In the recent issue of Edge magazine, Animal Crossing creator Katsuya Eguchi was interviewed and shed some light upon some of the new features in City Folk. In doing so, we were able to learn that many popular holidays from the original GCN version of Animal Crossing, which were taken out of the DS’ Wild World, are making a comeback on the Wii implementation of the series. In addition, it seems that the online experience has been drastically improved. Another theme the interview discussed was the creation of Animal Crossing itself. Furthermore, we have other new details concerning the game from Nintendo Power magazine. Obviously this extra large Animal Crossing article is jam packed with info, so read on!

Katsuya Eguchi talking about the idea behind Animal Crossing: “Animal Crossing features three themes: family, friendship and community. But the reason I wanted to investigate them was a result of being so lonely when I arrived in Kyoto! Chiba is east of Tokyo and quite a distance from Kyoto, and when I moved there I left my family and friends behind. In doing so, I realized that being close to them – being able to spend time with them, talk to them, play with them – was such a great, important thing. I wondered for a long time if there would be a way to recreate that feeling, and that was the impetus behind the original Animal Crossing."

Mr. Eguchi informs us of some new features in City Folk: “You’ll also be able to do more than ever together when you play online. You’ll be able to experience events or see concerts together, for example. And while in the DS version we discarded a lot of events that were popular in the GameCube version, we’re bringing them back. We’re including Halloween, we’re bringing back Jingle, the reindeer that visits during the holiday event, and we’ve got some new events, too. For example, during spring we’ve got a special visitor who brings paint and eggs so you can have an egg hunt, and we also have a carnival that’ll introduces another new character to the Animal Crossing world.”

Earlier this week some other details of the game have been uncovered as well. Nintendo Power magazine revealed that the game’s main city, which you travel to via Nintendo Wifi-Connection, is going to be much more vibrant than you could possibly imagine. Namely, when one travels here, you’ll be joined by other players across the world too. This does not involve the usage of the notorious Friendcodes. Yet when you travel to the town of another person or the other way around, or want to meet and chat in the city, Friendcodes will have to be exchanged mutually again. Another new feature that is set in the city is the auction house. Here you can set up an auction on items you’d like to sell and bid on items from players across the globe.

Update: Another option (I somehow missed) is the possibility to transfer your character from Animal Crossing: Wild World to City Folk. Apparently you can also “take your travel data and download it to your DS.”. What this could mean exactly I don't know, but it could have something to do with transferring the Friendcodes of friends off of your DS. You will also be able to check your friends' ratings of the Happy Room Academy. The final option I missed was the ability to wear a mask resembling your Mii in the game.

Regarding downloadable content: You will be able to download new furniture, wallpapers, etcetera, completely free of cost, but whether this applies to every item Nintendo introduces for DLC is not known as of yet. The final feature revealed is the ability to take in-game pictures and sending these to your friends, which most likely is done by use of the Wii Message Board, just like in Metroid Prime: Corruption.

Conclusively, WiiSpeak will not be bundled with Animal Crossing: City Folk. You’ll have to purchase it separately for the very acceptable price of $29.99 USD.

Animal Crossing: City Folk will be making its way to your (US) Wii’s illuminated slots on November 16th. As of now, no mention of a European nor a Japanese release date has been made.

Sources:
Nintendic Animal Crossing: City Folk - new details
Aussie-Nintendo.com - Australia's Best Nintendo Coverage - Article
_animalcrossing: Animal Crossing: City Folk announced for release!
Wii Said Blog Archive Animal Crossing: City Folk, transfer characters from the DS! Also more game features.