This review makes this sound like the ultimate version of Animal Crossing. So if you don't own any AC games this is absolutely the one you should buy.
There's just one problem: Reggie said this was a core game. Well core gamers will likely already own the Cube or DS versions. This is pretty much only of use for newcomers. Our supposed "core game" for Christmas is really a Wii-make of a game that most of those who b!tched at Nintendo about their crappy E3 already own. I didn't believe Reggie at the time and don't really blame him for this. He was just handed a lame-o non-gamer focused line-up from NCL and had to scramble to deal with legitimate complaints from core gamers. He could either bullsh!t about this port or admit Nintendo had zilch on the Wii from Warioland's release until whenever the hell Punch-Out or Sin & Punishment 2 come out. He did the only thing he could.
Though it looks like we might get over six months of no Wii core games from Nintendo. Obviously all those accusactions the Nintendo is neglecting the core in favour of non-gamers are totally unfounded.
Ian, what you are about to hear may shock and stun you. Before you read further make sure you check your heart, keep clean underwear and pants nearby and make sure someone is near you just in case you have an epileptic attack.
OK...here we go..
*Breathes in...
Animal Crossing; City Folk is indeed a core title.
*Somewhere on earth, kittens explode, children bleed from their ears, cows stampede crushing millions in the process and business men jump from 100 story buildings
What's happening is that the fanbase is confusing the term core with "hardcore gameplay".
In the Blue Ocean strategy, a core title means an existing franchise that has already been proven successful with both existing and new customers. Its a title the company can depend on for a sure fire hit and has gained a respectable status among the company and its fanbase.
When Animal Crossing was first released it was heavily aimed at the core fanbase, the diehard Nintendo fan. It made sure to promote features that would appeal to the hardcore fan, like hidden NES games, E-reader support, GC to GBA features and the Nintendo brand behind it. In fact, it was labeled not as a groundbreaking title with unique gameplay, but as a tried and true Nintendo title (in the sense that it features the innovation that made Nintendo so popular with fans in the first place).
When AC GC was proven a big success with its fanbase, Nintendo decided to aim at the then unexplored casual and non gamer markets. They knew that the core fanbase had introduced the game to many non gamers, so with that in mind they sought out to appeal to those people as well as please existing fans.
Wild World was announced, and with it they kept the gameplay intact so that those that played the first game would feel right at home while introduced new features, including online play, that catered to the new audience and already existing fans.
By the time 2006 ended Wild World had become a massive hit, thanks to the core fanbase bring the franchise into the spotlight and the non gamers picking it up in droves. Thanks to this, Animal Crossing has become a certified Nintendo franchise, one Nintendo knows that can market again and again and still see profit, in the same way that marketing Mario and Zelda makes nonstop profit.
It has received an animated film in Japan and has tons of licensed toys. It is constantly referenced in other core Nintendo titles, like Smash Bros.
If this doesn't scream core, nothing will.
So now that I see a broader picture I see the exact, same thing happening with City Folk. Gameplay still remains the same so those familiar with the game can start right away while it adds new features for those that has missed the series (that being a new city to explore, expanded online play and voice chat). Nintendo hopes the new features are enough to get people to upgrade to the Wii version and evolves the franchise from there.
Yes, core can also mean "traditional gameplay", and the AC series is know for its unconventional mechanics. But its at heart a true blue core title.
Look at it this way...When Mario and Zelda debuted on the NES their gameplay methods were untested. The gaming market had crashed and people were unsure if the NES would bring it back to life.
The first ones to try out these games were the core fanbase, the ones that already had experience with games thanks to the Atari systems and the arcades. Once the game was a hit with them, they introduced it to new gamers who had never touched a game controller before. Both titles were praised for its innovation and unconventional methods of gameplay.
With the fanbase already built, Nintendo now expands Mario and Zelda. Gameplay wise, Mario Bros. 3 (I am skipping SMB 2 since it never was a Mario title) plays similarly to the first title. But it features better graphics, more ambitious levels and more of them. Thanks to this the fans that grew up with the first title went back in droves and brought along many, many, MANY new gamers. To this day, its considered one of the best Mario games ever.
With Zelda, the definitive title was "A Link to the Past". Even with a 3D world and epic cinemas adorning "Ocarina of time" gamers still see "ALTTP" as the best Zelda game ever and the first Zelda game they had ever played.
It still played exactly like the first NES titles, right down to the overhead perspective, but its new additions attracted a lot of new gamers who turned Zelda into a definitive core title for Nintendo.
This has happened with F-Zero, Star Fox, Metroid, Pokemon and Kirby. All of these franchises were core titles who at one point were new ideas waiting to be discovered, and the first to discover them were the core fanbase.
The tl:dr crowd: Animal Crossing is a core title because its roots can be traced to its beginnings with the core fanbase and has reached success thanks to both fans supporting each version while new fans dived in to experience the new features.
Even the AC gameplay is core, despite it being unconventional. By now, fans know how it plays. In fact, it being exactly like Wild World makes it a core title because it decided not to mess with perfection.
So say it with me..."Animal Crossing is a core title. It aims at both old fans and new fans alike. The gameplay is traditional".
Could Nintendo had upgraded AC Wii a little more? Definitely. Is it disappointing that its a port of the DS version. It sure is. But does this stop it from being a core title? HELL NO!
Whether its your type of game or not is one thing. The other is claiming that it isn't a core title because it ain't the type of gameplay you expect and enjoy.
Topic: REVIEWS: Animal Crossing: City Folk (Read 15372 times)
