Animal Crossing New Leaf Launch Party at NWS!

OK now that I’m back from my trip to California and Las Vegas, I finally have a chance to catch up on some awesome blogging action for you Glux Blog readers!  First up is full coverage of the Animal Crossing New Leaf Launch Party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City.

June 8th was the big day!  Nintendo announced that they’d be releasing ACNL one day early at the Nintendo World Store, along with an ACNL take-over of the store!  The event was running from 9AM – 1PM.  Obviously I had to be there.  Apparently, so did hundreds of other people!

JDubz and I arrived early, around 7:30AM to get a decent spot in line.  We weren’t in the first 100 sadly (those lucky folks got free ACNL skins for their 3DS) but we had plenty of time to chat with other ACNL fans and check StreetPasses!  We also met up with our friends from StreetPass NYC, including their founder Jordan W. who was dressed up as Resetti and lecturing people in line!

Jordan wasn’t the only one who dressed up.  I’d spent the past week putting together a little cosplay for myself.  I decided to dress up as an Animal Crossing Villager!  Check out my costume!

As you can see, I was sporting the popular BB shirt, some camo shorts, ladder shades and a bug net!  I was SO ready for this!  I wonder how Gracie would have rated me?  (BTW, I do NOT recommend wearing ladder shades EVER in life.  It’s very difficult to see anything, very disorienting and does NOTHING to block the sun from your eyes.  Novelty use ONLY!)

This is the cool 3D window display that they had up at the Nintendo World Store.  HYPE!!  We couldn’t wait to get in.  It wasn’t until sometime after 10AM that we actually made it into the store to get in line to buy all of our stuff.  For the record, I only bought the guide at this event, since I was planning to download a digital copy of the game from the eShop the following day.

As you can imagine, the line inside the store was extremely long.  Luckily, the Nintendo World Store was nice enough to have a free photobooth kiosk set up near the line.  JDubz and I popped in to take a few shots.  They let me do it a second time because I forgot to put my ladder shades down in my photos with JDubz.  I also think they let me do it a second time cuz I was one of only a few people who really went all-out with cosplay for this event lol!

Once we finished our purchases, it was time to have fun with all the activities that were set up in store!  Time for a Photolog!

An ACNL Coloring Wall! Grab a marker and color away! I colored in that lower case “r” in purple… just cause!

Posing with a cut-out train lol!

This was the Bug Catching Booth. Similar to those booths where they throw a bunch of cash to blow around in a booth and you have to grab as much as you can with your hands, this one had little slips of paper with bugs drawn on them. I got an ACNL button for participating!

Blathers’ Matching Game! The NWS Employees put a bunch of fossil drawings face down and we had to match them – just like the Island Tour Matching Game in ACNL!

Fishing with Kapp’n! Magnetic fishing rods were handed to participants, and you had to “fish” for two matching fish that were illustrated on the back of some magnetic “shadows.” It was very cute and harder than it looked!

DJ K.K. was on hand to spin some club music for everyone!

This was a small part of a really cute diorama made to look like a mini version of an Animal Crossing town. It was hand made by NWS employees. So awesome!!!

COSPLAYERS PHOTO OP!!

This was one of the most entertaining launch events that I’ve ever seen at NWS.  Maybe it’s just because I’m so enthused about Animal Crossing, but I really felt they pulled out all the stops for this party.  I’m really happy to see so many people excited to play ACNL too!  And it’s not just girls, plenty of grown men were on line to pick up this game!  I can’t wait to start playing online with everybody!  Now that I’m back from vacation, there will be plenty of time for WIFI gaming!  :D

Just have to put this out there:  StreetPass Long Island is hosting an ACNL Event of our own on Sunday, 6/23!  We are having the event at the beautiful Clark Botanic Gardens from 1-4PM.  We will be handing out Flower Hybrid Guides, a new Hybrid Flower Chart, and of course playing the game together!  I have lots of giveaways from my JP town of Wasabi to give to all gamers who attend the event!  For more details, please visit our website for more details:  The ACNL SUPER AWESOME GARDEN PARTY!

Ok I got the ACNL Guide! Just have to wait till tomorrow to…

ACNL Cosplay at Nintendo World Store!

Diorama of the Resort Island in ACNL

Catching Bugs at the Nintendo World Store!

Animal Crossing Photo Op!

わさびの新聞#19

Wasabi Send-Off Issue

Going Out with a BANG!

The Wasabi News will be going on hiatus with the upcoming release of Animal Crossing New Leaf in North America on June 9th.  On this date, the Glux Blog will be reporting on the English game.  The Wasabi News will continue on, but in a different way.  Mayor Neko would like to thank everyone for being such loyal readers and following the events of her town for the past six months!  For more up-to-date information on Wasabi Village, please be sure to follow the Glux Box on Tumblr.

But before the Wasabi News turns off the presses, there was so much big news this week that we had to do one final issue!  As Lyle would say, “The Wasabi News is going out with a BANG!”

NOOKINGTON’S UPGRADE

As was rumored, following Mayor Neko’s fourth positive fashion evaluation from Gracie Grace, construction began on Main Street on June 3rd.  The entire village waited impatiently for the world-class department store Nookington’s to open!  This final store upgrade features three stories of shopping splendor!  The first floor has all your daily needs, from tools and records to flower seeds and fertilizer.  The second floor sells a wide variety of furniture, carpets and wallpaper options to decorate your home.  The third floor is home to the world famous Gracie Grace Boutique, and the shop is run by the Fashionista him/herself!  While Gracie’s prices might be sky high, the furniture is deluxe and exclusive, and every clothing purchase comes gift-wrapped.  Mayor Neko was quick to pick up some new fashions for the summer!

ONE MILLION BELLS

Mayor Neko isn’t worried about the astronomical prices in the new boutique.  That’s because she recently achieved a great feat – saving ฿1,000,000 in her bank account!  The Post Office even sent her a rare and adorable Piggy Bank to commemorate the occasion.  Well done, Mayor Neko!  Don’t spend it all on one crown!

SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE

Temperatures have been rising rapidly.  It is not advised to wear long sleeve shirts.  On 6/4, an intense thunderstorm wracked Wasabi Village for the entire day.  Thunder and lightning was observed, even from indoors.  The townies had high spirits tho, and simply sported hats and umbrellas to keep dry!

TARANTULA!!!

Now that summer is in effect, many new (and large and scary) insects have been spotted roaming Wasabi and hanging on trees.  One of the most fearsome of these summer bugs is the poisonous Tarantula, which can cause you to faint after just one bite.  Mayor Neko had been searching for a Tarantula since the first of the month, but it wasn’t until 6/5 that the giant spider was spotted.  Mayor Neko told the Wasabi News, “We have a lot of flowers in Wasabi, so I was having a hard time finding the Tarantula.  I finally decided to just walk very slowly and really check every inch of town to find this insect.  We can’t risk one of the townies being bit!  I saw the Tarantula crawling by the river.  At the time I had my shovel out, so I approached the Tarantula, knowing that he’d try to run away instead of attacking.  A Tarantula will only attack if you have your net out.  I chased the Tarantula into a more wide open area, and as he started scurrying away, I fumbled to get my net out.  I must have gotten really lucky – the moment I switched to the net was when the Tarantula was facing away from me, since he was trying to escape.  Immediately I turned and swung the net, before the Tarantula had time to react!  I caught it and nobody was hurt!”  The Tarantula was safely donated to the Wasabi Museum, where it is now on display in the Bug Exhibit.

SURPRISE VISIT

On 6/7, Mayor Neko was swimming in the ocean and doing a bit of diving.  She spotted a somewhat large shadow and dove deep into the water to chase it down.  When the Mayor swam back up, she realized she was holding a rare Scallop.  Quickly after, she realized that someone was swimming up behind her.  The seafaring beaver Pascale was looking to make a trade!  He wanted Mayor Neko to give him the Scallop, in exchange for some words of wisdom and an exclusive pirate ship furniture item.  In the end, Mayor Neko came home with an Anchor… but that also means there is still no Scallop in the Wasabi Museum.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

  • 6/9/13 – ACNL US RELEASE DATE
    • The time has finally come!  Start up your new towns!!
    • Message me on Twitter @gluxbox if you’d like to have a private visit from Mayor Neko!
  • 6/15/13 – Bug-Catching Tournament
    • Catch the best bug in town!
    • Win a trophy if you’re in the top three!
  • 6/21/13 – Summer Solstice
    • Join Isabelle at the Town Plaza to celebrate the coming of summer!
    • Have fun at the Photo Board!
    • Giveaways for all who attend!

わさびの新聞#18

Week of 5/26 – 6/1

Mayor Neko’s Makeovers!

Recently, Mayor Neko stumbled across some really cool QR code designs.  Most of them can be found on Tumblr, or shared on the super-fun Animal Crossing group called ACUKE.  One pattern particularly appealed to Mayor Neko – the Team Rocket Grunt Dress!  Mayor Neko downloaded the QR code, and also ordered a black cap, gray socks and black boots to complete the ensemble.  Looking pretty devious there, Mayor Neko!  For those who are interested, here is the QR code for the Team Rocket Grunt Dress.

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Keep in mind, you have to become friends with Sable at the Able Sister’s Shop before you can unlock the ability to scan QR codes!  Here’s another tip:  If you are having trouble scanning a QR code from an image you are viewing on your mobile device, try turning up the brightness of the screen of your gadget!

However, not everybody was pleased with Mayor Neko’s fashion choice.  Someone must have called in Gracie Grace to try and convince the Mayor to change her look, because on 6/1 the Fashionista was back in Wasabi!  Gracie asked Mayor Neko to try a “Rock” outfit.  Sounds cool!  After a bit of research, it turns out that Mayor Neko already had a complete rock ensemble…  it was her Varia Suit!  No need to scramble around trying to order a costume from the catalog this time around.  Mayor Neko simply swapped outfits with the mannequin that was already wearing the Varia Suit, and then Mayor Neko rushed right back to Gracie.

This was definitely Mayor Neko’s easiest fashion evaluation!  After looking at the list of Rock style clothing, Mayor Neko has decreed that Rock Style is the best clothing style available.  From Bone Shirts to Zebra print… Rock is the coolest!  Gracie was very pleased with Mayor Neko’s cosplay, and rewarded her with a Gracie Shelf.  (Apparently since it is now June, Gracie no longer gives out the Princess series as a reward.  Boo hoo!)  The best news resulting from Gracie’s visit is a rumor now swirling around Wasabi.  Word on the street says that once Gracie gives four positive fashion evaluations, she will consider opening up a store in town.  Only time will tell!  Check back next week!

MUSEUM UPDATE

Once again, Mayor Neko has made a generous donation to the Wasabi Museum.  On 5/31, Crazy Redd had visited once again, and Mayor Neko had her sleuthing cap on!  After rejecting some very obvious fakes (Venus statue with long hair?  A giant winged statue – but with bat wings??  You’ll have to try harder than that, Redd!), Mayor Neko discovered that the Proper Painting for sale has no known forgeries!  So it HAD to be real!  (For those who don’t like to guess, this website has photos of all the artwork Redd might be selling, and shows the real and fake versions.  Become an art history expert in no time!)  The Proper Painting is now on display in the Art Exhibit!

NEW MAYOR VISITS WASABI

As the North American launch date fast approaches, more and more Mayors are coming onto Mayor Neko’s radar.  A new Mayor on the scene, Mayor Lizzie, stopped by in Wasabi on 5/31 to pick up some welcoming gifts from Mayor Neko.  She showed Mayor Lizzie around town, and they had a lot of fun!  Keep in mind, all you prospective Mayors, that Mayor Neko has been stocking up on fruit baskets to give to new Mayors!  If you’d like a particular type of fruit basket, please let Shizue and Mayor Neko know by commenting on this blog, or by visiting the Glux Blog on Facebook!

Having a Mayor’s Debate in the Cafe!

Dancing up a storm at Club 444!

Visiting Mayor Neko’s Fish Room at the Wasabi Museum.

PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE

The most random and useless Public Work project in Wasabi has been completed.  Mayor Neko put on a brave face at the inauguration ceremony and smiled nicely, but rumors are coming in that she is not very pleased with the latest project – the Sand Pit.  Mayor Neko had hoped the Sand Pit would actually be functional as a Zen Garden.  This apparently is not the case.  So far the only use that has been found for this Sand Pit is to plant flowers in it.  Who plants flowers in sand??  Mayor Neko was reported as saying that she is considering demolishing the Sand Pit soon.

NEW DLC AVAILABLE

A lot of DLC has been announced with the fast approaching North American release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf!  There have been some monthly DLC distribution items announced, as well as a Best Buy SpotPass promotion for DLC.  Mayor Neko already downloaded the latest DLC, which is a Rainbow Screen!  This DLC can be obtained by speaking with either Pelly or Phyllis at the Post Office.  For more information about the upcoming DLC, visit the Animal Crossing website!  (Scroll down and click “In-Game Gifts” for details!)

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

  • 6/9/13 – ACNL US RELEASE DATE
    • The time has finally come!  Start up your new towns!!
    • Message me on Twitter @gluxbox if you’d like to have a private visit from Mayor Neko!
  • 6/15/13 – Bug-Catching Tournament
    • Catch the best bug in town!
    • Win a trophy if you’re in the top three!
  • 6/21/13 – Summer Solstice
    • Join Shizue at the Town Plaza to celebrate the coming of summer!
    • Have fun at the Photo Board!
    • Giveaways for all who attend!

Editor’s Note:  Please excuse the Wasabi News, as we prepare to go on a brief hiatus.  With the North American version of the game coming out on 6/9, the Glux Blog will likely be taking over reporting on the English game more than the Japanese game.  Don’t worry, Wasabi isn’t going anywhere and the Wasabi News will continue to publish updates!  But it might not be as frequently as readers have come to expect.  Also please stay tuned for GluxBox to report LIVE FROM E3 during the next week!

woodfallcrossing: lilathacrossing: mochacrossing: I HADN’T…

わさびの新聞#17

Week of 5/19 – 5/25

Subterranean Discovery!

Last week, Wasabi News readers might remember that the Manhole Cover public work had been completed.  For over a week the Manhole Cover lay in the ground, unchanged and seemed more like a decoration than anything else.  But sometime after 8PM on 5/20, Mayor Neko nearly stumbled down the Manhole!  The cover was lifted, and a bright light was emanating from down below.  (Anyone having a flashback from the TV show “Lost” right now??)  Without knowing what to expect, Mayor Neko cautiously jumped in and headed below ground.

At first, all Mayor Neko found underground was a long and creepy corridor.  It was pretty dark, and the Mayor admitted afterwards that she was a bit scared.  But curiosity got the best of her, and she walked all the way down the hall to where she assumed the source of the light was located.

Mayor Neko was extremely surprised to find what she did.  ”It was pretty rank down there, between the smell of old pizza and garbage, to that wet mildew odor that sticks to the air underground…” Mayor Neko was quoted as saying to King after her visit.  In addition to the garbage, there was an old TV, some chairs, lockers, and of course… Resetti himself!  Apparently Mayor Neko had stumbled into Resetti’s Surveillance Center, and the mole in charge was not pleased!

Instead of giving the Mayor a proper greeting, Resetti rudely berated Mayor Neko for being where she did not belong.  (As the Mayor, shouldn’t she have full access to every part of town?)  After angrily ranting to the Mayor, Resetti decided to ignore her and watch his TV until she went away.

Before retreating back to the surface, Mayor Neko noticed a small area off to the side of the Surveillance Center.  There was a toilet!  She had to try it out, even though it was a bit unsanitary – she couldn’t close the stall door!  The toilet flushed itself when she got up.  Gross.  Resetti didn’t even mutter a “goodbye” when Mayor Neko walked back down the creepy hallway to leave.  Mayor Neko has pledged to speak to Shizue about turning off the cable access in the Surveillance Center.  It seemed a lot more like a break room than anything else!  Why should Mayor Neko have spent ฿398,000 for Resetti to have a place to watch TV??

MUSEUM UPDATE

Blathers, the curator of the Wasabi Museum, is extremely proud to announce the unveiling of a very famous artwork in the Art Exhibit.  Mayor Neko generously donated a Michaelangelo!  The Statue of David was donated to the Wasabi Museum Art Exhibit on 5/21.  This enormous statue was set up in the second room of the Exhibit.  It seems the placement is kind of amusing – it looks as though the ladies of the Van Gogh paintings in the background are checking him out!

A LESSON IN MODERN FASHION…

There was even more excitement on 5/21, this time at the Town Plaza.  The infamous fashion guru Gracie Grace was standing in the rain, waiting to be judgmental about one thing or another.  Mayor Neko asked what the theme was this time, and did her best Japanese sleuthing to determine that the style requested for this visit was Modern.  Not sure what to wear, Mayor Neko consulted with her colleague Mayor Yumi to find an outfit that would pass the test.

Mayor Yumi helped out Mayor Neko by supplying a “modern ensemble.”  All of the clothes and accessories fit the Modern theme – who said they had to match??  For the record, Mayor Neko wore an Airy Shirt, a Dark Polka Skirt, Ellipse Shades and Sabot shoes.  Mayor Neko practiced her modeling technique in Kasen Village (of course Nelson was creepily hovering close by to catch a glimpse!) before heading back to rainy Wasabi to take her fashion exam.

Even though she felt that she looked super silly, Mayor Neko passed the test!  Gracie Grace did the usual spin of approval, and handed over a coveted item from the Princess furniture series, which is a Gracie exclusive.  Mayor Neko displayed her new item, the Princess Dresser, in her home, which is quickly filling up and needing more expansions.  Now Mayor Neko only needs one more successful fashion evaluation before the final upgrade to the Nook Shop will be available!  Good luck, Mayor Neko!

PUBLIC WORKS UPDATES

This week was a busy one for Shizue!  Several Public Works projects were funded and constructed this week.  In chronological order:

5/21 – Big Red Shoe Bench!

5/22 – Enclosure/Garden

5/24 – Rose Arch at the Mayor’s Estate

Currently in the funding stage right now is the Sand Pit, which is expected to be completed by the next issue of Wasabi News.  Stay tuned!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOWNIES!

This week, two Wasabi villagers celebrated their birthdays!  On 5/22 it was Kitt’s birthday, and 5/24 was Derry’s birthday!  Many happy returns to you both!  Mayor Neko was in attendance at Derry’s party, but is sad to admit that she kind of forgot to go to Kitt’s party.  Sorry Kitt!

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

  • 6/9/13 – ACNL US RELEASE DATE
    • The time has finally come!  Start up your new towns!!
    • Message me on Twitter @gluxbox if you’d like to have a private visit from Mayor Neko!
  • 6/15/13 – Bug-Catching Tournament
    • Catch the best bug in town!
    • Win a trophy if you’re in the top three!
  • 6/21/13 – Summer Solstice
    • Join Shizue at the Town Plaza to celebrate the coming of summer!
    • Have fun at the Photo Board!
    • Giveaways for all who attend!