On August 7, 2002, Nintendo held a contest called the Animal Crossing Official Pioneers Program, where a limited number of participants would be able to receive an early-access copy of Animal Crossing. To apply for selection, one would have to submit a short response of 50 words at most explaining why Nintendo should pick them to be "Animal Crossing Pioneers", with 125 teams of two people (totaling to 250 applicants) ultimately being chosen. Each winner was provided with a specially-marked promotional disc for Animal Crossing, a 59-block memory card, and a calendar spanning September 2002 to December 2003; in addition, winners were given access to an online forum where they could interact with Nintendo of America staff members, completing in-game objectives, providing feedback, and participating in online chats.