Can someone please, genuinely explain the appeal of this game to me? My girlfriend pre-ordered it...

Can someone please, genuinely explain the appeal of this game to me? My girlfriend pre-ordered it, and my brother bought it a day after launch, and they've been playing it (almost literally) 24/7 since. I've been watching them play it when I'm not doing anything else, and I genuinely don't understand the $60, AAA tag on it. It feels like a glorified dollhouse simulator. There's no plot, there's no storyline, and that's fine, except there is (to me) no sort of substance to it. There's no risk to it, there's no danger, there's really nothing to lose at all. It really just comes off as a virtual dollhouse of sorts. So, can somebody explain why this game is so popular and has such a large following? Am I missing something here?
>tl;dr why is this """game""" so popular?

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For me, it’s a relaxing time killer. I don’t log hours into gameplay at a time. I pick it up, get some things done, and move on to something else.

If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand.

It lets NEETs and women live out the fantasy of being a functioning adult with a job and responsibilities

because it is a nintendo game

that company could release a game where you can only progress by using the joycons' motion controls to punch yourself in the balls, and their sycophants would still buy it

probably because there's nothing down there they can still damage after the castration

Every person I've asked IRL has said these exact words. I guess I will never understand.

You're thinking about it too much. It's just a comfy simulator. Also collecting furniture and trying to fl3x your house to your friends\relatives is the shit

It's comfy bro. You wouldn't understand. Do you hate fun or something? Go back to your snoy movies

>I don't understand slice of life

Its ok you will stop being 12 mentality someday

>There's no risk to it, there's no danger, there's really nothing to lose at all.

Basically just answered your own question there OP, that is exactly why it appeals to the average person who plays it, and given the current state of the world, people need a little escapism

t. wagecuck

>why other people like thing me no like?

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t. pays Nintendo to pretend wagecuck

Animal Crossing has a shitload of dopamine triggers and usually snowballs activities so you feel fulfilled and busy.

It has smooth, pleasant visuals and very little in the way of setbacks to progression. It is satisfying the same way getting a bunch of kills in an action game is satisfying, but with less intensity and stretched over a longer period.

>explain the appeal of this game

KYS seething snoy zoom zoom.

were in the middle of a global pandemic that likes of which hasn't been seen in a long time; most people have either little work or no work at all because of it. It's overall a very stressful time for most people. Is it really that surprising for you that a game about living a relaxing island life where there are no real problems would be very popular right now?

>ask people who enjoy Animal Crossing to explain appeal of game they like so I can understand better, connect with family over it, and possibly try it out
>>"KYS SNOY NIGGER LEL"
Never change, Yas Forums.

>I genuinely don't understand the $60,
there is an insane amount of content in AC games, if the content is for you that's fine but to pretend like this is some throwaway game a small group of people could make in a few months is laughable

What wrong with dollhouses? Making cute clothes and having a comfy home with nice furniture is fun too.

Shut the fuck up already, retard. Go back to your mass murder point&shooty sims if this hurts your tiny ape brain too much.

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Just play with your family then? Fucking mongrel.

>"My girlfriend preordered"
Ok but you first explain the appeal to a girl who is dumb enough to preorder.

>It feels like a glorified dollhouse simulator
You said it yourself, user. People like managing their own little world, filling it with characters they like (and there are over 400 to choose from, so everyone is bound to get favorites). Animal Crossing is not supposed to be a challenging game, you play it to relax and have lighthearted fun.

Except you don't really work a job, you just do whatever you want and you don't need to do anything you don't feel like doing.

By content he means decorations that make a sound when you "interact" with them. I like Animal Crossing, but it's literal a game where you collect 3D models of things and show them off to people.

>you just do whatever you want
What can you do that isn't a menial chore like chopping trees or planting crops?

T. Mature Gaymer

I have the game and I couldn't explain it.

>virtual doll house
Im sold, buying a shitch now.

It's a valid question, memetard

you just vibe bro

that is indeed some of the content, but no that's not all it is. There's a progression model involving building various things around the island, and there are several other gameplay mechanics. Again, simplifying the game in this way is straight up retarded, i dont know if it maeks you feel smart or something but i dont get this behavior desu

Fishing, decorating, socializing, catching bugs, making designs, playing with the town tune.
You could just look up "Animal Crossing" on Wikipedia and read the "Gameplay" section, user.

AH DUN GEDDIT

It literally lets you love a second life, an ordinary game lasts 2 weeks max, most people will play the game daily for at least 6 months. I played wild world everyday for an hour for 8 months straight in 2018

Its about keeping mental stock of your vidya inventory for months, it becomes a damn real experience its hard to describe, ive played since gamecube

When i was young i remember being ENTHRALLED by what the villagers said and coming up with complicated storylines and relationship dynamics between them, i liked designing patterns because of the preset palettes that were all amazing and fishing

Breeding over a dozen shiny pokemon has broken the concept of what a game is to me

Everything in games is grinding, new horizons crossing adds subtle dynamics to everything

They made the tarantula island trick interesting in that islands like the spiral one are designed around it, if you money max they give you a very interesting way to do it other that simply fishing

Its the 5th game in a series, flipping the absolute fundamentals of living in a comfy randomized towns and giving the player control theyve been imagining for 20 years

They did a bunch of chad stuff too like getting rid of a fuck ton of classic furniture

Idk its a good game, not as good as wild world but well see

Assuming they update the game a bunch itll be the best one though, hopefully we get elder god tier stuff like 7-11 furniture again

I can live my dream of being a cherry tree farmer who lives on the top of a mountain by a stream.

But the real reason is that you can fight the (((racoon))) and overcome his racoon tricks

extrinsic gamer detected
you literally cannot understand this game

>not liking regular furniture
>liking 7-11 furniture
huh?

*intrinsic dumbass

Animal crossing is extrinsic, a fighting game would be intrinsic

The way I've often described it is like... Imagine your perfect day off, in a world where there really isn't any consequences. You might visit friends, do some relaxing fishing or walking around, maybe go pay off your debt or do your side hustle to make some cash. Work in your garden or talk to your neighbours, maybe you clean or organize your room. Do some art. It's really just the gaming equivalent if positive mental health practices. It's cathartic, simple and low stress.

So you guarantee you get it on release instead of having to buy it off ebay for $80+ because it's sold out everywhere.

So it's casual garbage

The actual game play, which has mechanics, are fishing, catching bugs, cutting down trees, and planting trees and flowers. Everything else you interact with by pressing a button. Look, I like NH (I have 40 hours into it), but there's not much to it. It literally could've been a phone app. The game is so grid based, you can't even kick a soccer ball around your island. All of the cool things in the game are restricted to making a noise or a simple animation, which is pretty lame.
>Can't cook actual food on grills.
>Can't dispense popcorn and walk around with a bag.
>Can't swing on the "Swinging Bench".

The game could work as a physical game, as it would have more interaction and probably be cheaper to make for Nintendo.

-takes place in real time which is unique and is directly affected by when you play IRL (catching certain bugs fish, events etc) allowing different players to have different experiences
-surprisingly in depth NPCs with distinct personalities. They comment on your clothing, wear clothes you send them etc

>There's no risk to it, there's no danger, there's really nothing to lose at all.

Were you not paying attention when everyone was sperging about their turnips?

WE FUCKING HAD THIS THREAD ALREADY SHUT THE FUCK UP

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i cant
played it for 10 hours now
it keeps getting worse
My only explain is nincels are desperate

imagine second life but for damaged zoomers that were raised by the internet

extrinsic means deriving enjoyment from an external source of accomplishments, ie achievements or upgrades
intrinsic means doing it for its own sake, ie climbing a mountain because it's there

literally a mobile game then

Its not that i dont love the old furniture its just rad theyre moving on

80% of new leaf furniture was heldover from gc

And fuck yeah the 7-11 furniture is cool, it fits the kitschy aesthetic of the game perfectly, whats the matter? Miss the stringfish?

This game is good because nintendo sat down and made notes of everything from what the most hardcore fans were doing with hacks 5 years after the game came out

Theve VERY intelligently locked 90% of the content in this game behind free dlc so time traveller cock suckers dont ruin everything

I was looking for a sim like this but concluded that Animal Crossing was basically RF with less things to do and for 5 year olds.

kojima is that you? did your d-grade movie game not get the reception you wanted?

Not every game is for everyone. Are you 12 years old or just autistic? Normal adults are able to comprehend that people have different tastes and interests.

If you think about it, video games boil down to providing goals and progress. Whether it's an action game where the goal is to beat all the levels and bosses, or a multiplayer game where the goal is to rank up and beat others. In Animal Crossing, it's logging in every day, building a village, collecting bugs, fish, fossils, furniture, money, clothes, etc. There doesn't need to be much skill involved or risk for it to be a game, as long as there's some progression you can work towards.

True “gameplay” in new horizons is limited to tarantula farming and inventory management skills, animal crossing is very extrinsic, its about performing rng to get furniture for your house and designing patterns

Those are intrinsic

Something like a fighting game is 100% in the moment gameplay with no extrinsic reward driving it

>It feels like a glorified dollhouse simulator.
This is exactly what it is. And that's why it's so fun. You get to design your island/town however you like. You get to design your character however you like. You get to design your house however you like. Beyond that it has enough trappings of multiplayer and minigames/open-ended things to do with friends, and some really cute NPCs to hang out with when your friends aren't online. That it's essentially somewhere between the sims, harvest moon, and second life.

Those are extrinsic*

Its not everyone's thing. And yea it has casual appeal. But I have tons of serious gamer friends myself included who enjoy it. If it doesn't sound nice to you don't play it. It's existence doesn't really effect you.

>That it's essentially somewhere between the sims, harvest moon, and second life.
That's it, it's*

People who complain about the price of $60 games are either underage or poor. Video games are cheaper than they've ever been in history, and $60 is about half of what they used to cost 25 years ago.

I played the GameCube one as a kid and enjoyed it, so I've enjoyed every other game in the series.

You will never understand with that kind of blanket cynicism lmao this is why no one can be arsed trying to convince you that its good. If you're gonna be a presumptuous moron, then that's your problem for not playing one of the best games on the switch right now

Also DODO codes fucking RULE and are amazing compared to how nintendo usually is about online

The endgame of animal new horizons is your town becoming an online destination with people visiting to see your shops and house and whatever crazy stuff you dreamt up with the terrain tool

No retard

It's a hard game to explain. On the surface it looks like a dollhouse simulator as you say, but somehow it ends up being fun. Maybe its the feeling of progression being locked behind actual times that make each milestone rewarding. Every "hardcore gamer" that reviewed the game on youtube say the same thing, how they didn't understand what the appeal behind the game is, but when they played it they really enjoyed it.

t. ignores the gorillion added dlc, seasonspasses, preorder bonsues and other mtx shit

>Wuh-oh!
>Someone is leaving!
>Someone is arriving!
>Island is full
>player presses the minus button which fucks literally everyone
Yeah the codes themselves are an improvement, but fuck me, keeping your gates open is honestly the most infuriating thing, especially if you're trying to share turnip prices with a lot of people.

>nu-Yas Forums loves and defends casual garbage with literally ZERO challenge

When did this place become infested with women and redditors?

Anyone have decent turnip prices?

It's fun.

None of which applies to Animal Crossing.

Smash Ultimate also has codes for lobbies which are so much better for online play than having to be friends with someone in almost every other fg.

Nintendo games have none of those things. Only optional dlc which actually adds a worthwhile amount of new content if you choose to buy it.

>How tough are ya?
>I play dark souls, I'm tough as shit.
Your posturing is fucking pathetic, do you know that? You play videogames and think somehow "challenge" makes you more masculine or less "reddit". get over yourself, all videogames are for children, moron.

Okay roastie

Only if you're so autistic you literally cannot understand why other people have different opinions than you do.

it's the type of game you play a couple hours a day for a week then don't touch it ever again

it is basically a virtual dollhouse and it is fun. Do you feel the same way about all simulation games?

Not an argument. Either explain to me why your "mature" videogames makes you a man, and not an infantile little brat, or fuck off.