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Free Update For Animal Crossing: New Leaf Adds Amiibo Support, RVs
As part of an Animal Crossing-focused Nintendo Direct, Nintendo has announced a new, free update for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, titled "Welcome Amiibo."
As the name implies, the update adds Amiibo functionality to the 3DS game, allowing players to tap Amiibos (including some non-Animal Crossing Amiibos) onto their New 3DS (or regular old 3DS using the NFC reader). Doing this adds a villager based on that Amiibo to your game, complete with their own RV in a new RV campground, and will reward you with a Wii U or New 3DS in-game item (which include the new Desert Island Escape and Animal Crossing Puzzle League minigames). The RV campground boasts its own new stores, as well as a new character named Harvey.
In order to access the update, players have to find a magic lamp in the game, which they can use once a day to invite a single new Amiibo villager to their village.
The update also includes a few new features that don't require Amiibos, such as a new storeroom, a selfie mode, touchscreen support for moving furniture around your home, MEOW Coupons (which players can earn by completing new daily or weekly Ton Initiatives to get new in-game items), and the ability to transfer save data from Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer to unlock giant furniture for purchase. Players can also earn the Wii U and 3DS items by buying fortune cookies at the Nooklings shop.
A version of the game with the Welcome Amiibo update included launches on December 2. Along with this, Nintendo has announced 50 new Animal Crossing Amiibo cards, which work similar to Amiibos, adding new villagers and RVs to the game when scanned.
You can watch the entire Nintendo Direct presentation below. The update is available now.
Our Take
Considering the game first came out in 2012, it's surprising to see Nintendo offer an update this big four years into the game's life cycle. Hopefully they'll continue updating until the next game comes out.
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