Hemisphere

Hemispheres are a gameplay element introduced in. When creating an island, the player has the choice of choosing either a Northern Hemisphere island or a Southern Hemisphere island. By default, the Northern Hemisphere option corresponds to North America, Europe, and Asia, while the Southern Hemisphere option corresponds to Australia and South America. However, the player may choose to live on different hemispheres that don't correspond to their region of choice.

These options are not purely aesthetic, as they change the appearance rates of bugs, fishes, and sea creatures. Seasons are also affected; when it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it's winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Events and holidays may also vary and have unique dialogue specific for that hemisphere, but they are not tied with the season and can appear in both hemispheres. Turkey Day, for instance, may have autumn roots, but is also available in spring for the Southern Hemisphere. Mystery Island tours, Harv's Island, and the May Day tour are also affected by the choice of hemisphere as those islands will correspond to the respective season that the main island is currently in.

Several unique features for both hemispheres are present as well. Camellia bushes start blooming on January 1st for the Northern Hemisphere, but it does not bloom on July 1st assuming each bush in both hemispheres have the same time frame for when each bush blooms. Instead, holly bushes end blooming on June 15th, and camellia bushes bloom the next day, making camellia bushes last longer in the Southern Hemisphere than it would in the Northern Hemisphere. Weather patterns are also affected. Where the weather patterns favor rain for the Northern Hemisphere from June 16th to July 5th, the Southern Hemisphere's equivalent dates of December 16th to January 5th favor more in clear weather than it does in rainy weather. This is due to the dates correlating with Toy Day and New Years. Additionally, Southern Hemisphere players from December 24th to December 30th enjoy more days with clear skies with possibility of meteor showers while Northern Hemisphere players on those same days enjoy more snowy weather.

There's also the unique availability of ornaments. While most of the seasonal materials are tied to the seasons respectively, ornaments ignore the hemisphere rules and are available in both hemispheres from December 15th to January 6th. Both hemispheres gain cedar trees with bright lights, and if shaken will drop red, blue, and gold ornaments.