We could all use some wholesome news right now, couldn't we? That's why I'm more than happy to share the story of Nintendo's tribute to an internet-famous grandma... one who shot to fame last year when her grandson shared her love of Animal Crossing: New Leaf on Twitter.
Perhaps you're already familiar with her? Audrey, 87, had put an incredible 3,580 hours into the 3DS game, and made an effort to play it every single day. To be clear, this was over a year ago now, so who knows exactly how much that number has shot up by?
With only a few days off due to illness, Audrey was a dedicated resident of her virtual town, and has doubtless spent the last few months looking forward to Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Twitter... presumably spending even more time on New Leaf while she waits.
Her grandson, game designer Paul Hubans, said at the time that he was working on saving up so that he could get his gran a Switch and a copy of the new game, which came out on Friday (20 March). I sincerely hope he was able to hook Audrey up, because it looks like Nintendo has honoured her devotion by naming a character in the new game after her.
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As spotted by koolwala on Reddit, screenshots taken from the Nintendo World review of the game show a brand-new villager in New Horizons called Audie. This fresh and funky face is a wolf who absolutely rocks her eyeliner, with a kick-ass pair of shades to boot. While Audie/Audrey might be considered a bit of a stretch, it's worth mentioning that Audie is the name Audrey goes by in New Life.
I guess you could still argue that it's just a coincidence, but it's unlikely. Even if Nintendo didn't 'officially' make the decision to pay tribute to Audrey, I reckon there's every chance that one of the developers on New Horizons was made aware of the grandma and decided to sneak in their own little nod to her. It's not like Audie is the most common name, is it?
Over on Twitter, Paul said that when he heard the news of the potential tribute to his gran, he 'choked up'. It's unlikely that Nintendo will ever tell us one way or the other if it's just a coincidence... but this has the makings of such a nice story that I really do think we should just all choose to believe that Audie and Audrey are one and the same.
While you wait the next few days for Animal Crossing: New Horizons to hit Switch, why not check out my review? For a number of reasons, which should be obvious, I said that it's the wholesome game 2020 needs right now, and the perfect island getaway to have over the next few weeks.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo/Paul HubansTopics: Switch, Animal: New Horizons, Nintendo
