The Switch 2 update will include the obvious resolution and visual upgrades you'd expect with this sort of thing, but it will also include exclusive features only available on the new system, such as mouse controls to streamline redecorating your home, a megaphone item that lets you call out to residents through the Switch 2's microphone, and 12-player online multiplayer on the system.
Many of us would rather forget all about the annus horribilis that was 2020, but there was at least one glaringly bright spot in that year, as Animal Crossing: New Horizons provided solace for many. Almost six years after the game's debut, Nintendo is hoping you'll return to your island - or start a new one - as a Switch 2 version with a bunch of upgrades will arrive on January 15. A free update is coming to both the Switch and Switch 2 versions of the game on the same day.
Anime Village Online will allegedly feature cross-platform multiplayer and arrive sometime in 2027. Who's making it? The developer is listed as Wisnu Sudirman. According to a LinkedIn page bearing the same name, that person is a recent graduate who lives in Indonesia. Anime Village Online isn't their only hustle either. They're also apparently making a game called Rooted: Survival, with store page art that makes it look like an AI-generated rip-off of The Last of Us.
The cute animal villagers largely enjoy a blissful experience, but a new AI hack has the town feeling that Tom Nook--the raccoon who basically controls the local economy based on bells as currency--is a tyrant who needs to go down. Software engineer Josh Fonseca created this Animal Crossing hack (via Ars Technica), and he explained at length how he pulled it off in the accompanying YouTube video.
But discovering the addresses was only half the problem. When you talk to a villager in Animal Crossing, the game normally displays dialogue instantly. Calling an AI model over the Internet takes several seconds. Willison examined the code and found Fonseca's solution: a watch_dialogue() function that polls memory 10 times per second. When it detects a conversation starting, it immediately writes placeholder text: three dots with hidden pause commands between them, followed by a "Press A to continue" prompt.
It's officially Animal Crocsing season, as the Crocs x Animal Crossing collection is now live and ready to order. Like its other collaborations, Crocs has taken the essence of the Animal Crossing games and applied them to its signature clogs, resulting in a colorful pair of shoes. If you'd like to grab a pair, Crocs is offering its Animal Crossing clogs in both adult women and kids sizes, with pricing varying between the two--$55 for kids, $85 for adults.
Amazon is offering a significant discount on the K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza Lego set, bringing the price down to $34.81 from its original retail of $80, saving buyers over $45. This makes it the only kit currently available at such a substantial discount in the Animal Crossing lineup. With just a limited time for this price drop, it’s a captivating offer for both Lego and Animal Crossing fans.
