Animal Crossing City Folk is a life simulation game produced by Nintendo exclusively for the Nintendo Wii console. It was released on November 16, 2008. Animal Crossing: City Folk is the follow-up to the original Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube released in 2002, and Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS, released in 2005.

Animal Crossing: City Folk starts with your character’s move to the big city. As you ride the bus to your new town, which you will be able to name, Rover (your trusty guide-cat) asks you questions that will determine your character’s features and even the topography of your new town. Once you arrive, pick a house and then see Tom Nook, your landlord and owner of the local store, for a job. Big city living isn’t free, and you’ll need to earn bells (Animal Crossing currency) to pay your rent and buy tools to help you fish and garden. Working for Tom sets you up for a brief tutorial that explains game play and introduces you to your new animal neighbors.

Animal Crossing: City Folk is the first Wii game to use Wii Speak the wired microphone accessory. Using Wi iConnect, you are able to travel to the towns of your friends also playing Animal Crossing: City Folk and those playing Animal Crossing: Wild World. Simply trade friend codes and look for their gates to be open when you feel like traveling. The basic Wii controller moves your character around the landscape and using the A and B buttons allows you to perform simple tasks like shaking trees for fruit, bells, and special items. A flick of your wrist is all that’s needed to fish in your town’s ocean and rivers or catch bugs with your net. What sets ‘’City Folk’’ apart from other simulation games is its real time play.

The days, weeks, months, and seasons pass in real time and real life holidays are observed in the game. Each month there are special events such as fishing tournaments, flea markets, and bug-catching contests. Log in on 4th of July and you’ll be treated to a spectacular fireworks display. On Halloween, your character can trick-or-treat at the homes of the animal neighbors. This feature keeps the game current and encourages continued play.

Although it’s the third in the Animal Crossing franchise, City Folk is the first for the Nintendo Wii. It takes advantage of the new technology not available at the time its predecessors were released. Some added features are the ability to travel to the towns of others playing the game and using the microphone to chat while doing so – the latter is not available to Wild World players who could travel. Animal Crossing: City Folk is the first in the franchise that features a bus ride to the city. The city offers your character the opportunity to shop for new clothes, visit the movie theater, hit up the salon for a new hairdo, or check out what items your friends might have up for auction.