Is a Zelda crossover necessary for Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Animal Crossing made headlines by becoming a glaring omission at Nintendo's E3 2021 Direct Showcase. There was no mention of what has quickly become the most popular game on the market and one of the most popular games in all of Nintendo history. One thing fans were expecting from E3 2021 was a Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing crossover.

There were many reasons why Nintendo may have done this, largely because Animal Crossing is the most popular game right now, and The Legend of Zelda has been one of the most popular franchises of all time. They didn't do it, though, at least not yet. This begs the question, should they?

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Legend of Zelda x Animal Crossing

There are several reasons why Nintendo might consider doing an Animal Crossing crossover with the Legend of Zelda. First, as mentioned, these two games are massive money makers for Nintendo. Releasing a crossover or some crossover items into Animal Crossing as DLC would make Nintendo a lot of money.

Players want a crossover, so they'll likely pay for it. Some fans have even recreated some of the shops from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so they'll definitely be interested in DLC.

Zelda x Animal Crossing fan-made replication. Image via Zelda Dungeon

The second reason Nintendo should consider this is that it could be a fantastic promotional tool for a new release. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD has finally been released today, and an Animal Crossing crossover would do wonders for the marketing.

It seems it's probably too late for them to market for Skyward Sword, but in the future, with a bigger release (Breath of the Wild 2 in 2022 comes to mind), it is definitely possible.

IT'S TIME.The Legend of #Zelda: #SkywardSwordHD is available now on #NintendoSwitch!https://t.co/VGGqT16MSQ pic.twitter.com/1JWepEL0h8

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 16, 2021

The third and fourth reasons kind of go together. Animal Crossing had a crossover with Mario last year, meaning Nintendo is interested in collaborating with some of its own big brands. If they did it once, they'd do it again.

The second part of that is that last year was Mario's 35th anniversary, so it made sense to do it. This year is Zelda's 35th anniversary, so it makes perfect sense to do it.

Mario's 35th anniversary. Image via Nintendo

However, Nintendo has scarcely said anything about the anniversary of Zelda. On the actual anniversary date, they didn't mention it. At E3, they didn't mention it. The only thing they did was remaster Skyward Sword for the Switch and announce that the Breath of the Wild sequel is coming next year.

It's doubtful that Animal Crossing gets a Legend of Zelda crossover, but they really should. There are plenty of reasons for Nintendo to do this, and it wouldn't really cost them anything.

i dont know much but i do know i’d play the hell out of an animal crossing/zelda crossover game pic.twitter.com/Tm2zKpG8Wg

— 🍄 abbey miller 🐸 (@flabmil) December 14, 2020

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Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.