Animal Crossing Fan Shows Off 3D-Printed Fossil Cartridge Case

An Animal Crossing fan has found a way to store Nintendo Switch games in style, 3D printing a storage case that looks like an unevaluated fossil from the popular cozy life sim franchise. While the storage case is clearly themed around Animal Crossing, that’s not the only game whose cartridge it houses, as it has a dozen spots to fill.

The Animal Crossing museum is one of the franchise’s oldest features, appearing in multiple games starting with the first worldwide entry on the GameCube. While players can use the museum to place the bugs and fish they’ve caught in suitable habitats for viewing, it also includes a section for fossils ranging from tabletop trilobites to massive skeletal dinosaurs that come in up to four sections. Since bugs and fish are seasonal and art takes a long time to acquire, filling the fossil section of the museum is a popular early goal whenever a new Animal Crossing game is released.

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Reddit user Stressed_engineer has been getting a fair amount of attention after showing off their detailed Animal Crossing fossil Switch game storage case, which they 3D printed. The case strongly resembles the fossils players can uncover in all mainline Animal Crossing games, featuring a spiral shape next to two five-pointed star shapes on a blue rocky background. The case designed by NanoCodeBug, which players can find the files for on Maker World, is split, allowing players to lift off the lid and store up to 12 physical Switch games in its thin slots.

Animal Crossing Fossil Game Case Draws Attention

Fans of the series who have seen the case praise it for its accuracy in depicting the in-game item. One person responding to the post suggested that it be buried in its creator’s back yard, since digging up fossils with a shovel is how they’re discovered in the games. However, the person who 3D printed it said it is a gift for their daughter and will instead inevitably become buried under all the junk on her desk. Another player has jokingly suggested showing it to Animal Crossing museum curator Blathers to see what it turns into.

While the Animal Crossing fossil is a creative way to store easy-to-lose physical Switch games, it’s not the only Nintendo-themed object that 3D printer users have come up with to keep ther games safe. A couple of years ago, another Nintendo gamer 3D printed Pokemon Game Boy cartridge replicas in the styles of Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow. These cases even feature stickers with the original artwork from the early Pokemon games and slide open to show space for three Switch cartridges.

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My Favorite Games
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Released

March 20, 2020

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E for Everyone: Comic Mischief

Developer(s)

Nintendo EPD

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Nintendo