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Japanese Pick-Up Artists Are Loving Animal Crossing: New Horizons

In these times of self-isolation, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is giving players the opportunity to live vibrant social lives, including virtual celebrations and spending time together with their friends. The game is also, apparently, a preferred game for men who want to pick up girls.

Bunshun Online interviewed two men who shared their experiences forming connections with women through the game, as well as their own tips for picking up girls. They said that it's easier to build a connection through the game than through hitting on women in the streets. Many players put out calls for item exchanges on social media, so by responding to those calls, the men are able to have a conversation with the woman almost 100% of the time. The game also gives both people something in common to talk about, so it's an excellent ice breaker.

A successful item exchange will earn trust. The next step, according to these men, is to invite the woman to an Animal Crossing Discord group or LINE chat, where players exchange items and turnip prices. This can be done to by making the argument that it's more convenient to do exchanges through a group than through Twitter DMs. These groups generally have off-topic discussions as well, so the players may end up talking about personal topics like "How are you spending time in lockdown?"

One man said that he used these techniques to pick up around four or five women in the previous game in the series, Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS. One example he brought up was his experience with a girl, who was a university student at the time.

"One time, when we were chatting on the phone, the subject of the new Detective Conan movie came up. I asked her if she wanted to see it with me. So we watched the movie in a theater in Shinjuku and then got a room to ourselves in an izakaya. Nothing remarkable happened then, but the next time she ended up coming to my place since she wanted to watch the previous movies and eat a hot pot while gaming. One thing led to another and she ended up staying the night. It's generally the same with the other girls I've picked up. We meet up after doing voice chat or calling on the phone."

The catch, according to these men: You need to be good at the game and have all the money and items that the ladies want. And you won't be able to actually go out on that promised date until after lockdown is over.

Source: Bunshun Online via Yahoo! News