We had a pretty big feeling that we'd be seeing Animal Crossing on WIi at this E3, but what we didn't know was what exactly it'd end up being, and just how different the franchise would be on Nintendo's new console. Once Nintendo showed first footage during the conference earlier today, we knew we'd be seeing an experience that was pretty similar to the GCN product that has inspired both Wii and DS before it, but it wasn't until we went hands-on that we found out -- for good or for bad -- just how similar Animal Crossing: City Folk really is.

The real question now isn't "What's Animal Crossing: City Folk like?" but rather "Will Wii fans be happy with 'more of the same' for their third platform in a row?"

The core experience in Animal Crossing: City Folk is basically a mash-up between the DS and GCN designs. Once again you'll start with an empty town, select your house, name your village, and begin the sim Nintendo lifestyle. Just like its predecessors, City Folk works on a real-time clock, so if it's 1:30 PM in real life, it's 1:30PM in City Folk.

We don't have any new info on multiplayer, aside from confirming that you can have four people in a town, and four people for online, friends-only multiplayer. Voice chat is supported with the new WiiSpeak, but both classic chat and emotions are included via the main "Keyboard" tab as well. We'll have more details about Animal Crossing: City Folk starting tomorrow, as we sit down at chat with series creator Katsuya Eguchi.