I had (and still have) Animal Crossing for the Gamecube, and it's still my favorite in the series. I thought with all of the hype for New Leaf that it would be really fun, so with no hesitation, I got it as my CN reward..but I kinda regret that. I think I would've gotten more entertainment out of Pushmo World or something.
I find myself running out of new things to do in New Leaf all the time. Maybe some people enjoy the realtime thing, but I don't. I liked the Gamecube one when the days progressed outside of realtime so you could continue playing. A lot of the unlockable buildings and things require you to do something for like 10 days in a row or longer. You could easily change the date on your 3DS rapidly, but that takes the realness out of it even more.
I also found the multiplayer quite pointless. There's like nothing to do. However, I do realize why this game was so popular. It's for casual gamers or people that really aren't even gamers at all (aka a real Nintendo game!). There's not really a linear objective. I mean yeah, you have to earn money to upgrade your house, but. There aren't specific missions (other than the tasks that the villagers give you sometimes) that are hanging on the side to help you on your way or anything. If you like things like this, then feel free to go for it. And I got it free, so I can't complain too much. But it wasn't my style.