We have the first details for the upcoming Lego Animal Crossing playsets.
As reported by The Verge, these are the names and prices of the sets:
Julian’s Birthday Party – $15.99 (170 pieces)
Bunnie’s Outdoor Adventures – $19.99 (164 pieces)
Kapp’n’s Island Boat Tour – $29.99 (233 pieces)
Isabelle’s House Visit – $39.99 (389 pieces)
Nook’s Cranny & Rosie’s House – $74.99 (535 pieces)
All five sets will be available on March 1, 2024.
Lego has seen a lot of success with their video game collaborations, but this is a unique position for the Animal Crossing franchise as well.
On the Wii U, Nintendo sought to cash in on the immediate success of their amiibo product line by greenlighting Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival. This virtual board game was not without its appeal, but the incredibly expensive monetization model Nintendo chose turned off even the most loyal fans.
So it doesn’t look like that will be the case here. The most expensive set is just a little above a $ 70 game, but more importantly, Lego isn’t releasing too many playsets all at once.
At a total of $ 180 for all the sets together, it won’t be breaking the bank too much to get all of them together, and Lego can of course make and sell more sets in the future if it turns out to be a success.
Lego is certainly hopeful that the franchise will be a success too, so they can make more playsets in the future. While this playset isn’t as sophisticated as their Mario games, Animal Crossing fans young and old alike may be sold on just the simple idea of a Lego Animal Crossing collaboration alone.
The Verge’s Sean Hollister noted that the sets are not too sophisticated, and the pieces are not too large. But they are sufficiently recognizable and accurate representations of the places and items in the Animal Crossing games.
The fact that they aren’t too expensive or complicated will also help sell the sets to younger players in particular. Choking hazard aside, these toys are at the right size, price, and appeal to be successful.
We’re bound to get more villagers and recognizable locations from the games as well, but one does wonder if Lego will release a set so you can customize your own Villager. Given the limited amount of customizable options, this really isn’t as unreasonable of an idea as it appears at first.
