you pick up the Datel Freeloader and import Animal Crossing.

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    WANT INFO ON A COUNTRY?
  6. Re:2 dang questions! by Tsuzuki · · Score: 1

    It just infuriates me that Nintendo Australia has kept it on their release lists for well over a year, with no forthcoming information... if it's a no-go why can't they remove it from the list?

    I know and accept the fact that the Australian games market really is a drop in the ocean, so no offense taken. I think I'll just wait for the Harvest Moon games to come out in October instead.

    (Oh, and I'm not a guy. ;P)

  7. Re:2 dang questions! by macshit · · Score: 1

    I'm constantly amazed by the tales I hear about Nintendo's Australian operation. It's like they long ago lost contact with the parent organization, and have stopped trying to actually sell anything, spending their days getting drunk and figuring out new ways to taunt Australian Nintendo fans (`Hey, let's double the price and include free shards of broken glass in every box! New color: puke!').

    I mean, I know Nintendo's pretty much focused on Japan, but this is ridiculous...

    --
    We live, as we dream -- alone....
  8. Re:2 dang questions! by jayoyayo · · Score: 1

    Sorry for preemptively stating your gender, heh. But yeah... I've heard Nintendo Australia often announces games waaaaaaay ahead of time (sometimes even before the game has been announced in USA, but for some reason thats usually only with 3rd party games...) so maybe there is still hope. The new Harvest Moon looks fun too, I'm looking forward to the GC/GBA connectivity aspect. Hopefully it will be better than the PS2 version, i think was probably my least fav Harvest Moon game.

    --
    WANT INFO ON A COUNTRY?
  9. Re:2 dang questions! by sprayNwipe · · Score: 1

    Nope - Nintendo Europe have shelved all development on Euro Animal Crossing, which means that us aussies don't get a version either.

    I imported AC from the US, and it was a good blast for a week or two, although it loses a lot of its charm when you can't trade stuff with your friends since they don't have a copy.

  10. Why AC wasn't released in the UK by Lewisham · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm not going to quote Mr. Head of Nintendo Europe, because I feel my paraphrasing is more appropriate (he gives a review in the UK magazine Edge Gamecube special called Equip):

    "We didn't have the resources to translate everything, so we decided that we'd translate Pokemon and shelved AC. Because I'm a spacker desparately holding onto a past that is now long gone. Please hurt me.
    "Of course, it would be easy to assume that the UK and Australian markets were big enough on their own to justify a PAL conversion without translation, but we couldn't be bothered with all that extra hassle either. Viva la Wigglytuff!"

    That last paragraph was me completely putting words in his mouth, but I've often wondered why this isn't done? Is it some really anal distribution channel thing? Surely putting those discs on the right ship out of Taiwan isn't that hard? The game was already translated, and the UK is definitely one of the biggest video gaming markets (couldn't comment on Austrailia).

    Perhaps Nintendo Europe don't want to be seen not shafting the non-US/Japan world. Chrono Trigger, anyone?

    It's about time they went the same way as Sega, and let some hardware manufacturers who know what the they're doing distribute their titles. We've never seen such appalling treatment by Sony or Microsoft.

    1. Re:Why AC wasn't released in the UK by matlokheed · · Score: 1

      Is that a French translation program you were using? *ahem*

      In case you didn't notice, the UK gets an absurdly low amount of translations/games. AC, while an excellent game, still didn't outsell most of the major Nintendo titles. So then the mindset goes:

      "Hmmmm... do we translate Pokemon, which we've already got translated and doesn't even need to be adjusted for a different video standard so it'll cost us nothing other than promotional material/boxes/etc. Or do we translate a game that is so based on the culture of where it's released that we'd have to change entire events."

      We aren't talking about just colors or flags or anything like that. If I'm not mistaken, Columbus Day (Explorer's Day) and Independence Day (not sure) are in Animal Crossing and should have no significance in Europe. So, do they take out those days meanings? What do they put in their place? There are other things that just don't work right with the renaturalization.

      There are plenty of things that would have to be localized for Europe and with the exception of a few games (Silent Hill 3, Shenemue 2) Europe usually gets the ignored treatment anyway.

      AC is not an easily translatable game. To complain that Nintendo isn't translating a "sleeper" but great game, is an exercise in futility.

      --

      "If the good lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates." -Willy Wonka

    2. Re:Why AC wasn't released in the UK by edwdig · · Score: 1

      Translating isn't the appropriate word for Animal Crossing. It needs to be localized.

      On pretty much every even semi major holiday, the animals in the game will celebrate it in some way. These events need to be appropriate for each country.

      So far, the game has only been released in the Northern Hemisphere. The seasons would have to be changed for an Australian release.

      There's a lot of furniture you can buy in the game which wouldn't fit in in other countries. They'd have to customize it.

      Animal Crossing is very expensive to localize. They're not gonna do it without a decent expected return.

    3. Re:Why AC wasn't released in the UK by BIGmog · · Score: 1

      Hey now don't be bitter.
      Europe got a special version of Metroid Prime and Zone of the Enders 2 is getting bonus features for the European market.

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      V O T E F O R M O G
  11. Re:2 dang questions! by elveu · · Score: 1

    actually it's all becease nintendo australia don't think that's what the australian public wants.
    we never got harvest moon 64 beceaes they seem to think we don't want to play heavily japanese games.
    unfotunatly this means we only get hte really big games or so it seems and the games i really want to play never come out here.

  12. AC in Europe / Australia by nicky_d · · Score: 1

    One of the many GC magazines currently out in the UK this month features a free, scaled-down version of the Freeloader disc on the cover, which will only run Animal Crossing. So as long as your TV will display the output and you have access to an import supplier, you can play the game; bad luck if you can't read English, I guess, but better than Nintendo's efforts to date; i.e. better than nothing.

  13. Re:2 dang questions! by edwdig · · Score: 1

    I think Nintendo has said that Australia isn't getting Animal Crossing, but they will be getting Animal Crossing 2.

  14. Misleading story title by Caktus · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who understood that title as Details on a crossing between an animal and a japanese?

  15. Digimon D-Tector by s0nicfreak · · Score: 1

    ?

    http://www.bandai.com/products/digimon/