Nintendo says Tom Nook is not bad, just misunderstood

“He’s just passionate about his business”

_{[Header image by kennuhisaki]}

Like many others, Stephen Totilo at Kotaku fosters a strong distaste for the business practices of Animal Crossing‘s perpetual town merchant Tom Nook. Totilo got to chat with some of the top minds behind Nintendo’s life-sim series, and they think Tom Nook’s sinister reputation is unjustified.

Aya Kyogoku, one of Animal Crossing‘s directors, explains the position: “We think he is very misunderstood. He’s just passionate about his business. He’s not like a loan shark. He doesn’t add a handling fee or anything like that. He can wait as long as it takes for you to pay back. He’s not as bad as other people might think he is.”

So even though he basically forces players into indentured servitude, the fact that he is pretty lax about late payments and he doesn’t charge for interest means he’s not the bad guy of Animal Crossing. That honor is saved for scorpions, tarantulas, and the other townsfolk on Halloween.

Nintendo: Tom Nook Is ‘Misunderstood’ [Kotaku]