The future of Animal Crossing is both brightened and complicated by the future release of the Nintendo Switch 2 console, which could pose a unique threat to the popular franchise. Animal Crossing has enjoyed massive success over the years, with New Horizons on the original Switch being an excellent example. However, while both the franchise and its native hardware continue to advance, Animal Crossing is also clearly at a rather perilous point in its development. As a result, exactly how the franchise is treated on the Switch 2 will be crucial to its future.

Given the success of the franchise on its predecessor, an New Horizons does have its flaws as a game, and a future release would have the perfect opportunity to correct these. However, one technical improvement, if implemented, could also be devastating for any future Animal Crossing game.

Animal Crossing Is Losing Its Visual Identity

Its Graphics Have Become Far Less Distinctive In Recent Years

The classic Animal Crossing visual style is an integral part of its appeal, with the franchise’s relatively simple graphics being associated with chunky polygons that exude a friendly charm. However, as the franchise has modernized, Animal Crossing’s graphics have been slowly stripped of this unique identity. Although the characters and world remain recognizable as belonging to Animal Crossing, the visuals have become increasingly similar to other titles in the cozy game genre. New Leaf saw a dramatic shift in this direction, smoothing out the world into something much more generic, and the changes have only progressed in recent years.

Animal Crossing debuted on the GameCube, with all the technical limitations that implies in comparison to the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, although the game was notably itself an upgraded version of the Japan-exclusive Dōbutsu no Mori for the N64.

It is a shame to see Animal Crossing slowly losing itself in this way, clearly seeking to appeal to as broad an audience as possible with its increasingly generic visuals. The blockiness of earlier games has been eroded, perhaps irreversibly so, making games like New Horizons much harder to distinguish from their competitors on first glance. Naturally, this shift in graphics is deeply tied to the technology available to each game in the franchise during its development and release, and this will be equally true for any Switch 2 title.

The reveal of the Switch 2 has broken records already, even with only a few officially confirmed details available at present. As a result, it is clear that the console is on the path to enjoying massive success, with the potential for bigger games and clearer graphics essentially being self-evident. For Animal Crossing, however, this huge improvement in potential performance actually comes with a distinctive downside. Although an Animal Crossing game on Switch 2 may be beautiful, it may also look nothing like an Animal Crossing game.

Better Graphics Are A Blessing & A Curse For Animal Crossing

They Maintain Its Appeal But Compromise Its Unique Identity

Of course, better graphics in and of themselves are far from detrimental to a video game. Even though retro graphics have their own appeal, it cannot be denied that a title that looked like the original Animal Crossing would not have much success if released to an audience used to the capabilities of modern graphics. Successive games having cleaner appearances is a simple fact of long-running gaming franchises, and this is in fact practically a necessity if they wish to compete with the visuals of rival titles.

In this regard, the Switch 2 cannot be seen as an inevitable threat to the identity of Animal Crossing. Sleeker graphics do have their own appeal, and an Animal Crossing game on Switch 2 would still benefit from this. In contrast, the earliest titles in the franchise could be considered somewhat ugly by a casual observer, especially one new to the franchise. As a result, it would not make sense for the franchise to revert entirely to its original style, no matter what damage the alternative does to its identity.

However, this does still come at a cost. While New Horizons has enjoyed incredible success, many of its assets have reached a point where they would look at home in any number of unrelated titles. Visually, there is increasingly little to distinguish Animal Crossing from other cozy titles, and it is possible that the move to Switch 2 could solidify this trend. If so, Animal Crossing would lose an irreplaceable part of what sets it apart from many other games, including the many titles that the franchise itself has directly inspired over the years.

The Switch 2 Could Bring New Personality To AC

It Could Give The Next Game An Updated Version Of Its Distinctive Style

On the other hand, there is still a way for Animal Crossing to make the move to Switch 2 without compromising its visuals. The reveal of the console included footage of a new Mario Kart title with a notable change; a more stylized art style that helps to distinguish it from the many other similar racing games available. With this as a clear example, it is entirely possible for Animal Crossing to make a similar change, and break away from the current direction of its own art style.

Although this is far from likely to be a full reversion to the original Animal Crossing style, the next title could still reinterpret the blocky visuals in a sleeker form. This would essentially be the best of both worlds, allowing Animal Crossing to recapture some of its unique essence whilst retaining the visual improvements of a modern game. This would be true whether said title was entirely original or even a remake of an older Animal Crossing game, which would both justify and perhaps benefit the most from this approach.

The release of the Nintendo Switch 2 promises graphical upgrades for future games, but for some franchises this is not necessarily a good thing. Animal Crossing has gradually lost much of what makes it unique in of visuals, and the new console could exacerbate this. However, this is not guaranteed; instead of continuing the trend, the Switch 2 could just as easily see a reversal, with Animal Crossing reclaiming part of the identity that has made it so beloved by countless people around the world.