Oh, shoot it's only Wii, DS, and Gamecube. I don't have any of those.

I also highly recommended Animal Crossing. And if you have the Gamecube version, you can hook up your Gameboy and have an island.

Yes I too recomend Animal Crossing I love it, it is so fun to construct your own little town & watch the seasons go by it will be great for a 6 yr. old ......... Also I would not reccomend escape from paradise I tried the demo & didnt like it.

I have to agree. I have Animal Crossing on DS and I absolutely adore it. It's definitely appropriate for all ages and very fun to play.

I actually bought my DS specifically for Animal Crossing because it caught my eye and LadyCFII gave it such a rave review. I got both of them used with a guarantee from a game shop in the mall. That's always one option if you don't have the money for a brand new DS.

I know that AC for the Cube is fun, i used to own it and it is a great game, especially for young kids (or old kids ).


A friend of mine that works at a gaming store told me that


If he is correct,then...if you have AC for the DS, the only thing that changes is the controllers.

If you dont have either, i recommend that; #1 If you travel a lot, get the one for the DS, or #2 If you stay at home a lot, get the one for the WII.
J.M.H.O.

The Animal Crossing game for the Wii is significantly enhanced from the DS version. I've researched it, and (while the game is still Animal Crossing at the core) there are a lot of new features. Of course, if you're looking for something radically different from Wild World, you'd probably be disappointed. I've been playing AC:WW on my DS for nearly 2 1/2 years (since the day the DS Lite was released), and I'm really looking forward to the Wii game.

LadyCFII, I did a little research on the game and it seems like something my kids and I would enjoy. I am curious though about the amount reading is needed for the game. My 7 yr old would be fine, but will I need to be constantly supervising my 4 yr old, or would I be able to clean my kitchen while he plays in the next room?

I appreciate your time and opinion.

What I've found with the GameCube version (the one my grandsons and I play together) is that the littlest ones needed help getting started in the game (there's a mandatory tutorial that involves reading and following instructions), but after that, the kids can just go into "sandbox" mode and do pretty much what they want. My 4 1/2-year-old grandson just ignores the reading parts and wanders around town doing whatever he wants. Pre-schoolers aren't really interested in the goals of the game; they just want to have fun with it. It's a great sandbox kind of game. He often does things that are counter to what you and I would do (picking and eating all the fruit or digging holes everywhere, for example), but it's great fun for him.

You don't need to read anything to catch bugs, fish, pick fruit and weeds, dig up fossils and treasure, and many other things. I find that the game encourages self-guided exploration and development of fine motor skills in the hands. Many "transactions" can be completed without actually reading the conversations between characters, once the child knows what the various controls do (accept, cancel, etc.). The reading will eventually come into play as the child begins to take an interest in the story and conversations.

Of course, the Wii version will feature a completely different control system, and I'll report on that when I've had a chance to play it.

I'm sorry this took me so long. I've been very busy getting the two versions of Fish Tycoon ready for iPhone, and didn't have as much time to play Animal Crossing as I had hoped.

Now that I've had a chance to mess with the controls more, I think that a 4-year-old would be able to manage the control functions after some explanation and help completing the tutorial (which does require reading). Although the game takes full advantage of both the Wii remote and the attached nunchuk (a very nice feature for players old enough to use both), it's possible to do everything in the game with only the Wii remote. You can point where you want to go and press the A button to make the character walk. Pointing at the player and pressing the A button will make the character use whatever they are holding. The inventory uses a simple "drag and drop" action.

Although it will take reading skills to completely understand and interact with the game and its inhabitants, a non-reader can still have a lot of fun.

The only real issue I can foresee with two children of different ages sharing the game is that the little one could very well trample or dig up things the older child has carefully arranged. But that's what parents are for - setting guidelines and settling game disputes!

Thanks, Barbara, we have GameCube's Animal Crossing and we bought the Wii version today for a gift for my nephew. I have to admit, I can't wait to play it.