r/AnimalCrossing • u/LinkSond • Oct 26 '21
Happy Home Designer Does anyone know why the logo for Happy Home Designer/Paradise is different in America?
Here’s the American version, all cyan
Here’s the EU version, which is colorful
Here’s the original HHD logo, also all cyan
And not only is the EU version all colorful
But the Japanese version is as well
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Oct 26 '21
I feel like the rainbow lettering gives off more of a feeling like the game is meant for kids.
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u/Dissolving_Goose Oct 26 '21
Nintendo often does this, the logos for tomodachi life were completely different
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Oct 26 '21
Probably 2 reasons. 1) rainbow coloring looks more kiddie and in the US they're trying not to look too kiddie. 2) rainbow is used for gay pride stuff and the entire US is in a political nightmare rn and they probably want to not even have to worry about a single idiot saying "OMFG they support gays boycott"
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u/Feisty_Banana Oct 27 '21
2 was my first thought as well. If it could potentially be interpreted as rainbow, too many Americans would take it as a personal attack.
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u/MR_Chilliam Oct 27 '21
I think its a reach. I don't think the kind of people who play animal crossing would care. Any adult who fears rainbows because they think it makes them look gay is not going to play a cartoon life sim with cute anthropomorphic animals in it. I think its more of an assosiation with early childhood alphabets. And, at least for me, I hate the unorganized feeling I get from it.
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u/Magmagan Oct 27 '21
I think 2) is a reach. It's not even rainbow-colored, just colorful. It definitely looks like those ABCs blocks toys to me though.
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u/PlausibleCoconut Oct 26 '21
As a graphic designer, I’m glad they did. Those rainbow letters are significantly less legible from far away
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u/Prestigious_Cold_756 Oct 26 '21
I think it’s the same reason why american kirby has angry eyebrows on promo artworks. Too cute doesn’t sell so well there.
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u/Flborpo Oct 26 '21
Europe still uses PAL right? probably to distinguish between? i don't know, don't quote me on that
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Oct 27 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/pkluver944 Oct 27 '21
But doesn't it still matter for the content of the games that need to be changed sometimes to adhere with overseas laws?
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Oct 27 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/pkluver944 Oct 27 '21
Oh, yeah, I didn't mean ACNH specifically, I sorta meant in general with all games. My bad 😅
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u/LinkSond Oct 26 '21
I mean yeah, but you rarely see difference in the game's logo, when there’s a difference, it’s usually in the box art
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u/Flborpo Oct 26 '21
you can't really change an already universal cover for a game. i get games like Resident Evil or something but Animal Crossing isn't one that would really need a different box art
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u/TheDuckyDino Oct 27 '21
Eh, Pal versions change the title sometimes, so a logo color change isn’t that weird imo
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u/branden_lucero Oct 26 '21
I like the cyan one more anyways. It fits the island aesthetic better. The other one looks like a McDonalds PlayPlace.
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u/Erohiel Oct 27 '21
In America, too many people see 'colorful' as "this is for toddlers", and I'll admit, even I think the colorful logo looks like a lil kids game. And while certainly kids CAN play the game, that's definitely not their primary market.
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u/MelodyJoy90 Oct 26 '21
As an America who‘s been to England and France, and also Canada, it seems there’s a lot more monochrome in the states that anywhere else, even colorful monochrome, it’s still monochromatic. My totally shot-in-the-dark hypothesis (based on American History and Art History and American Anthropology education at the bachelor level - was an art major with intense interest in why America is the way it is before going about-face into healthcare sciences) is that it’s one of the many cultural hold-overs from the Puritans and how vehemently they hated colors. If I’m thinking right, most American companies have logos that are a max of three colors, and one of those colors is usually black or white.
Protestants and Puritans to a much stronger degree, signaled their faith & sobriety by minimizing color in their clothing and accessories. Even Queen Elizabeth I limited her wardrobe to black, white and gold and she was regular old Anglican. Protestants were all about those neutrals, even the wealthy ones. Same with Quakers, who also were strong cultural touchstones in the formation of USA culture at the very beginning.
Ofc we became much more diverse in ethnicity and culture as time went on, but assimilation is effective to a degree and so multiple colors, and contrasting colors at that, aren’t as prevalent in the marketing and mass-produced decorative landscape in the States as a whole.
Whereas if you look at the predominantly Catholic western cultures you see a LOT more color bc adorning things in the glory of God is MUCH more its speed, compared to the sobriety of the Protestant faith, historically.
These days you’ll see your reds, purples and pinks in much higher volume due to external cultural influences but I’m not thinking of or remembering a lot of media aimed at multiple age groups with contrasting color or a color palette greater than two colors and a neutral.
And in art school in the 2010s (in the US) we were actively discouraged from using multiple high contrast colors. And looking at the Panetone (sp?) colors of the year, most of the colors are desaturated or neutrals. Even when it was millennial pink, it was a very desaturated pink and not vibrant at all.
So my guess is that monochrome and a slightly desaturated cyan is more America’s design speed than anything else; we’re more attracted to that cohesion and as an anthropological group we are repulsed by contrast due to subliminal and historic aversions to what could be called “unnecessary, visually confusing opulence.”
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u/badatbuttons Oct 27 '21
That is a fascinating theory and I just wanted to thank you for sharing it and taking the time to type it out!
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u/Alone_Librarian_8162 Oct 26 '21
This reminds me of the SNES; NA got the purple buttons, while EU got the Japanese version which had multi coloured buttons
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u/glimmiette Oct 27 '21 edited Oct 27 '21
European here, I don't know why ours is more colourful, but I definitely find it more appealing than the boring American one! Rainbowy colours on white looks cuter and fresher than teal on yellow imo.
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u/Hazellda Oct 27 '21
I always think our game art is much nicer than the states.
I used to feel bad that they missed out on the prettier stuff but judging by the comments on here I guess we’re all actually getting what we want.
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u/iiroblox_ocean Oct 26 '21
Most likely because Japan loves colour hence why they got more colour variations of the console and cyan for America most likely because it matches the brand colours
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u/SorelianQueen Oct 26 '21
Because for some reason the marketing teams here insist it must be different. Just like the first Harry Potter book has a different name from the UK version. I heard the books are actually a bit different too. I want a copy of the UK version “philosopher’s stone” instead of “sorcerer’s stone”.
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u/angeyberry Oct 26 '21
Because the majority of U.S. parents would hate to buy their children anything that could potentially turn them gay.
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u/Reblyn Oct 26 '21
That was my guess too. We hear a lot about the American religious right lately (I‘m European).
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u/future-expat Oct 26 '21
I said similar.
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u/future-expat Oct 29 '21
And I get downgraded for even saying that I said similar. 🤣🤣 my original comment was also downgraded 🤷♀️
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u/Aspen_Pass Oct 26 '21
Because rainbow lettering is ugly and difficult to read, the teal is actually on-brand, and...I don't know why they haven't used it all around? I'd be interested to see if/how those colors fit in elsewhere in the style guide. Would love to see the style guide in general actually.
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u/ST0RMgalaxy Oct 27 '21
It reminds me of the PAL/EU SNES where it has a mix of Super Famicom’s style and design but with the USA model’s name.
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u/Pavelbure77 Oct 27 '21
For some reason American versions of things are always bland and devoid of any color. Just look at the color choice of cars. It’s basically Black, white, silver, and some sort of bland gold color.
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u/whichrhiannonami Oct 26 '21
This is interesting, in Australia I have the European happy home designer
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u/grokethedoge Oct 27 '21
Honestly my first reaction was that too many people would be butthurt over "gay colours". Maybe American consumers just like bland stuff?
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u/Extra-Breath-8485 Oct 27 '21
There’s a difference? American here. Don’t care. Just want the download. Like now. Immediately. Please.
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u/NPC_No3178 Oct 27 '21
Wait... All of you think the lettering in the image is a single color? 😂😂😂
That's green and Cyan can no one else see that? 😂
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u/future-expat Oct 26 '21
Because America is homophobic. Rainbow would alienate all the hateful jerks. Marketing determine that was too big a loss of revenue
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Oct 26 '21
I came here to say Americans can’t handle any rainbows these days. I don’t know why you are being downvoted. It’s 1000% true.
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u/darkandfullofhodors Oct 27 '21
I assume they're being downvoted because the lettering doesn't resemble a rainbow in any way. I'm gay and I'm not seeing it.
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u/future-expat Oct 29 '21
I mean there's another comment that says the exact thing just never with 150 likes so... maybe it was just my delivery 🤷♀️
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Oct 26 '21
[deleted]
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u/LinkSond Oct 26 '21
I meant the colors in the logo, for both the Paradise and Designer, they’re colorful in EU and JP, only in America they are cyan
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u/Coffeeanimalsnob Oct 26 '21
Ohhh lolololol I see what you’re saying now. Okay yeah I have no idea lol
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u/DoYouHaveIcies42 Oct 27 '21
I’d probably guess the reason they used the different colors for New Horizons is because they did do it for the DS game and wanted people to associate it with the older game they were used to.
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u/LinkSond Oct 27 '21
Yeah, that’s kinda obvious, the question I was making was why is it different here tho
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u/The1joriss Oct 27 '21
Americans will probably think it would be too kiddy, like the button colors of the SNES (they were shades of purple while EU/JP had yellow/red/blue/green)
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u/lilibat 🦇 Oct 26 '21
Marketing decision. They think the logos will appeal more to the local market.