Animal Crossing: Coloured Folk

Animal Crossing: City Folk (also known as Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City in Europe and Australia) has only just come out in the US and will be available in Japan, Europe and Australia in coming days. So far, the reviews I’ve read about the game have suggested that Nintendo hasn’t really done anything new and have only remixed certain aspects of the DS version of the game, Animal Crossing: Wild World.

While I am disappointed that City Folk/Let’s Go to the City isn’t anything special over its last instalment, the issue I want to talk about is a little different. You see, while Animal Crossing features a wide variety of Animals who end up living in your town, there seems to be a lack of ethnicity for the humans in Animal Crossing…

So why, after all this time, does Animal Crossing not have the option to choose your skin tone at the start of the game? It’s a question I’ve rhetorically asked a few friends until they finally convinced me to shoot an email in Nintendo’s direction… and since it wouldn’t hurt, I actually did:

I have a question regarding Animal Crossing City Folk for Wii.

Will the Wii version of Animal Crossing feature an option for the player to be able to select a skin tone for their character? The only time I was able to have a dark skin tone in Animal Crossing Wild World was when I stood outside in the game and got a tan which was only temporary. I feel that the lack of a permanent skin tone feature is extremely disappointing for a game like Animal Crossing.

I am aware of the Mii integration feature for City Folk. However, being able to put on what is essentially a mask of a selected Mii face is not the kind of solution I would find acceptable for this issue.

Thank you for your time, I hope you can pass on my feelings on this issue to the developers.

I do realise that that entire email was pointless since you already know what Nintendo is going to say and also because they’re not actually going to contact anyone important about this to let them know that someone has pointed out this issue… but it was just something I had to do.

After a few days of waiting, I finally got a reply:

Hello,

I appreciate your taking the time to share your comments with us regarding the skin tone choices for the Animal Crossing games. At this time, specific details on how Miis are used in Animal Crossing City Folk have not been released so keep an eye on our website as we get closer to next month’s launch. Rest assured that your email will be forwarded on to the appropriate department for further review.

So here we are now at the launch of the game. As I’ve said in my email to Nintendo, I do not accept Mii integration as a solution because I don’t want skin tones to be applied through what is essentially a mask. I want my character to start off with my own skin tone… just as it should be.

Can anyone see any “coloured folk” running around in their copies of City Folk/Let’s Go to the City who aren’t wearing a Mii Mask? From the latest videos and screenshots, I see nothing but the same skin tone… I feel very disappointed.

(A small note: Yes, I am aware of the really bad Photoshop job in the picture… that was the point.)