Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer dumps living for decorating

Nintendo finally hones in on an objective for its latest Animal Crossing game (not that Wii U one it just announced).

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer takes Nintendo’s animal village sandbox and strips away some of the elements that make up its open-ended community gameplay (think mail checking, tree shaking), zeroing on one specific aspect: home design. Happy Home Designer goes beyond a your in-game abode, putting you to work as an architect and planner for an entire town. Nintendo’s new twist on the 14-year-old franchise releases on Nintendo 3DS later this year, and GamesBeat got an early look.