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!