Is the Wii Getting a Virtual World?

It looks like it might happen. Edge magazine is reporting that the Wii version of Animal Crossing will have massively multiplayer functionality: "A Japanese source has confirmed to Edge that the upcoming Wii iteration of Animal Crossing is set to be a social networking MMO." If you haven't played Animal Crossing on the Gamecube or the Nintendo DS, it's an addictively twee little game where you collect acorns, go fishing, and run errands for the animal townsfolk to build up your house and belongings. Previous versions allowed users to trade items over memory cards or the DS' wireless connection, already giving it multiplayer element.    [Via CVG]

Most are treating this as a rumor, but Next-gen.biz is certain that this is the direction the game will take, explaining that Nintendo already refers to the sequel as a "‘communications game’ rather than a videogame, and playing already depends on real-world timekeeping, weather patterns, social conventions, and above all else economic interactions."

For the Wii version of Animal Crossing, project director Katsuya Eguchi said in 2006 that he was already looking at ways to expand connections between players.

"Another application might be someone could send a letter from their cellphone or from an email address on a PC to the Wii, and then the player living in the town in Animal Crossing could receive that letter," he explained.

He later explained to IGN that WiiConnect24, a feature that connects to the Internet while the Wii is in standby mode, could be used to connect more players.

"With regard to WiiConnect24," he said, "you could have someone visit your town even when you weren't actively playing and maybe leave you a letter or a gift. Also, through Wi-Fi Connection, players could play simultaneously."

Not many products on the Wii have managed to get much use out of its Internet connection, though. So if Animal Crossing does manage to create a virtual world and use the network, it'll come as two major steps for Nintendo.