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What Can You Play Animal Crossing On? (Switch? PC? Xbox? PlayStation?) 

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When hearing about all the people who are playing Animal Crossing you may be wondering just what device they are playing the game with. Is it a game that can be played on any device today, or is it only available for one device? 

Animal Crossing can only be played on Nintendo consoles as it is an exclusive game made by Nintendo for Nintendo consoles. There is only one exception which is Pocket Camp which was released on mobile. 

The series began back in 2001 with ‘Animal Crossing’ on the Nintendo 64 – the game was then enhanced and released for the GameCube the same year. Since then the game has produced three more games in the main series: Wild World (Nintendo DS – 2005), City Folk (Wii – 2008), New Leaf (3DS – 2012)

Animal Crossing New Horizons is featured on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. It’s very unlikely that the game will ever be featured on any other consoles.

Nintendo takes its games very seriously and does not make it available to other gaming consoles.

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Can you play Animal Crossing Online?

Multiplayer, with both the other human residents of your island and the players on other islands, is an important part of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

You can play online with friends by inviting them to your island by using the airport. The process does take a few steps before players will start arriving.

You can also play locally, too. There’s Party Play which is a new feature introduced with New Horizons, allows up to four player residents of the same island to play together, or simply have everyone play who has their own Switch and a copy of the game.

Both inviting and visiting other players’ islands requires either a local wireless or Internet connection. You will need a Nintendo Switch Online membership if you wish to connect Animal Crossing: New Horizons to the Internet.

When it comes to inviting players to your island, you can have up to seven visitors at a time, meaning there will be eight players on the island in total.

You’ll be able to communicate with visitors via NookLink, which will be available in the Nintendo Switch Online. This app is available on a range of smart devices and will allow you to communicate via both the keyboard and voice chat. It won’t, however, be required for online play.

Can you use Party Play with friends?

Party Play can only be used with the other player residents of your island. It allows you to explore your island with three other players all on the same Nintendo Switch. It does, of course, require multiple controllers to work.

Eight players in total can live on one island at the same time, which means that Party Play allows half of the player population to play together.

You can use party play with friends as long as you each have one part of a JoyCon. Only 4 people can play Party Play at one time on one Switch. 

To use Local Play, you and your visitor must be in the same place using the same connection. This makes Local Play the ideal for inviting or visiting your friends.

Party Play has been specifically designed for islands with multiple player residents, allowing up to four players to visit the island at the same time on the same console.

Can you invite friends to Animal Crossing?

If you are super proud of the island you’ve created in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch, you probably want to share it with the world or at least some friends.

Bringing people to your island is a little tricky at first (this is a Nintendo online game after all), but once you get the hang of it, it’ll be a breeze.

Just a reminder: If you’re connecting to other players online, you’ll need a Nintendo Online Subscription.

You can invite friends to your Animal Crossing game. You can invite them from the airport, or if they are not your friends in the game you will need to give them Dodo code so they can find your island. 

Starting on Day 2, you will want to head to the Dodo Airlines airport and talk to Orville, the bird behind the counter. Select the option “I want visitors.” From here you’ll be asked if you want visitors for local or online play.

If you’re already Nintendo Switch friends with someone who is also playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can open your gate to your friends only, and they’ll be able to come. For Nintendo Switch friends, select “All my friends!”

If you’re inviting people who aren’t on your Nintendo Switch friends list, select “Invite via Dodo Code.” He’ll ask you who you want to invite via the code. Select “The more the merrier!” You won’t get swamped with people unless you share the code on social media or something.

Can you create a best friend in Animal Crossing?

Once someone has been to your town at least once, make sure you add them as a Nintendo Switch friend (if they aren’t already). 

To do this, go to your Profile page on the Switch home screen (your player icon at the top left) and select “Add Friend.” Then select “Search for Users You Played With.” Whoever’s on the top of the list should be your newly-invited buddy.

You can create a best friend to play Animal Crossing with you. Once someone is your friend, you can invite them to be your best friend so you can talk whenever you are both online. 

Once they are Nintendo Switch friends, inviting them in the future becomes much easier. The next time they enter your town or you enter theirs, pull open your Nook Phone, and look at the new app called Best Friends List. 

There’s a page called Friends that will show you everyone you’ve recently played with. From there, you can select a name and send them an invite to become Best Friends.

Once they accept your Best Friend invite, you’ll be able to use the in-game keyboard to message them whenever they’re online. This will make setting up multiplayer sessions much easier.

Be careful who you choose as your Best Friends. Any Best Friends will have full access to wreck shops in your town, cutting down trees, and swiping whatever they want. This is why making that internet random person a Best Friend is probably not a good idea.