Player

"No more debt for me!! My house is all paid off!!!!"

- A player paying off their mortgage

The player, also known as the animal crosser, is a term used for the human character in the that is controlled by a human or the "real-life" person playing the game. The player may be either a boy or a girl; the differences in all games are largely cosmetic and with slight variations to some dialogue whenever the conversation becomes gender specific.

Overview
Players, like the main villagers, are short and stubby. The largely-physical differences may become blurred even further because Harriet allows the player to get haircuts of the other gender if one has had all hairstyles of one's gender from her. Kicks will also allow the player to wear shoes of the opposite gender after enough shoe shines have been bought. There are several unalterable differences, however.

The female character will always wear a dress, while the male character will always wear shorts, and the female character's default hat is a cone-shaped "princess cap", while the male character's resembles a spiked Viking helmet. These hats are used in as the only hairstyle or head wear.

Even though players are not the only humans, they are the only human children as it is assumed Mom and Dad, who send letters occasionally, are also human. Players will always have an in-game "mom" and in spite of Mom referring to childhood events and the home that the player once lived in and occasionally sending presents in the mail, there is no indication of any real back story to the human character(s).

Only one player from each town may be active at any given time, although in, , and , visiting players from other games are allowed in town at the same time.

Also, players do not talk. The only times they can talk are when answering questions or accomplishing something (get an item, pay off mortgage, get stung or bitten by an insect, talking to another player in dream towns, or remark about a catch).

Appearances
In each game, the player's face is determined by a series of questions that the introductory character asks.

In Animal Crossing
In, Rover asks the player questions as he speaks to him or her while riding the train in order to determine the player's face style.

In Wild World
In, Kapp'n asks the player a series of three questions while driving him or her to town at the beginning of the game in his taxi in order to determine the player's face style.

In City Folk
In, Rover asks the player a series of three questions while riding with him or her to town at the beginning of the game in Kapp'n's bus in order to determine the player's face style.

In New Leaf
The player models in are taller and presumably older. The player can now change their pants, skirts, shoes and socks in addition to their top.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

 * In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, one of the microgames involves the player taking control of a character, its gender corresponding to that of the controller's. The player must pull the Wii Remote up at the correct time to catch a fish.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a number of human characters appear in the background of Smashville. Both the male and the female humans are available as stickers, while the male character is available as a trophy which is simply named "Boy."

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U
On June 11, 2013, Nintendo revealed their new Super Smash Bros. video game for the 3DS and Wii U at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013, featuring the "Villager" (むらびと, Murabito) as a new playable character. The Villager is a boy with brown hair, wearing a red shirt with a light-blue number "1" printed on the front. The Villager's in-game moves include the ability to attack other players using a net, trapping them in pitfalls, and chopping down trees to cause damage. It looks similar to the boy from the first five installments of the Animal Crossing series.