Animal Crossing has been a much-loved game franchise over the past 20 years. Five games later and it still has a dedicated following. When the company Build-A-Bear, where customers get to build their own plush toy, announced they were going to do an Animal Crossing line, fans absolutely loved it.
The excitement grew each day until the waiting rooms were launched on April 6th 20201. Fans waited patiently in the queue, anticipating getting their hands on their favorite characters. However, the initial release has only been for two characters: Isabelle, the helpful town Shih Tzu, and Tom Nook, the bell-guzzling raccoon. While this was enough for some fans, for many the heartbreak led to some interesting memes.
9 That’s It?
It seems that this Instagrammers’ disappointment is shared by many fans at the realization they can only buy Nook or Isabelle. The world of Animal Crossing has seen many different characters come and go through each of the 5 games.
Tom Nook is a shady raccoon that charges the player an unfair amount of bells, the in-game currency, for anything he sees fit. He has been a consistent part of all of the games since the first in 2001. Isabelle was introduced to players in the 3DS game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf game. She helped the player run the town as mayor in the game and made appearances in the mobile version. Then, she returned to New Horizons to help out at Resident services.
8 Silent Or Silenced?
Social media has been buzzing with the mix of excitement and heartbreak that came with the launch. Twitter user @crossing_lorien, among other fans, is suspicious of how Build-A-Bear has only released two characters. Many fans are starting to believe that the initial release is similar to the Pokemon release in 2016. Initially, the company only released Pikachu but in the years following, more and more characters from the franchise were released.
Fans are beginning to believe that this could be what is going to happen with the Animal Crossing set. Some have gone so far as to say that the company is being silenced by Nintendo from releasing any more information about potential characters to ensure sales of Nook and Isabelle.
7 All The Villagers
As accurately displayed by pixiebutter on Instagram, there are a huge variety of characters within the Animal Crossing world. Fans are glad to see some characters return in the newest game. Many players of the game have their own specific favorites and often these are villagers that live in the town, not the business-based characters like Tom Nook. That being said, Isabelle is hugely popular because of her sweet personality although some fans are convinced in fan theories that she is an alcoholic.
Some fans are so heartbroken at the announcement that only two characters are available to buy that they are beginning to speculate that Build-A-Bear only knows about two. This far-fetched and rather angry accusation was not unfair because the hype for the release did make it seem that more than two would be available.
6 Visible Disappointment
Twitter user @NTVGOLD accurately portrayed the disappointed faces of many gamers across the internet when they saw Nook and Isabelle. The queue was full of many eager fans and many of them had been there since the waiting rooms had opened. Eagerly waiting to click the purchase button on one of their favorite villagers so that they could own their own one in their home.
Although it is awesome that some people’s favorite characters are available to buy, the mass crowd who were hoping for more options have vocalized their heartbreak across the internet. Animal Crossing is full of characters that many would love to see as a purchasable plush toy, such as Bob The Cat who is popular in memes.
5 Expensive Tears
Another issue that gamers have found that has added to the heartbreak of only being able to buy Isabelle and Tom Nook is the price. Fans such as Twitter user @emilypacifier have pointed out that it is not only bad enough that they can only get two out of dozens of characters but the price is very high.
It is good to keep in mind that typical Build-A-Bear purchases require the customer to buy the bear, the clothing, and a saying/musical tune all separately. That can quickly add up to an expensive bear, so in retrospect, the price that they are charging for an all-in-one Animal Crossing plush is not too bad.
4 Many Fans Are Out (For Now)
As soon as the release date had been confirmed, many loyal fans waited patiently for the day to arrive. April 6th rolled around and there was excitement across the fandom of the impending release of plush toys. Unfortunately, some fans had decided what they were going to buy before seeing what was available.
They really had a rough day when they found out they couldn’t get the characters they wanted. Some fans even decided that perhaps it was a launch day thing where they only released two and if they came back the next day there would be more. That, so far, has not been the case and it still remains that Nook and Isabelle are all fans can get their hands on.
3 Hearts Sank And Jaws Dropped
Promotional images released by Build-A-Bear on their social media accounts and on the website where you can buy the plush toys from suggested more than two characters would be available. As seen in the meme by Twitter user @stephskywalker_ fans were devastated at the launch. Many had believed that the characters shown in promotional images would be available on the initial release too.
However, as the line has only just begun there is still plenty of time for the company to release more characters for customers to get their hands on. Tom Nook and Isabelle are arguably two of the most recognizable Animal Crossing characters which could explain why they chose to start with them.
2 Loyalty Wins
As with all popular franchises, loyal fans will always be grateful for any sort of merchandise they can get their hands on. As seen in a post by this Twitter user, many fans still stayed in the long queue in the waiting rooms just to get hold of one of the characters.
All complaints aside, Tom Nook and Isabelle are two popular characters. Tom Nook is well known for being the raccoon that will take all of the players’ hard-earned money. Isabelle is a hard-working Shih Tzu that’s always ready to help. Despite fans being a bit irritated at the release of only 2 characters, many still purchased them online and are excitedly waiting for their delivery days.
1 Only Tom Nook And Isabelle
The lead-up to the launch date of the Animal Crossing line had built up fans’ expectations for a spectacular reveal on the day. Many players, such as anchcupid, felt like they had been tricked into waiting in a long queue for something that did not exist in the way it had previously been advertised.
However, the launch date for any product, whether it be technology or merchandise, is seldom the date the finish line is revealed. Video games get constant patches and upgrades after launch. This is no different from how Build-A-Bear has previously done a popular movie or game lines in plush form. Patience on the customer’s part may well be rewarded in the upcoming months.
NEXT: Animal Crossing New Horizon: 15 Hilarious Tom Nook Memes That Are Too Funny
