Thanks to an immense amount of hype building up to launch, universal praise from critics, or perhaps perfect timing as everyone is forced to remain indoors - or, indeed, all of the above - Animal Crossing: New Horizons has had a phenomenal launch.
We'll get our hands on official figures from Nintendo on 7th May, but piecing together scraps of sales info we've seen so far paints a wonderfully positive picture for the new franchise entry. As of last week, the game had already sold more than three million physical copies in Japan alone (that's just one country, and doesn't even include digital sales). It was enough to surpass Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's lifetime physical sales in the region.
In a new Bloomberg article, Famitsu head of research Mitsunobu Uwatoko and Morningstar Research analyst Kazunori Ito have provided comment on the game's success. Both quotes can be found below:
Mitsunobu Uwatoko: "No other games have such an overwhelming sales momentum, and it’s clear the franchise is getting a lot of new fans due to the world’s fight against coronavirus. Nintendo would have sold more Switch units if it had enough inventory."
Kazunori Ito: "The game is the perfect fit for people today, because you can spend unlimited hours in the warm and gentle world. I have never seen so many people sharing so many screenshots of a single game on social networking sites."
The game's momentum was impacted by a lack of hardware stock in the UK recently, with similar stock issues also being found in Japan. As touched upon by Uwatoko above, it's possible that even more consoles and copies of the game would have been sold if it weren't for distribution problems.
Do you agree with the comments above? If you've picked up a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, let us know why you wanted to buy it with a comment below.
[source bloomberg.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 44
It is also the timing of the release, in the middle of a pandemic.
A perfect quarantine game. I can escape to my own island for awhile.
@Rayquaza2510
Very true........ lots of people with nothing to do and decide to buy this cool looking game.
Normally I wouldn't go anywhere near this type of game, but am quite enjoying simply because it's damn near perfect for the current situation.
Animal Crossing has always been a massive success. Not really suprised it's doing so good since Switch is so popular. It's also the one of the best games ever made, plus Nintendo is the best. You can't stop it, Nintendo can't be stopped.
Part of me is concerned that this will suffer the same fate as the Wii - i.e. loads of new players from the casual end of the market buy into the hype and the cuteness, but the superficiality of the gameplay might end up putting people off in the same way that waggle did with the Wii audience.
Yeah it came at the perfect time in the midst of the lockdown. Since we don’t have anything to do, a life sim is perfect for filling our time.
I think the game would have been expected to reach 15 million+ but it looks like it’ll do a lot more and possibly break 20 million.. which is over 1 billion dollars of sales.
@Rayquaza2510 as they mentioned in the article.
It’s also, like, an excellent game
I even bought despite me ragging on it for months.
Never played it, thought it looked like a dollshouse sim..... gave in, bought it, played it non-stop for 4 days straight. I completely understand the hype now!
I have brought it, but I am still struggling to get into it and see the appeal. Not saying it is bad necessarily, I just can't seem to get motivated to play. To be fair I have been binging Persona 5 Royal, so perhaps I might have more luck when I finish that.
I picked it up to give it a go but have got bored of it quickly and uninstalled, little too repetitive/pointless for me, was worth a try but simply not my sort of game
it's my first serious jump into the series as well, mostly was interested to escape reality. it worked, when grandchildren ask me what 2020 was like I'ma say "pleasant and full of turnips."
@gcunit I don’t see how this ends up like a Wii situation. The Wii had many problems on a system level that animal crossing or the switch won’t have. First off the Wii was a console and not just a game so the fact that motion controls were viewed as a more casual way to play impacted a significant number of buyers to the system. Since you either had to adapt to those controls or spend extra money on different controllers. Secondly even if animal crossing having tons of more casual people playing, it’s not going to put off fans of the franchise because the games are always fairly causal and laid back.
@Patrick-Sukiyaki,
The game has been gaining in popularity for years now, the 3DS game is the best seller for the franchise up to now, the Switch version will surpass it, but to say it's down to a viral outbreak is just wrong.
@PuppyToucher I'm taking about public perception of Nintendo and the Switch.
If Switch's biggest game happens to be a Lite life sim (Lite-sim) then it will contribute to the voice that says Nintendo gaming is for casuals, which potentially impacts in various ways.
Well let's see. I worked from home yesterday with my copy next to me playing on down time. My son with his friends playing his copy, and my daughter doing the same thing with her friend. I'd say the game is one of the best things we could play right now. And Switch sales will increase cause of this game more than any other.
@gcunit There's a big difference here from Wii / DS era: Only a single title among the top sellers is like that. The other top (9mil+) titles are: BotW (Action-Adventure), Super Mario Odyssey (Platformer), Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Fighting), Pokemon (JRPG), Splatoon 2 (Shooter), and Super Mario Party (Party)
Compare that to the Wii - Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Party, Mario Party 8, Wii Play, both Mario & Sonics (Casual Party), Mario Kart Wii (Racing), Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus (Fitness), NSMB Wii, Super Mario Galaxy (Platforming) and Super Smash Bros Brawl (Fighting).
Not only are the top titles on Switch far more diverse, there's also a huge wealth of core gaming titles coming over. On the Wii, Wii Sports was a launch title compared to Animal Crossing coming out after the Switch was established. And unlike on Wii, if an uninformed buyer goes and buys a third party game, they won't find it to be a gimped version of a title from another platform.
@gcunit The Switch has already done huge numbers prior to this release. I think it will be fine.
It's my first Animal Crossing game, and honestly; I would have never thought about buying it if it wasn't for this whole corona crisis. It never seemed like my kind of game series.
I'm really, really, enjoying it though. Actually, I'm a bit obsessed with it at the moment. I've also checked some let's plays of previous games, and I feel like New Horizons is the only one that could have drawn me in, mostly because of the freedom in landscaping that seems to be new to the series.
When the headline said experts I was expecting to see something from Michael Pachter, who I haven't seen mentioned much recently... Anyone seen him around?
Hasn't had much cause to be the portent of doom of late, has he 😆
120 hours in and I'm still diggin it
@gcunit Nintendo is 10000% the most casual option in the console space, and is viewed that way too. Obviously there’s really deep gameplay for gamers too, but Nintendo is a company that makes experiences to promote all walks of life playing together. They are selling a lifestyle, not just a gadget. Anyway, it’s already 3 years in, and every AAA has been amazing. With Zelda and metroid in the pipeline, pretty safe to say support is really strong
I hope this success will help fund future updates. The game has a fantastic base, but I really would love to see the return of the cut furniture and NPCs.
@gcunit what perception? The Switch appeals to everyone, whether they’re the hardcore or causal gamer. People are still talking about Skyrim and Witcher 3 on the Switch. Are you afraid that will turn publishers off?
If we’ve learned anything from 2K, plus many other publishers bringing games to the Switch, they love it... plus it’s putting money in their pockets. The Switch has a universal appeal that Sony and Microsoft would kill to have: a system for family and gamers. PlayStation and Xbox have a perception that they’re for hardcore gamers only. People who love violent video games, dramatic themes and anything else over the top. The Switch handles that piece, plus the appeal to other gamers who don’t like those two systems.
@gcunit
Animal Crossing being such a massive success on Switch is in no way a bad thing. I guarantee you that Sony/Microsoft would kill to have an exclusive PlayStation/Xbox life sim that sold anywhere near as much as New Horizons.
The fact that all of the biggest PlayStation/Xbox games largely fall under 3-4 genres (shooters, sports sims, open-world action adventures/RPGs, linear story-driven cinematic experiences) is not a good thing.
It's all thanks to the mega normies and trend hoppers
I was expecting:
Read what other developers had to say about the game.
What I got:
5 lines of words from 2 developers and 15 lines of endless blah blah blah from the NintendoLife writer.
I think games like Stardew Valley have a lot to do with it too, I tried Animal Crossing back on the Gamecube and other than the NES stuff I had no more interest in it. Stardew taught me how to chill with a game and thus I was open to more games where your goal is to do what you like when you like.
@gcunit almost all of my gaming friends own a switch in addition to a PS4, so I don't think that's really the case here. Then again those same friends also have a Wii.
But the Switch isn't really competing with anything else, like the Wii.
Sadly, I have not bought the game yet. But I truly would. It looks awesome. And I would love to create my own island. 👏
I had this pre-ordered even before I knew everything would shut down. I had it on the wii, and had it on the 3ds, so I had high hopes for this one. It's still not perfect in my eyes, but a solid 95 out of a hundred. If I could buy fish bait, and craft multiple items at once; it would go a long way towards being perfect.
Also, never had the original game, but since with Nintendo Online we have classic NES games anyway; it would have been a real blast if other classic games could be played in the game. If only like 5 NES, 5 SNES, 5 Nintendo 64, etc. And also if the fooseball game was interactive.
I love everything the game offers, but I've always wished it had mini-games like Splatoon has.
@mrmememan I don’t think so. Animal Crossing has been a popular franchise for years, so it was bound to be successful and get great word of mouth even without the normies.
@johnvboy Exactly. I don’t like that people say it’s thanks for a global outbreak, too. There’s this weird perception that Animal Crossing isn’t popular despite the fact that a quick google search would tell people that Animal Crossing has had long reigning popularity since it was first announced in 2001.
@BoaCanoa I know, but normies and trend hoppers are the reason it's doing super well
@mrmememan
Any games that sell 10+ million copies in under a month will appeal to "mega normies" and "trend hoppers".
@Crockin I'm sorry but I have to argue, Nintendo is more hardcore oriented than casual oriented. By your own words you describe gamers and the hobby itself, "all walks", a gamer lives in variety, Nintendo is a gamers paradise. The casual " gamers", are the ones who spend all day on Twitch playing nothing but CoD or Madden or FIFA, they're the ones who typically use the terms hardcore and casual to justify their huge collection of 3 games each generation because they have no true ties to the gaming world. Please do not lump us gamers in with those by confusing them as real gamers or "hardcore". A hardcore gamer would go from a JRPG to a realistic racer to a loot shooter to a Yoshi title without hesitation. A casual would mock anyone who would play anything that isn't GTA or CoD.
Finally, stop saying AC is successful because of the pandemic, that's far from the truth and shadowing the pure draw and luster of the series.
@MS7000 I totally get where you're coming from. I normally play fighting games so when my wife told me to download this and play with her, I was skeptical. It hasn't replaced Fatal Fury or SamSho for me (both much more tense and high octane), but I'm getting into the stride after about four days, and starting to really like it.
@gcunit that's the funny thing about perception because form my point of view games like Fortnite, COD and FIFA are for casuals
@GoblinKing86 haha I came here to literally say the same thing to someone else, for me casuals are those playing the yearly sports games, Fortnite and whatever shooty nonsense COD is this year. Ignoring 99.9% of what gaming has to offer but calling themselves hardcore because they play the same sh*t for hours everyday
@GoblinKing86 a) I did not say AC was popular because of covid. It IS, but it also happens to be an excellent game and would have been a hit. Just not a pop culture phenom.
B) Nintendo is the casual option period. Doesn't mean they don't provide deep experiences for gamers too.
It's alright. I tend to get bored after playing an hour. So once a day is good enough for me. I'm glad millions are enjoying it
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