Tom Nook appears to have lost his ironclad, varmint grip on the various commercial enterprises in Animal Crossing – if these new details about the latest version of the series coming to 3DS are accurate. The game has been given a full title of Animal Crossing: Jump Out, and in addition to the redesigned characters and StreetPass features, the game has a new thift shop run by Lisa the Alpaca, a new shoe store, the familiar Able Sisters clothing shop, a full shopping mall just outside town, and a gardening store run by a sloth.

Players will indeed play as the Mayor, and certain other features of the game have been expanded: The museum will reportedly be open 24 hours a day, and have a bigger collection of fish and fossils to find. The gardening store will offer seeds and seedlings, allowing you to beautify your town as you see fit.

Don't worry about Nook, though. He's a real estate mogul now, and will be selling house parts, letting you grow your mansion from a tent all the way up into an estate. No matter how much Animal Crossing may change over the years, one thing's for sure: Tom Nook will always get paid.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/09/an...estate-market/