Since Nintendo’s release of the Second Wave Update on the 30th of July, a lot has been happening within the Animal Crossing: New Horizons community. The update introduced a new feature called the Dream Suite, where you can visit a mirrored version of anyone’s island using a code they post online. With this new and exciting addition, there is a report feature to use if you think someone is violating the rules of the game.
With this report feature came a gang of Animal Crossing players, who think that people with hacked in game items are cheating. Star trees being one of these items. While some people think that these trees are purely for the aesthetic of their islands, others think they are violating the rules of the game, and therefore should be punished for it. This lead to groups of people hunting down islands one by one and reporting them. This resulted in Nintendo issuing many emails to many gamers stating that they were “violating the rules of the game” and the terms and conditions of Nintendo itself. This massive wave of emails and reports eventually drove Nintendo to completely get rid of the star trees altogether. Now they have been turned into bells trees, so if you have star trees it is a good idea to shake them before updating so you don’t loose any of your hard earned materials.
While hacking your switch was the only way to get these items in the first place, you could find people selling these trees on websites like Nookazon or friends just giving them away. Nintendo initially turned a blind eye when they first starting popping up, this is because they believe that the game was made to be played how you want to. Nintendo does not condone hacking your Switch so do this at your own risk if you wish to.
