Nintendo hosted an Animal Crossing Direct to showcase a new direction for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which turns 4 years old next week. The Direct featured New Leaf producer Hisashi Nogami as Harvey, a new dog and owner of the campground featured in the upcoming update, and gave us a new trailer.
The new update, New Leaf: Welcome Amiibo, adds amiibo support, new characters, items, games, and a new currency called “MEOW coupons” which stands for Mutual Exchange Of Wealth.
For the Amiibo update, Nintendo is introducing 50 new villager cards, including some villagers fans loved from older games that didn’t get into New Leaf. These new cards will be available December 2nd. For those without a New 3DS that allows for amiibo interfacing, Nintendo suggests investing in a 3DS NFC amiibo Reader, which allows you to use amiibo on the older 3DS and 2DS. The device costs about $20 and is necessary to enjoy all the new features without a New 3DS.
On top of new Animal Crossing cards, Nintendo is allowing for other amiibo to join the party as special villagers. These special villagers include Wolf Link, Ganon, Medli, Epona, and even Callie and Marie from Splatoon.
The Welcome Amiibo update will breathe some life into the Animal Crossing franchise, and keep it going until fans get their next fix. The full direct, complete with a human in a discount K.K. Slider costume, is available on Nintendo’s official YouTube. The update is available for free in the Nintendo eShop, and a viable copy of New Leaf is necessary to play.