Mayors, Presidents, and Animal Crossing's Utopian Promise
Samantha Trzinski, Contributing Editor
The Animal Crossing franchise is far from what most would consider to be a “political” video game experience. However, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was used during the 2020 election as a political vehicle by now President Joe Biden. Although New Horizons released months prior to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, it was still exceedingly popular as the pandemic lockdowns and social distancing requirements persisted. Its immense popularity led to the Biden campaign creating a New Horizons island called “Biden HQ,” where players could “meet” the Democratic nominee. At Biden HQ, players could talk to Biden, who would proudly tell them, “No malarkey.” Visitors could also see the White House and Rose Garden, and visit Biden’s and Kamala Harris’s campaign office, complete with model trains in the basement.
The player visited Biden HQ through a dream address, with which the player would travel to a saved version of the island uploaded to Nintendo Online. Currently, the dream address is still active for players to visit (DA-7286-5710-7478). The picturesque island features organized roads with streetlamps, a “Team Joe” flag, and a voting center with a checklist for voters and the URL for IWillVote.com. The most detailed portion of the island is the field office for the Biden campaign. Its first floor features a busy and chaotic office space, with dozens of “Team Joe” flyers and signs of a hard-working team, including coffee mugs, a stereo, and a white board covered in notes. The eastern room is another office space, which features a series of posters asking players to text “AC” to 30330 – presumably to register for campaign updates via text. The western room is full of merchandise apparel and changing stalls for the player to show their support for Biden. The upstairs room in the field office is split in half, with the western side meant to be Biden’s “room,” and the eastern side meant to be Harris’s “room.” Biden’s half features a desk, a race car bed, and a large poster of Biden as a young man. Harris’s half depicts her personality differently, with a shoe collection and a poster for her alma mater Howard University. The final room of the field office – its basement – further accentuates Biden’s personality with “Joe’s Train Town,” a collection of model trains that line the room.
Joe’s Train Town has a train for all seasons. Screenshot by the author.
The creation of Biden HQ island was an effective political maneuver, and players were especially fascinated by its attention to detail. Reddit user djstarfish says, “This is amazing!” and “It’s a fun visit.” Other Reddit users comment similar praise of the island in response, attesting to its popularity and overall success. The island even garnered the attention of major American news networks, including CNN and The Washington Post. When New Horizons was released on March 20, 2020, the United States began enforcing mandatory quarantine regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This period of “working from home” and “social distancing” led to an influx in sales for New Horizons, a game that offered camaraderie, community, and connection. 11.77 million copies were sold by the end of March 2020, and over 13.41 million copies were sold within six weeks. It became the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch and has surpassed sales for all previous Animal Crossing games. One of the reasons this game flourished during the COVID pandemic was that it allowed players to visit each other and socialize when they were otherwise unable to do so. The game’s pervasiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to understanding how it came to be used by the Biden campaign as a political tool. The connection between New Horizons’s success and the COVID pandemic is no secret. Many articles have been published since 2020 attesting to this interrelationship. Articles in The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Gamer reflect on how New Horizons’s fiscal success during the pandemic and how it helped players through the widespread lockdown period.
Transforming a New Horizons island into an interactive political campaign allowed players during the lockdown to “meet” and get to know Biden and Harris. The immense detail taken in the creation of the island and the field office, specifically, allowed players to feel as though they truly knew the nominees. However, the idea of transforming the game into a political campaign is somewhat strange. It does not seem to be what Nintendo had in mind for its players when it released the game, as made evident by Nintendo’s limitations against businesses and organizations that were posted after the release of Biden HQ. However, the Animal Crossing franchise asked the player to step up to a governmental role fairly often in recent installments. While Animal Crossing has advertised its games as peaceful life simulations, they have thrust the player into a political position since the release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf in 2012. With this game, the player assumes the role of mayor in the town to which they have moved – somewhat against their will. When the player arrives in the town, they are greeted at the train station by Isabelle and three villagers, who believe the player to be the new mayor. Isabelle then helps the player through their orientation in the new town and explains their role as the mayor. The player is tasked with achieving the “perfect town” environmental rating status, which is done by completing various public works projects. The player can also sign various ordinances into effect that influence the opening hours of stores or the price of items. Although the player has Isabelle’s help as they take on the duties of being mayor, they are largely responsible for decisions made in the town.
This political role continues into New Horizons as the player assumes the role of Resident Representative. Although this position is not necessarily the same as that of mayor, it does carry many of the same responsibilities – and some new ones. The player is again tasked with achieving a perfect town rating, this time to transform the island into a tourist destination and to convince celebrity K. K. Slider to come perform. The player can also complete various public works projects and sign ordinances into effect. This game grants more power to the player, though, by allowing them to move buildings, terraform the island, and place outdoor decorations.
Previous installments in the franchise did not grant such political authority to the player. Animal Crossing (Nintendo GameCube, 2002), Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo DS, 2005), and Animal Crossing: City Folk (Nintendo Wii, 2008) have the player live as a standard resident in their respective towns. In these games, the towns are led by Mayor Tortimer, an elderly tortoise, and the player is granted less agency over the happenings of the town. However, Tortimer retires prior to New Leaf and moves to Tortimer Island, where he serves as a tour guide. Tortimer’s retiring allows the player the opportunity to assume a position of political power in the Animal Crossing franchise. As such, the franchise has had political undertones since the release of New Leaf in 2012, and these undertones have persisted into the current day with New Horizons. It is this political nature that allowed – and, potentially, invited – the Biden campaign to create its island in 2020.
Screenshot by the author.
As we approach the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, it is worth reflecting on the social and cultural factors that led to the creation of Biden HQ island. It may seem trivial to think about a lighthearted game such as the Animal Crossing franchise when the U.S. is facing the possibility of immense political turmoil. However, this game offers an idyllic vision of politics – one in which the political leader aims to improve conditions for the people whom they serve so that everyone can live a comfortable and happy life.
The Animal Crossing franchise has long tried to create a utopian society in its games. While early installments in the game feature some rude villagers who insult the player and other angry characters like Phyllis and Resetti, a calm and happy experience has always been the central goal of the games. Katsuya Eguchi first came up with the idea for the game when he moved to Kyoto in 1986 to work at Nintendo. According to Animal Crossing Diaries, Eguchi explains, “When I moved there I left my family and friends behind. In doing so, I realised that being close to them – being able to spend time with them, play with them – was such a great, important thing. I wondered for a long time if there was a way to recreate that feeling, and that was the impetus behind the original Animal Crossing.” This need for family, friends, and connection in a new town became central to the Animal Crossing franchise and has been a consistent point in all installments. It is a game about making new friends, starting a new life, and becoming part of a community. With each installment, the Animal Crossing franchise transformed into the slow-paced and “cozy” game that it is today. The rough edges have been smoothed with few rude or angry remarks from NPCs still appearing.
The player’s assumption of a political role in their town in New Leaf or island in New Horizons affords them more agency, but it does not negate this core feature of the game. Despite becoming the mayor or Resident Representative, the player still starts a new life in a new place and makes friends. The player also gets to improve their town or island with their public works projects and decorations, thereby granting them a more active role in the shaping of their new home. The player is no longer a passive resident; instead, they are responsible for maintaining and improving their town or island for their fellow residents.
Certainly, the player has the option to be a bad mayor or Resident Representative. They can let weeds overgrow, they can leave rotten turnips on the ground, and they can hit their residents with a net until they are enraged. However, the game encourages the player to improve their town or island and the quality of life for their residents. By creating a perfect town, the player is rewarded with a coveted gift. In New Leaf, a Jacob’s Ladder plant begins to grow when they achieve a perfect town rating. In New Horizons, Lilies of the Valley begin to grow around their island when they reach a five-star rating. These floral rewards suggest that there is something decidedly naturalistic about this utopian society in the Animal Crossing franchise. When the player is an idyllic political leader who prioritizes their residents’ needs, they are not given gold or fame – rather, they are given flowers that will continue to grow and embody the love that has been shown to the town or island and its residents.
Screenshot by the author.
There is a major difference between the role of a government official in the Animal Crossing world and of one in the real world. In Animal Crossing, there are no major issues to face or problems to resolve. Regardless of the player’s actions, the island or town will not face economic crises, violence, or fear. Government officials – like Biden – have to face problems such as rising inflation, unemployment, and housing insecurity. They have to face political turmoil and the threat of war, both domestically and internationally. These social and political anxieties and concerns are absent from the Animal Crossing franchise. If the player fails in their duties as a government official, the worst that will happen is the island or town is overrun with weeds and cockroaches infest the players’ home. The residents continue living their happy lives, without concern. This self-sufficiency and guaranteed happiness contributes to the game’s cozy nature, making it easy for the player to return time again, without fear of what has happened while they were gone.
The Biden campaign’s decision to create an New Horizons island in 2020 was, of course, politically motivated. By creating a polished, five-star island with meticulous attention to detail in the midst of New Horizons’ nationwide popularity, the Biden campaign made a rhetorical move. They pushed a message that Biden would transform the U.S. into the utopian society that his New Horizons island was. The residents were happy, the economy was booming, and Biden served as a representative for all his residents. Whether or not Biden fulfilled this promise that his New Horizons island presents is not the point. What we should consider here is what Animal Crossing demonstrates with its utopian society. The Animal Crossing franchise encourages its players to be kind and to improve their town or island for the well-being of all who live there – but it facilitates the player’s governing role by removing the problems typically faced by those in office. Perhaps a utopian society can be achieved when we set aside our differences and work toward the common good – or, perhaps, Animal Crossing shows that a utopian society is only possible when there are no real difficulties for political leaders to face.
