How long was ACNH known about?

[MiniPocketWorld]

I have been thinking about when/if Nintendo may announce that they are simply working on the next ac game and nothing more said. I thought I'd ask about ACNH. How long was it simply known about before details dropped or before launch?
(I guess I wanna know how long you guys wondered what ACNH was going to be like and what you were going to name your town/island.)

 

[McRibbie]

Nintendo announced they were making a new mainline Animal Crossing game on 13th September, 2018 (just under 2 years after the Welcome Amiibo update dropped):

We then didn't get any more information until E3 2019's direct, just under 9 months later on 11th June 2019, but we did get our first proper trailer, the title, and the release date of March 20th 2020:

There was then a second trailer on 4th September 2019, just under a year after the game was first announced:

The final thing we got before launch was the Animal Crossing Direct on 20th February, 2020, a month before the game came out:

So just over 18 months between first reveal and launch. Splatoon 3 has done something similar (revealed February 2021, came out September 2022) and has a definite life cycle of 2 years, so I'm assuming that if we're getting an Animal Crossing game after they're done with Splatoon, it's going to be revealed sometime this year... but that's assuming that it's either on the Switch again or we've heard something about the Switch's successor this year (although I doubt we're going to hear about the Switch's successor too early, because if it ends up coming out late 2024 the OG Switch's momentum ends up crashing way, way too soon as a result of the announcement. This is what happened with the Wii-Wii U transition, and we all know Nintendo wants to avoid that again at all costs)

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

Nintendo announced they were making a new mainline Animal Crossing game on 13th September, 2018 (just under 2 years after the Welcome Amiibo update dropped):

We then didn't get any more information until E3 2019's direct, just under 9 months later on 11th June 2019, but we did get our first proper trailer, the title, and the release date of March 20th 2020:

There was then a second trailer on 4th September 2019, just under a year after the game was first announced:

The final thing we got before launch was the Animal Crossing Direct on 20th February, 2020, a month before the game came out:

So just over 18 months between first reveal and launch. Splatoon 3 has done something similar (revealed February 2021, came out September 2022) and has a definite life cycle of 2 years, so I'm assuming that if we're getting an Animal Crossing game after they're done with Splatoon, it's going to be revealed sometime this year... but that's assuming that it's either on the Switch again or we've heard something about the Switch's successor this year (although I doubt we're going to hear about the Switch's successor too early, because if it ends up coming out late 2024 the OG Switch's momentum ends up crashing way, way too soon as a result of the announcement. This is what happened with the Wii-Wii U transition, and we all know Nintendo wants to avoid that again at all costs)

Thank you so much!!

Yeah idk about a new system. It is looking like to me that Nintendo is holding on to thier word of keeping the current system. Or they are keeping really quiet. Many thought that Tears of the Kingdom could have been launched on a new system, as we already had BotW on Switch. Some paperwork showed Nintendo hoarding parts for a while, and some thought it was about a new system. Others thought it was about them keeping the real world Taiwan variable in mind, but that could have been for a Tears of the Kingdom themed Switch. But something to keep in mind going forward is the real world Taiwan variable. That could be an additional motivator for Nintendo to stick with the current system longer, maybe.

I guess it isn't too far fetched to hope to hear an announcement of them working on a new ac game.... Assuming it will be on the current system, or maybe even as a quiet launch into a new system. Two years later is 2025 after all .

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Wasn’t Isabelle confirmed to be in Smash Bros Ultimate in the same Direct? Because I remember that the Smash Bros reveal said big news for AC was coming soon. I also remember that the original projected release date was stated to be late 2019 around the same time as Tears of the Kingdom would be released but then Nintendo said that ACNH and TotK needed a little bit more time and that NH would be released in the first quarter of 2020 which it did.

 

[Boccages]

So just over 18 months between first reveal and launch. Splatoon 3 has done something similar (revealed February 2021, came out September 2022) and has a definite life cycle of 2 years, so I'm assuming that if we're getting an Animal Crossing game after they're done with Splatoon, it's going to be revealed sometime this year... but that's assuming that it's either on the Switch again or we've heard something about the Switch's successor this year (although I doubt we're going to hear about the Switch's successor too early, because if it ends up coming out late 2024 the OG Switch's momentum ends up crashing way, way too soon as a result of the announcement. This is what happened with the Wii-Wii U transition, and we all know Nintendo wants to avoid that again at all costs)

That is quality posting right there. Thank you McRibbie for taking the time to research and write such a high quality response.
Now, my take !

We know from Video game medias that Nintendo has no AAA game left to publish on Nintendo Switch after Zelda TotK. After Pikmin 4, it seems Nintendo has very little in store for the Nintendo Switch.

So it all points to the unveiling of a new Nintendo console, the Switch successor, let's call it Switch 2, for the second half of this year, and probably a release early next year (2024). So, you shouldn't count on having a new Animal Crossing title on Nintendo Switch since Nintendo's focusing pretty much all its ressources into making the Switch 2 a success.

With Splatoon 3's release last year, it would mean that Animal Crossing for Switch 2 is already under production unless they have shifted to Splatoon 4 or a new franchise. But Animal Crossing has been proven lately to be Nintendo's best selling franchise behind Mario Kart. So if Nintendo wants to make sure the launch of its next console is a success, it better announce a new Mario Kart game or a new Animal Crossing title when it unveils the console and its games. That doesn't mean Nintendo is preparing for the launch of an Animal Crossing game on day 1 of the new console, but it could provide us with a simple teaser like they did in 2018. I would be surprised (and delighted) if they showed footage of a new Animal Crossing in their Switch 2 showcase, but you never know. I'm not expecting a new Animal Crossing for Switch 2 to launch until 2025, though.