For most Animal Crossing fans, Tom Nook is often seen as a greedy, money-hungry businessman who is constantly trying to gouge the player for bells through pricey home loans and other related schemes.

Speaking to the Verge, Animal Crossing: New Horizons producer Hisashi Nogami and director Aya Kyogoku have shared their thoughts on this perception players have of Tom Nook.

According to the two, Tom Nook isn’t a bad guy at all, just misunderstood by players. In fact, he and his gargantuan home loan play the important role of providing a major source of motivation for players to keep playing the game in order to pay him back.

You can check out what they had to say about below:

Nogami: “We think Tom Nook is a very caring, really great guy. He’s an adult, so he’s very careful with money. It’s [paying off the home loan] one of the biggest motivations that users have to continue playing Animal Crossing, and Tom Nook is the man behind that motivation.”

Kyogoku: “Even if we borrow money from him and it takes time to pay him back, he never gets angry, he never gets mad. So if we could all try to be a little more responsible and pay him back, it might make him a little happier.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.