Summary
Animal Crossingis in the midst of its most unusual collab yet, one taking place with real-world aquariums across the United States. With this push to recognize sea life in the real world, the nextAnimal Crossingtitle should continue the initiative. Nintendo has recently announced that 7 aquariums in the US will be adding a limited-time exhibit with theAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsaquarium tour. The event will feature photo ops with character standees, meet and greet events, and informational plaques presented by Blathers with the same type of information he gives players in the game.
It’s great to see popular games putting a spotlight on their real-world equivalent, but hopefully this is only the beginning ofAnimal Crossing’s push to further educate players. With plenty ofrare fish and bugs inAnimal Crossingfor players to collect, completing the museum has become a favorite activity of many players. The aquarium tour presents the perfect segue for the nextAnimal Crossinggame to put more emphasis on sea life by including a stand-alone aquarium.
TheAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsAquarium Touris a limited-time event available at select aquariums.
An Aquarium Should Play a Starring Role in the Next Animal Crossing
With each new entry in the series, the museum inAnimal Crossinghas expanded to include more diverse and interesting exhibits. InNew Horizons, it boasts four separate wings for bugs, fish, fossils, and art — as well as a cafe. With rumors that the next game in the series will be expanding the game world, it raises the question of how that larger setting will affect the museum and collectibles. Coupling this with Nintendo’s push to educate fans about sea life with the aquarium tour, perhaps the next game should separate its museum into different buildings.
This wouldgive fan favorite Blathers a larger roleas an overseer of all the collections in an aquarium, art museum, insectarium, and fossil museum. It would also leave room for other characters like Flick and CJ to return and run their own collections.
Expanding the collection aspect of the game this way would ensure players have even more reason to return day after day. These new facilities should beincluded in the nextAnimal Crossinggame at launchalongside far-expanded collections for each area. Including more fish and bugs gives the game an opportunity to educate fans even further on lesser-known species. The same goes for an expanded roster of fossils and art, each touching on different eras in history. There could even be a cultural center to house the types of souvenirs that Gulliver gifts to players on his travels.
Players Still Enjoy Making New Discoveries Years After the Game’s Release
Even four years after its whirlwind debut, many players still return toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsto expand and complete their museum collection. Just recently,players have discovered a bug-catching featurethat many hadn’t noticed. This aspect of the game connects with players, and that fact can be used to both entice them towards the next game and teach them something along the way. In this way, theAnimal Crossingseries could become a trailblazer in a new wave of edutainment games that are both enjoyable and informative.
So much effort goes into creating the perfect experience for fans of the series, so it’s time to change up a beloved part of the game that’s been stagnant for too long. It’s easy to enjoy the collection of museum exhibits, but there’s little reason to frequently visit after the donations are over. Many even missclever details inAnimal Crossing’s museumfor a lack of reason to experience them. Putting more emphasis on a brand-new aquarium feature could provide a reason for players to more fully experience the beautiful world that theAnimal Crossinggames inhabit, as well as give them a deeper understanding of their own world.
