Animal Crossing 3DS To Be Revealed At E3?

With Nintendo almost certain to be using E3 as a platform to show off the 3DS – its new handheld, capable of supporting 3D effects without the need for glasses, it is the software which will ultimately sell it to gamers who have had their pockets tapped out by Nintendo’s string of handhelds.   However, if there is one game which has proven to be a system seller it is Animal Crossing and if rumours are true, it may well see the light at this year’s expo.

Since its debut on the Gamecube, Animal Crossing has become a cult hit, with its sleepy, laid back gameplay and compulsive, if not menial, tasks.  It was simplistic but enjoyable and oddly appealing and when the DS came along, Nintendo spruced it up, added in a few extras and released it as Animal Crossing: Wild World – a trick which they later repeated for the Wii.  If the rumours, reported by Destructoid, are to be believed, then Nintendo will be wheeling out a new incarnation of their well-worn hit at E3 as part of the intended launch lineup for the new handheld.

According to Destructoid:

Nintendo has been quietly wooing developers and publishers with a handheld 3D demo of its popular franchise, Animal Crossing. Word has it that the game will be revealed next week as a launch title for Nintendo’s handheld. When contacted with a request for comment, Nintendo’s response was as expected: “Nintendo does not comment on rumours or speculation.”

It is more than fair speculation – after all, Wild World was a huge success and Animal Crossing has been one of the company’s bigger successes in recent years outside of the holy trinity of Mario/Zelda/Metroid.  While there is little doubt in the minds of the AC fans here at GL HQ that the game will be announced, sadly, there is also little doubt that it will likely be no more than yet another rehash, rather than a true sequel which expands on the original and brings more than a handful of extras.  We shall see – we’d love to be proved wrong, but somehow, sadly, we don’t think we will be.

• EA Announce The Sims 4: City Living Expansion
• PETA Crosses The Line with Farming Simulator 17
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Review
• Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments - Review
• ONE Ring