Something I suspect Nintendo never imagined when developing Animal Crossing: New Horizons was that Nook Miles Tickets – the coupons which can be used to visit mysterious deserted islands – would become a form of virtual currency. In the Animal Crossing trading community, large numbers of Nook Miles Tickets (abbreviated to NMT) are currently changing hands, and the whole thing feels rather weird. And, as ever, we’re at the point where people are selling them in bulk for real money.
NMT, for those who need a briefing, can be bought in-game with Nook Miles: points which are earned by completing various tasks such as planting flowers, fishing, or chopping trees. Once you’ve completed most of the game’s major milestones, you can still earn them from Nook Miles Plus – a rolling list of challenges, which places some limits on the rate at which you can earn them. These Nook Miles can then be spent on a limited selection of items and recipes, along with tickets to visit mystery islands. But given it takes a while to properly “clear” a Nook Miles island, and the rewards for doing so are often quite low, why are NMT suddenly in such high demand?
If only these grew on trees.
There are a couple of explanations here, but it seems the main factor driving demand is villagers. On Twitter, Reddit and other social media platforms, the Animal Crossing community has developed a number of favourite villagers – such as dapper cat Raymond or wannabe popstar Audie – and everyone wants them on their island. There’s a slang term for this: dreamies, short for dream villagers, and some sites have even created tier listings to rank their popularity. And price.
NMT are essentially lottery tickets to find new villagers on desert islands, and as such, it’s possible to burn through a whole bunch of them when looking for your desired character (particularly considering there are over 400 villagers in New Horizons). On the other end of this, there’s also a lot of people willing to splash NMT on their favourite villager without the painful process of searching dozens of islands. See where this is going?
On Discord servers, it’s easy to spot this NMT-villager trading cycle in action, with less popular villagers being sold for between 20-40 NMT, and community favourites like Raymond fetching prices of over 800 NMT. Raymond, specifically, seems to have become some sort of Animal Crossing status symbol as the number one desired villager. Some traders have even developed offer systems whereby players can either bid NMT for a villager, or buy them outright for a steep NMT price.
It’s possible to transfer villagers when they’re at a stage known as ‘in boxes’. Buyers visit an island and talk to the villager to convince them to move back to their island.
Although villager trading forms the core of the NMT economy, the coupons are now being used as currency to buy items on trading sites such as Nookazon, or as I discovered, as an entry fee to sell turnips for a high price. Last Saturday, in my desperation to sell my stocks of turnips before they spoiled the next day, I hit up the trading site Turnip Exchange, where players can open up their islands to the public to sell their turnips. While some kind-hearted folk open up their islands for free (or non-compulsory “tips”), many ask for an entry fee of either Bells, rare items or NMT, ranging from 2 to 20 NMT per trip. It was a similar scene inside the Animal Crossing trading Discords, and as it was the last possible chance to sell turnips, traders were definitely feeling opportunistic – with some asking for as many as 30 NMT for a visit. I opted for selling my turnips for a lower price at a friend’s place.
If you think about it, they’re charging a transaction fee for people exchanging turnips for bells, like a bank. I guess they are visiting a foreign island.
NMT entry fees are also being charged for another form of trading called item cataloguing (or touch trading). This is the process by which the seller drops a rare item on the floor, the buyer picks it up, and then returns the item to the seller. They can then use their Nook Stop machine back at their own island to order the item. So, to be clear, you don’t actually acquire the item – you just unlock the option to buy it.
If you were wondering what stops people just stealing items, you can disconnect the session by putting your Switch on sleep mode, which returns the island to the state it was in before the session began.
There’s a practical element to using NMT as currency, as the game’s actual in-game currency is difficult to move in large amounts. Once a player’s wallet has 99.99k Bells, they stack as 99k each in the player inventory – which can fill up surprisingly fast if you’re wanting to transfer as much as 8m for a villager. NMT, meanwhile, stack 10 at a time – but their perceived value is much higher than a 99k Bell stack, meaning you don’t need to carry as many between islands for trades (with 40 inventory slots and the wallet, you can carry about 4.06m Bells at a time). Bells are also fairly easy to produce thanks to the in-game Stalk Market mechanic, meaning their trading value is reduced. If you’ve ever seen photos of Germans wheeling barrels of Marks around to buy bread during the hyperinflation crisis of the 1920s, it’s a similar situation with Bells. But with less severe consequences.
It’s currently quite difficult to pin down the exact value of NMT, as traders often decide an item or villager’s value on a whim, meaning the exchange rate is constantly in flux. A recent thread on The Bell Tree trading forum currently estimates one NMT as being equivalent to 200k Bells, although some are still buying for 250k. On Nookazon, NMT are currently being listed for around 100k-200k Bells per ticket. So even at their current lowest price, an inventory full of NMT would equate to 40m Bells, ten times the amount an inventory full of Bells would get you – something that’s pretty useful for traders.
If you try to sell a NMT at Nook’s Cranny, however, you’ll only get 10k from Timmy and Tommy. They must be making a fortune selling these onto the market.
And aside from all this, there’s also just the classic currency belief system at play: once people decided NMT had value, people started collecting and trading them for other items – and things escalated to the point we’re at today. Some have speculated that duping is being used to produce hundreds of tickets, but a more likely explanation is people have simply traded their way into acquiring stacks of NMT in order to buy their dream villagers and items, thus producing those ridiculous prices. Will we see further NMT inflation? With so many moving parts to the Animal Crossing trading economy, it’s hard to say.
Of course, if you want to skip the entire in-game grind with real money, it seems that’s now an option. Sensing demand for NMT, dozens of listings have appeared on eBay offering both Bells and Nook Miles tickets for real-world cash, and people seem to be buying them. I guess the tickets could be useful for item trading, but honestly, it’s probably easier just to buy an amiibo if you want a specific villager. Unless you want Raymond, which will set you back £35 for a trade, apparently.
The whole trading economy seems to be getting steadily greedier, and it feels like the community has somehow managed to build its own microtransaction system where there was none: with NMT as a premium currency, and a loot box at the core in the form of Nook Miles Islands. And while villager trading was certainly present in previous games such as New Leaf, the addition of NMT – along with a lot of probably bored people sat inside during lockdown – appears to have pushed trading to new heights. Aside from trading for real-world money, it seems fairly harmless, if a little disturbing given the entire thing is built around trading villagers… and somewhat exploitative of people’s desire to have their favourite character. With this new-found knowledge of Audie’s worth, I hope I won’t start looking at her differently.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
