Animal Crossing's Tom Nook: "Pleasant" Landlord or Anarcho-Capitalist? (2024)

Screenshot courtesy of Nintendo

We have a few Animal Crossing fans on the Waypoint Radio crew, so of course we had to immediately talk about this week's Animal Crossing Direct. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has you setting up shop on a deserted island where you can collect resources to build furniture, clothing, a home, and eventually an entire town. This is all made available by the series' longtime landlord, Tom Nook. This time around, instead of saddling you with a loan for a small home without your consent, he sets you up with a tent, with a loan in the form of his own company currency. After completing certain tasks (such as collecting wood, catching fish) you are rewarded with "Nook Miles," which you use to pay back the initial loan and eventually purchase other goods and services from him.

This got us thinking: Has Tom Nook been an anarcho-capitalist all along? Was each town in the Animal Crossing series just a new venture for him to extract natural resources for his monetary gain, and this is just the first time we're in on the ground floor? We discuss the various implications of the direct and also what we're looking forward to in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on this episode of Waypoint Radio. You can listen to the full episode or read an excerpt below.

Austin: [There is a] third fantasy I just want to shout out really quick that seems to be underlying some of this. I recall conversations as I was watching [the Animal Crossing Direct], just how often in 2020 do you have a conversation with a friend, after some sh*tty climate news hits, where you're like "we should just f*cking move to Montana and start a farm. We should just leave, we should figure out how to live off the grid." And obviously there is the sh*tty prepper version of this, like I said before, the version of this that's not left anarchism.Gita: The anarcho-primitivists stuff where they pointedly won't answer the question of what happens when my glasses break.Austin: What happens when my glasses break, what happens when there is a sexual assault here?Gita: Yeah, what if I can't get my medications?Austin: Exactly, totally Exactly. How do we deal with–Gita: What happens when someone becomes physically disabled temporarily or permanently?

Discussed: Politics 3:04, Wide Ocean Big Jacket 13:24, Corruption 2029 24:14, Animal Crossing Direct 42:13, Covet Fashion 1:22:11, Destiny 1:24:25, No Man's Sky 1:25:17This transcript was edited for clarity and length.You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. If you're using something else, this RSS link should let you add the podcast to whatever platform you'd like. If you'd like to directly download the podcast, click here. Please take a moment and review the podcast, especially on Apple Podcasts. It really helps.Interaction with you is a big part of this podcast, so make sure to send any questions you have for us to gaming@vice.com with the header "Questions." (Without the quotes!) We can't guarantee we'll answer all of your questions, but rest assured, we'll be taking a look at them.Have thoughts? Swing by the Waypoint forums to share them!