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Nintendo's Animal Crossing 3DS update adds Amiibo support, and a trailer park

Also with the free update, you can choose to sell your sad decaying old town to Tom Nook.

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Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
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Scott Stein
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That's an Amiibo figure syncing with a Nintendo 3DS.

 Nintendo

Nintendo hasn't announced any more plans for the mobile version of its popular Animal Crossing game yet, but the old Animal Crossing: New Leaf for Nintendo 3DS is getting updated.

The free update to the social game of town-building and home-decorating is available now and allows the game to work with Amiibo figures and cards at last. It also adds a new trade currency and RV park, if you still care. You can update in-game, and the Animal Crossing title will transform to "Animal Crossing: Welcome Amiibo."

The RV park looks like it's where Amiibo-launched goodies can be found. The update works with 16 Animal Crossing Amiibo, or, with Splatoon and Zelda Amiibos, plus many Animal Crossing Amiibo card sets that are already out there (these worked with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer)

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Yes, that's Epona.

 Nintendo/Twitch

If you've ever played that game, merchandise now cross-pollinates both games, so you can order things from that game, too.

And hey, let's say your old town has gotten sad and decayed. You can now opt to sell your old town to Tom Nook and start over again without a total reboot. It sounds like an old Twilight Zone episode, but it could also avoid sad "Cinema Paradiso" feelings when you boot up Animal Crossing and realize everything isn't the same as it once was. Sometimes you can't go back again.