Satoru Iwata is back with another set of interviews, this time focused on Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City for the Wii.

When he's not printing money with his arsenal of gaming consoles and equipment, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata likes to take some time out to quiz his underlings about their upcoming gaming projects. That's right, Iwata Asks is back and this time the bespectacled overlord is talking with the team responsible for creating Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City.

Here's an excerpt of the interview, in which Iwata-san talks with Aya Koyogoku, Ryuji Kobayashi, Isao Moro and Hisashi Nogami from Nintendo EAD about Animal Crossing's new WiiConnect24 functionality.

Iwata: Could you tell us what precisely WiiConnect24 adds to the game?

Nogami: The first thing we thought of is something we sort of stole from the Mii Channel...

Iwata: What do you mean "stole"? It was you who developed the Mii Channel! (laughs)

Nogami: Well, you have a point there! (laughs) So we used an idea from the Mii Channel, and decided that we would have the data about players' towns automatically exchanged with their friends. This exchange of information started with the DS version, when you needed to have two separate consoles, each with a Game Card, connected. But this time around, by connecting to WiiConnect24, without one player having to visit the other player, the town data could be exchanged before either player knew it. So then all of a sudden you'd get an animal that's new in the neighbourhood, who's just moved from your friend's town, introducing himself: "Hi! I've just moved from ----- town."

There's also another section we found quite interesting regarding holidays. Holiday events are back after an absence in Wild World, and this time they're better than ever thanks to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and the ability to visit players living in other regions such as American and Japan...

Iwata: So let's say on the 31st December, wherever you take a trip in to the Animal Crossing world, you can enjoy New Year's Eve. But you can't simply talk of events without acknowledging that each country has its own culture. It must have been very tough to adapt the events to suit each culture.

Nogami: Well, I got the chance to become quite an expert on events around the world! (laughs) In Japan, we have the event called tsukimi (moon-viewing). In Japan, when we talk of moon-viewing, we are talking about the mid-autumn moon. There are also events related to the moon which take place at the same time in America, but they are completely different in nature.

Kyogoku: In Japan, when you mention tsukimi, people think of tsukimi dango (sweet dumplings), and pampas grass decorations. But people in other countries don't understand this at all, so we had to change the animal's dialogue.

Nogami: When an event takes place, the head of the town will come out and give presents to players. So during tsukimi, he would give out tsukimi dango.

Iwata: But if an American player receives a tsukimi dango, he's going to think: "What on earth's this?"

Nogami: Right. So we changed the gift the player receives for the US version to a wheat sheaf. Which leaves Japanese people wondering: "Why a wheat sheaf?" (laughs)

Kyogoku: Apparently, there's a custom in America where people use wheat sheaves as decorations during the moon-viewing season.

Nogami: So if you visit a friend's town overseas during the moon-viewing season, you'll be able to get hold of a wheat sheaf.

Iwata: So if you've got a Wii Friend in another country, you'll be able to get hold of items that you can't get in Japan.

Nogami: That's right. So perhaps it's a good idea to pack your tsukimi dango to give as presents when you visit a town in another country. (laughs)

The full interview can be read here, we heartily recommend it if you're in the group who don't think anything's changed from previous installments in the series. Satoru Iwata will inevitably return in the near future in another set of interviews. Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City will be out on December 5th.