Animal Crossing - Rumors & Discussion

[BrickBob Studpants]

There are so many characters they could still do like Tom Nook's nephews, the missing Able sisters, or ANY of the seasonal / visiting characters! And of course, Crazy Redd. I NEED HIM.

Speaking of whom: Never gonna happen, but how awesome would it be to have miniature versions of all the paintings and statues from the games? I don't even know how that would work on a legal level  Did Nintendo have to acquire licenses from the museums that host these pieces of art, despite being public domain? Or is a digital replication safe while a LEGO recreation would require a fee? I know they worked together with the MOMA for the van Gogh Ideas set, but would that sort of collab be necessary for every individual piece of art?

[BrickBob Studpants]

A picture of the Tom Nook paperbag has been found!  Nothing too special as expected, but it‘s nice to get him in such a cheap set, plus more bell and fossil prints are always welcome!

[Virginia_Bricks]

9 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

A picture of the Tom Nook paperbag has been found!  Nothing too special as expected, but it‘s nice to get him in such a cheap set, plus more bell and fossil prints are always welcome!

So the exact same mini-figure. Great for those who want him and not buy a now retired, but not sure anyone is really itching for more bell and fossil prints given you always get a spare in each set with them.

[Lyichir]

Not too exciting a polybag... not only is it the same minifigure, present build, etc. from previous sets, but there's also no interesting landscaping or anything. Much more boring than the previous two polybags.

I also hope if the theme continues that we get an update to Tom Nook eventually. Not only would more outfit options for him be good, but to be honest the tail piece used for him is a poor match for his striped and much more rounded/bulbous tail.

[Bobdapeach]

I don't like the be a hater... the upcoming polybag is lowkey embarrassing 

[Borex]

I’ll buy two polybags if i can find them to try making timmy and tommy. 
This polybag feels like a waste

[hikouki]

Wonder if we have reached the end of the road for this theme???

[BrickBob Studpants]

5 hours ago, hikouki said:

Wonder if we have reached the end of the road for this theme???

There’s still one set coming in August, but it does feel like the theme’s ending  Then again, the Mario theme also only gets two sets this year, and that one will return in a big way next year, so who knows!

[Lyichir]

It's kind of tough to say how much life the Animal Crossing theme has in it. A challenge it has compared to something like Minecraft, Mario, Pokémon or Fortnite, is those gaming properties typically have new games every year (or updates to an ongoing game) to keep them relevant and on the minds of buyers, whereas Animal Crossing only tends to get a major new game once per console generation at most. And we don't even know if Switch 2 will be getting that, considering they just released a minor graphical/performance upgrade to the Switch 1 game this year.

Arguably one of the most similar gaming properties Lego has licensed in terms of release schedule is the Legend of Zelda (which similarly tends to only get a major new game every few years). And for that Lego has adopted a more conservative approach, with periodic releases of individual collector-targeted sets instead of trying to keep a full play theme active at all times. I dunno if an approach like that would work for something like Animal Crossing though.

I guess we'll eventually see what sort of set is planned for this year and maybe that'll give some insight into what Lego might have planned for the theme in the future.

[nicknack116]

Whatever the Animal Crossing set is this year, I imagine it will include Isabelle. Both sets she was in have retired, and we got Tom Nook again this year after his set retired.

As a fan, I’ve loved the theme, but I bought a few sets on release day only to see sales later. So now I’m just holding out for the museum to get a good discount this Fall/Winter.

I wouldn’t be surprised if other people are doing the same. It’ll be a shame if the theme ends and we never get some of the must-have characters present on every island, like Timmy, Tommy, Sable, etc.

[hikouki]

Animal Crossing has consistently given us actual play sets, and not any crazy buildable figure.

And I'm glad they did, and hoping against hope we might even get a CMF. 

[Kaijumeister]

I haven’t been a collector of this theme nor have I played the games, although I do have an admiration for their art style and how relaxing they look!

But in terms of consensus for all of you who do collect AC, have your opinions on the theme been positive as a whole? From an outsider’s perspective, I think it’s awesome that the theme hasn’t been exposed to gimmicks and largely sticks to the usual Lego formula. I’d definitely be buying these if I played the games.

[hikouki]

26 minutes ago, Kaijumeister said:

I haven’t been a collector of this theme nor have I played the games, although I do have an admiration for their art style and how relaxing they look!

But in terms of consensus for all of you who do collect AC, have your opinions on the theme been positive as a whole? From an outsider’s perspective, I think it’s awesome that the theme hasn’t been exposed to gimmicks and largely sticks to the usual Lego formula. I’d definitely be buying these if I played the games.

I don't play the games at all but bought them all!!! 

The theme itself was just so wholesome and some of the MOCs on RB have been great and can even integrate into some cities. So it was a great set to collect for me!

[BrickBob Studpants]

I’m a big fan of the games and the sets really capture the aesthetic and the wholesomeness well!  I do hope the theme continues. They were never gonna do everything since so many new head pieces are needed, but I’ll be pissed if they end it without giving us Redd and the nephews at the very least! 

[nicknack116]

As someone who’s been playing Animal Crossing since Gamecube, I agree that they capture the aesthetic of the games well.

My only complaint has been the bases, as I’ve rebuilt/moved the sets to regular baseplates to create an island. I’ve ended up with quite of a few of those rounded corner plates that I don’t know what to do with. Wish they had just gone with standard plates.

I’m guessing the Mario minfigure sets will use those same plates, as LEGO seems to like the “level-building” approach for Animal Crossing and Mario.

[Borex]

I played ac since the wii version. I collected almost every set as well. My thoughts about the sets is that the builds are just a tad too simplistic. I get it though, lego wants to cater to the really young and the old as well. 
i also have to agree that i’m not a fan of the rounded baseplates as what NickNack said. It makes it harder to create nice dioramas. 
The minifigures are great. However i feel like they had a cmf series in mind because of the missing characters in some sets (orville and sable for instance). And they could have given Tom Nook a proper tailpiece instead of this one. 
 

My guess for this set is either a big buildable Tom Nook, or maybe a fleshed out diorama style landscape set like the zelda battle. Then maybe if they’ll make something like this for Mario you’ve got a nintendo series going on

 

[BrickBob Studpants]

39 minutes ago, Borex said:

[…] or maybe a fleshed out diorama style landscape set like the zelda battle.

It’s only a $60 set though, so we can’t expect too much from it

[Borex]

7 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

It’s only a $60 set though, so we can’t expect too much from it

True, true. 
 

When do we know more?

[Kaijumeister]

I’m glad this theme is enjoyed and appreciated, it definitely conveys the relaxing and calming vibes of the games! I might pick some of the sets up at some point.

[BrickBob Studpants]

Hey, Timmy and Tommy are in the upcoming set! …NOT LIKE THAT!!!

Seriously though, it’s a great-looking set, but I hope we’ll get them as minifigs next year!

[JohnTPT17]

Eight new prints in that Timmy and Tommy set, it looks like? I could see more sets like that coming out later that reuse a couple of those. Very cute!

[Borex]

Well, this is not what i was hoping for. It is a kind of what i predicted though, big buildable and diorama style in one. 
 

Anyway i just wanted Tim and Tommy as minifigs to join the island

[Virginia_Bricks]

That is a pass for me. Just too much Lego out there I want to spend money on non-mini fig sets. Its cute, but not my thing.

[Lyichir]

The new pieces for their faces and arms are interesting to me, wonder if we'll be seeing those in the play-scale Pokémon sets or something since it seems odd for them to debut here as a one-off.

[australopithecine]

It is an interesting looking set, but I don't know if I'll pick it up. There's too many other sets I'm after.