Andrew Heinzman
Under the cute veneer of Animal Crossing: New Horizons hides a dubious black market, where animals, rare furniture, and bags of digital currency are exchanged for real-world cash. Nintendo is well aware of your Raymond eBay store, but the company isn’t entirely sure what to do about it.
Technically speaking, Nintendo could put a clamp on the Animal Crossing black market at any time. The company’s Terms of Use specifies that, aside from monetized videos and channels, any “monetization of [Nintendo’s] intellectual property for commercial purposes are not permitted.”
But the Animal Crossing black market is rolling along like a train full of bandits. So what’s the hold-up? Where are the feds? J-Cast reached out to Nintendo regarding the real-world trade of Animal Crossing assets, and the company had this to say:
We recognize the violation of our Terms of Use.
A beautiful and succinct quote. After answering J-Cast’s question, Nintendo clarified that it’s “currently considering what steps should be taken regarding the sale of New Horizons characters.” In other words, the lawyers at Nintendo could give this one a pass, but they’re just as likely to take some form of action.
Don’t worry, Nintendo can only do so much about the Animal Crossing black market. Policing eBay is easy, but there’s no way for the company to clamp down on the endless Discord servers, forums, and group chats where fans exchange money for their favorite characters.
