Nintendo confirms Mr. Resetti lost his job thanks to 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons'

In this economy, we all live under the ever-present threat of layoffs and unemployment. That's even true for iconic video game characters, like the polarizing Mr. Resetti, an infamous character from the first Animal Crossing game.

In an interview with Mashable during E3 2019, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' project lead Aya Kyogoku officially announced that Mr. Resetti lost his job at the Reset Surveillance Center due to the upcoming Switch title's new auto-save function.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"I think this will be a positive thing for the player, because in New Horizons you can stop playing in the middle of your game and it'll still save," says Kyogoku. "But unfortunately because there's no necessity to reset the game or reset button on the Switch, Mr. Resetti had a hard time. He was laid off from his position."

But, folks, there's still hope for the most hilarious, beloved, and hated figures in Animal Crossing history.

"We also believe that Mr. Resetti is looking for a new job after his layoff. So please look forward to that," Kyogoku teases, potentially hinting that he'll assume a new role.

For those who didn't get childhood trauma from Mr. Resetti's rants back in 2001, since the original Gamecube title Mr. Resetti's job was to scold you every time you reset your game without saving. Intended to dissuade players from cheating the game's real-time mechanic, his minutes-long, all-caps tirades would violently vacillate between questioning your moral fiber, threatening (and even pretending) to delete your save file, and devolving into desperate cries for help.

Looking back, we owe Mr. Resetti so much -- whether for providing us with copious laughter, annoyance, and/or terror.

The cranky mole inspired so much emotion in players, in fact, that Nintendo made his presence optional in later games, like 2014's Animal Crossing: New Leaf. In an Iwata Asks developer interview at the time, the late great Nintendo CEO said of Mr. Resetti that, "It seems like younger female players, in particular, are scared [of him]. I've heard that some of them have even cried."

In the "Information for Parents" section of 2008's Animal Crossing: City Folk, the instruction manual warned that:

Mr. Resetti's purpose is to teach players the importance of saving. However, parents should be aware that his personality and tone of voice, while intentionally humorous, are authoritative and may be disturbing to young children.

Despite some Easter egg appearances in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Brawl, Wii U, and Mario Kart 8, Mr. Resetti has not been seen in a full-release Animal Crossing game since New Leaf. And now, we know the tragic reason why.

So if you're on the market for a hard-working mole whose dedication to his job borders on the unhinged, please reach out to Nintendo HQ directly.

We felt so deeply for the down-on-his luck mole that this reporter offered Mr. Resetti a job at Mashable (Editor's note: This reporter has no power to hire a virtual mole). Kyogoku kindly responded by saying, "We'll let him know."