Nintendo Europe doesn’t make the Crossing
Animal Crossing is not currently on NOE’s release schedule
Nintendo's European product manager Marco Hein has told C&VG that Animal Crossing is not currently on the way to Europe, but hasn't ruled out a 'crossing' sometime in the future. "I'm not saying we're not releasing it," he said last week. "I'm saying we currently have no plans." Apparently Nintendo believes that its release schedule is sufficiently full. Animal Crossing should not be confused with Animal Leader, which is being published by Atlus in the US later this year along with Nintendo's Animal Crossing. Nintendo will wait and see how AC fares in the US market before making any decisions about Europe, we would imagine. Animal Crossing was once described as a "communication game" by Shigeru Miyamoto in its days of development for the N64. The premise is that you arrive in "Animal Crossing" having picked your name, the name of your town and so on, and you just live out your life, earning and working jobs and interacting with the many distinctly unorthodox and colourful characters. One of the features highlighted by press everywhere was the notion of competing in town raffles and receiving Christmas presents, the prizes and presents taking the shape of NES games like Donkey Kong and Punch Out. Needless to say, the idea of living your life in a forest full of peculiar animals is intriguing, if a little unstructured, and it would have been nice to get our hands on AC in Europe and work out why so many of Miyamoto's fans in Japan rave about it. Back to Marco Hein though, and Nintendo's European product manager also spoke candidly about what governs how he governs the release of games in certain regions including Europe, and that now and then "we try to be a little bit brave". Doshin the Giant was his example - "I think it's a very Japanese game, but it can fit very well into our European portfolio. It's niche, but it's valuable in showing a complete range of GameCube game." Doshin's release is good news for European gamers in more ways than one. Apart from satisfying the legions of hungry consumers yearning for something a little bit different, it also reminds us that games can go from Japan direct to Europe, ignoring the traditional American stepping stone. Doshin isn't coming in the US due to a strategic decision made by Nintendo of America.