How definite is Zelda? It feels odd to me to have two fantasy franchises right next to each other, if Zelda goes to LC.
I'm dreamcasting here, but I always thought Animal Crossing would be a much stronger IP than Zelda. I don't think AC was really on the table when Universal and Nintendo first started talking as it was fairly irrelevant. But AC exploded in popularity since then, with the release of New Horizons during the pandemic - it was a bit of
a cultural moment that Nintendo hasn't had since the Wii or Pokemon Go. The
National Video Game Museum in the UK
just opened an exhibit on the impact AC had during the pandemic and there's
even been academic studies on the subject.
AC New Horizons is
the second best selling Switch title (the latest Zelda release sold less than half of what New Horizons did), and the
5th best selling Nintendo game of all time. Speaking anecdotally, far more people I know have played an AC game within the past 5+ years than a Zelda game - largely because AC is much friendlier to non-gamers. And there continues to be a steady stream of AC content posted to YouTube daily garnering hundreds of thousands of views. Zelda doesn't have that same kind of cultural relevance right now.
I also feel like AC would be a merch machine - imagine all
the villager plushies and Tom Nook branded merchandise. The
cute factor of the game is comparable to Pokemon (without needing to split profits with the Pokemon Company) and would appeal to a lot of people of all ages who've never played. Not to mention the central mechanic of the franchise is buying and collecting items.
I feel like a casual boat dark-ride through an AC island, getting to shop at all the different shops in AC (Nook's Cranny, Able Sisters, Jolly Redd's, the Roost, etc), meet and greets and photo ops with all the characters, and a
KK Slider live show accompanied by
a gyroid orchestra -
DJ KK at nights! would be a really solid land and offer something a little bit different to what we already have. Imagine the music changing throughout the day like
it does in the actual game, the seasonal holiday celebrations and limited time merch.
It just feels like a property that is ripe for a theme park land and I'm surprised I don't see it talked about more as an option - whether it replaces Lost Continent, Toon Lagoon or MIB.