Of course, one of the most wholesome franchises in all of gaming would have an equally sweet real-world story to go along with it. In early 2019, months before Animal Crossing: New Horizons was officially revealed, a viral tweet from game designer Paul Hubans shared the heartwarming story of his then 87 year-old grandmother, Audrey, who accumulated over 3,500 hours in Animal Crossing: New Leaf after playing almost everyday for four years.
Now, it seems that Nintendo has acknowledged Audrey and her love of Animal Crossing by adding her as a villager in the new game.
Upon New Horizons' release, some players were introduced to a new villager, a bright red wolf with yellow hair named Audie. As the nine million or so people who saw the YouTube video Paul made with his grandmother might remember, "Audie" is the nickname Audrey used for her character in New Leaf.
While the new villager doesn't really resemble her namesake in any way (and Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed that Audie is named after Grandma Audrey), it's really nice to see her acknowledged and immortalized in her favorite game. Wolf Audie is a peppy villager whose upbeat and warm personality is a nice (though likely incidental) reflection of the real-world Audrey's passion for Animal Crossing.
In a tweet, Paul acknowledged his grandmother's addition to the new Animal Crossing game, saying he "choked up" upon seeing the new villager. He did not mention his grandmother's reaction, but he did say that Audrey know about Audie the wolf. Hubans mentioned that his grandma does not have New Horizons yet, but he will be giving her the game one he is out of isolation following a cross-country move. Paul also mentioned that he's purchased a better camera to make videos with her, so interested Animal Crossing fans should look forward to seeing the now 88-year old's reaction to New Horizons sometime in the future.
Surely, the internet can expect to see some exciting creations once Grandma Audrey finally gets to play New Horizons. After all, Audie's New Leaf town was full of many rare flowers planted all over her town, and her house was fully decorated.
Since Animal Crossing New Horizons has more customization options available than ever before, there are few limits to what Grandma Audie could accomplish on her island. And, with some luck, perhaps she'll be able to meet and befriend her in-game counterpart. Regardless, since most villagers return for subsequent games, hopefully, wolf Audie will keep coming back for years to come to remind us all of the good that can come from video games.