The New Animal Crossing Game Faces a Critical Crossroads with a Game-Changing New Horizons Technique

Highlights

Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are split on time travel, with some seeing it as controversial while others view it as a way to speed up progress.

The upcoming Animal Crossing game could potentially introduce innovative gameplay mechanics and incorporate online multiplayer features, necessitating Nintendo to tackle the issue of time travel. To discourage time travel, Nintendo has the option of incorporating in-game obstacles or limitations such as restricting access to seasonal items or island tours.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons players adhere to unwritten rules to enhance their gaming experience. These rules include refraining from stealing or causing trouble on other players' islands, and avoiding comparisons between islands. However, there is divided opinion within the Animal Crossing community regarding the practice of time travel to manipulate in-game events and player progression. While Nintendo remains neutral on this issue, it is possible that measures may be taken in the next Animal Crossing game to discourage time travel. It is highly anticipated that the next Animal Crossing installment will be released on the Switch 2, introducing new gameplay mechanics previously unattainable in the series. This upcoming game has the potential to enhance online multiplayer functionality and possibly incorporate MMO-like elements, allowing players to further engage with the game's world and community. If these changes are implemented, Nintendo will need to establish a clear stance on time travel to ensure equal and enjoyable experiences for all players.

Nintendo May Need to Officially Take a Stance on Time Travel in Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game that progresses in real time, requiring players to wait for specific events on their islands. To bypass this waiting time, many players resort to time traveling by altering their Nintendo Switch's date and time settings. However, this practice has sparked controversy as it is believed to go against the essence of the game and disrupt its real-time gameplay.

On the other hand, some players argue that time travel is inconsequential, as it allows them to expedite their island's development without the necessity of waiting in real time. They may use time travel to accelerate a villager's relocation process or revisit missed events from previous days. While time traveling in Animal Crossing is generally considered harmless, Nintendo has not officially addressed the issue. Yet, future Animal Crossing games may prompt a change in their stand.

If Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes a MMO approach for its follow-up and allows cooperative play on a shared server, Nintendo may remove the ability to time travel. This is because connecting to a dedicated server would be necessary, and the game's time manipulation is currently based on the Switch's date and time settings. However, if the in-game time becomes linked to a Nintendo-hosted server, players would no longer have the ability to manipulate it for time traveling purposes.

In the event that Nintendo sees time traveling as a problem in the next Animal Crossing installment, there are various ways they could address it. Even if the game does not require a server connection, Nintendo could add more in-game obstacles to discourage time traveling. For instance, players who time travel already face the risk of their turnips spoiling in the game, but additional measures like excluding time travelers from accessing seasonal items or preventing them from participating in island tours for a certain period of time after changing the date and time on their Switch could further discourage this practice.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.