Glad to see that there is some interest in this game at least. Right, as for Nintendo re-scheduling the whole game for a european audience... IMO I don't think they will but then they haven't given a release date for Europe at all. Why? Because games like these don't often do well (thats another reason why I opted for an NTSC Gamecube).
If Doshin the Giant does well in Europe then it will pave the way for titles like Animal Crossing, to pretty much quote from Nintendo themselves. Doshin will be the acid test for future Nintendo european releases unless theres a huge outroar for Animal Crossing.
As for the ultimate aim of Animal Crossing - Its communication.
Nintendo originally had this title down as on online title where people can visit eachothers houses and town and communicate, either directly, via letters or other means. It also has trading elements so for example lets say if you planted a tree and it grew apples then that fruit would be unique to you. Then a mate on his console also had a tree but it grow oranges only. You could then visit your mates village and unique people by putting your mem card into your mates GC and trade fruit.
Not very well explained but I think you get the picture. You should be able to trade fruits, money, clothers, furniture and other items to basically make your village more unique.
I should also add that the villages are randomly made so its never the same place twice and each save game can support up to 4 gamers.
Nintendo's main example would be a family one - Say your kids have been playing the game last night and they had extra items to share. They could write a letter in the game to their parents and ask them to trade. The kids shoot off to school and Mum has a go. She plays for a while, reading the letters posted by her kids and she could reply with her own message. Kids come home and boot up the GC only to find new items in their own house thanks to mum. Kids go out to check on dads house only to find it a mess and full of cockroaches because he hasn't tidied the house <g>
Badly explained example once again but thats just one possibility. The characters you meet in the game will also remember you and anyone living in the village. So lets say that dad hasn't played the game for a while. The village cheif would knock on your door asking if dad's alright because he hasn't been out, etc.
Another good plus is GBA connectivity. With the GBA you can design your own patterns and logos for wallpaper, clothes and items. You would also need a GBA to find a secret location in the game to earn extra cash (or bell, as the currency is known in Animal Crossing) and secret items.
I'll stop here to keep the readers awake from this long post, but I haven't touched the surface of this game yet. Not everyone will love this game purely because of the graphics and gameplay. Ones that give it a chance though would, and the same goes for Harvest Moon.