E3 2019: Animal Crossing for Switch gets a name, release date

Nintendo finally dropped the first trailer for the long-awaited Animal Crossing for Switch in their E3 2019 Nintendo Direct. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is releasing for the Nintendo Switch in March 2020. The game was originally scheduled for a 2019 release but it looks like it has been pushed forward so that there is enough time for development.

It has been 7 years since the release of an Animal Crossing game. The Animal Crossing series is known and loved for its social simulations such as planting and harvesting trees, fishing, fossil hunting and so much more. It is very reminiscent of farming/social simulators such as Harvest Moon and the later released Stardew Valley.

Unlike Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, the Animal Crossing games fetched time and dates from the players' device. The day in our world means a day in the Animal Crossing World, and a night in our world means a night in the game. This even affected the seasons in the game. The sync with the real passage of time gave the game lots of longevity and playability.

We currently don't have any details about New Horizons on the Switch. The game was only announced in September 2018 and we have only gotten one trailer since. But the Switch is an ambitious console and we're seeing new types of features in games such as Pokemon Sword and Shield which we have never seen before.

The second game, Animal Crossing: Wild World was the first game to feature online gameplay and Wi-Fi connectivity. The Switch already has those capabilities so it is possible we'll see a few online gameplay features in the upcoming Animal Crossing.

The graphics and gameplay have also been very smooth and beautiful and it is a huge step up from the previous games. The previous Animal Crossing games were some of the best games Nintendo had ever published and high expectations are riding on this one.