Japanese Charts: Animal Crossing Overtakes Smash Ultimate To Become Switch's Best-Selling Game

I love that choice of photo. Hahaha!

Nice to see hardware sales increasing as stock availability increases. Hopefully Nintendo have the situation under control again now and customers can continue to find consoles at a reasonable price and don't have to resort to scalpers.

It's nice to see the switch sales at 107k again, it really suffered the last few week thanks to corona

Makes sense, I see Animal Crossing appealing to a much wider audience. Smash is cool and all but it's mostly appealing to fighting game fans and hardcore gamers. Animal Crossing is the kind of game that anybody could enjoy, even someone's grandmother.

What a beast!! As much as I dislike twitter you can’t help but feel that AC bring all over Twitter combined with the lockdown has created the perfect storm for sales and has taken AC to a new level. A silver living to this awful situation we are in I suppose.

Animal Crossing really is a much bigger juggernaut than I thought it would be!

It's a great achievement for them. A perfect storm of the right game at the right time.

Hopefully Nintendo doesn't get the wrong message out of this. What with coronavirus "making deals with publishers much harder" as Sakurai said, I'm fully fearing Fighters Pass 2 to go out with a whimper. Hell, Ultimate's sales were meant to show Nintendo that Smash is as much of a top franchise as the others are...

Awsome game, Well deserved..

And there were people before launch worried about it's appeal lol.

@AlexSora89

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!

Smash has sold 20 odd million, of course it is considered one of Nintendo's top franchises regardless of what other games sell.

Next week, Animal Crossing New Horizons will become the first game to sell 4 million retail copies in Japan since Pokemon X/Y back in 2013.

By the end of June, it will become the first game to sell 5 million retail copies in Japan since Animal Crossing New Leaf back in 2012.

@JayJ

Some of us grandmothers have been gamers from the beginning.

So glad Trials of Mana sold well! Let's hope that meas they'll continue with the saga from now on.

@k8sMum and YOU are super cool!!! I wish you were MY nanna hehe

Am I the only one who sees ACNH's sales as something not normal?

this game is absolutely viral! no surprise

Wow! I have a Switch, I love my Switch - but I couldn't care less about these two games..

I love my switch too and have about 300 games on it (many were thistles purchases when a 15 dollar game was on sale for a dollar) don’t get animal crossing or smash. I’m going to need to give them a try sooner or later I guess. Funny thing is I have no idea why they don’t speak to me.

Soon to be announced:

Animal Crossings: Newer Horizons Ultimate: Everyone is here. /s

Let's see if all the money they're getting with this game and console translates into better offers with their first party games... How can they still charge full price for Zelda BotW, Mario Kart, etc...? It's time to release a Nintendo Selects kind of thing, Nintendo!

@the_beaver

Because they still sell. And there's not enough first party games on system to start a select range really.

@dazzleshell It's not about selling more or less, it's about giving people that are not rich the chance to enjoy theirs games. It's about not being greedy. But oh well, as long as there are people defending even THAT (clearly the prices are the worst thing about the Switch), I guess Nintendo has no reason at all to change.

@the_beaver.

I wouldn't say Nintendo are being greedy. It just makes business sense and the money earnt will go back into developing more games and hardware.

I imagine we won't see a Switch Selects range til Switch 2 if it is backwards compatible. Although BOTW might get a reduction once the sequel is out.

And I'm not rich either. I buy stuff within budget which is what we all do, whether you use pocket money if you are a kid or have a job as an adult.

If it's an eshop game it has to be 60% or more off for me to buy it. For physical I usually save to get a game on release so the money covers the pre-order. I shop around to get the cheapest price. Then once finished I trade it in for cash.

For example I bought Luigi's Mansion 3 for £36 on release day. Sold it for £35 cash 2 weeks later. 30 hours playtime for £1 is a bargain.

But this is my opinion. Thanks for reading.

Not surprising, really.

Animal Crossing has a much broader appeal. Smash not so much, doesn't matter who you put in.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Zero - Kai is out. Really hope it get a western release.

i cant wait til we get to see the global numbers, there are less than 15 million Switch users in Japan but over 52 million total overall users globally

@kopaka No. I'm not sure why this game is so successful either. People are saying it has broad appeal but you could say that about games on all three systems. Also I didn't think AC was a well known franchise, and I've never seen an ad for horizons on tv or YouTube. I'm not knocking the games success, I'm just a bit confused.

Sort of funny people talking about how Smash is so much more niche than Animal crossing, so it is no surprise that Animal Crossing is beating it. Smash has to settle with being "only" the second best selling game on the system in Japan. Such a niche position. Lol.

I am not throwing any shade, I totally get the point and agree, just thought it was funny. I love both series, along with most other Nintendo First Party games.

@Paraka
That's not true and you know it.
Both Smash Bros and Animal Crossing are insansely popular. Also both are some of the easiest games in their respective genres to get into. Neither of the games are niche at all.

@TheFullAndy
This is not a molehill at all. It's massive news. Many people thought Animal Crossing was a really niche game. That's because it's not what so called "traditional gamers" like. However for the millions of people who are not really into gaming, something liek Animal Corssing is the perfect entry. There's no hard button combinations or fast reflexes required. However the joy from getting that next piece of loot is still in AC as well as a fun small taste of what the multiplayer experience is.

Even though AC appeals to everyone, it especially appeals to many female gamers who are not into the majority of other gamers. AC is not specifically for female gamers. However it does take Iwata's concept of making gaming accessible for everyone and runs with it to the extreme.

This is what Nintendo does like no other by having something for everyone.

Also what helps the constant sales is the new drip fed content. It's not like the Splatoon drip fed content where the older players have experience with the older content whereas the newer players do not. In AC in a new season, everyone is at the same point, everyone is new to the event. Apart from a pretty house and a pretty island, there is nothing you do to have an edge over the newer players.

******

Also as an aside Bethesda replying to that question on twitter (via their DOOM twitter) back in 2019 also helped AC explode.

The question that was asked:
"Which 2020 game do you want a documentary made for"
They gave a few examples of games to choose from.
Bethesda ignored them all and just answered "Animal Crossing"

This spawned all the DOOM x Animal Crossing fan art and got fans from the opposute game interested in the other. Both games had increased sales as a result. This mattered as the twho fanbases are so totally not interested in the other game but it got people really into the other game. Of cause the 10 yearold AC fans will not be buying DOOM Eternal. But . . . I know many people, a few girls too who bought DOOM Eternal as their first DOOM game pirely based on this crossover fan art. As far as I know they all liked DOOM Eternal. I'll see if I can get them to play Classic DOOM 1/2 as well but who knows . . . we'll see.

Personally, I like both IPs. However I really didn't like DOOM 2016. I bought it for $10 on a PS4 game sale. Not a fan of it, though I reeally like Classic DOOM 1/2. For the record I think DOOM 3 is utter garbage and DOOM 64 is alright even though it's a little too much Quake for my liking.

However DOOM Eternal looks amazing, even if the final boss is not that interesting. I will be getting it when it drops in price. The crossover fan art really got me pumped for DOOM Eternal as well.

I hope the same doesn't happen in America and Europe. Animal crossing just isn't my thing. Now they may release games in this franchise more often, while I rather would want to see them work on other franchises!

@Ryall I don’t see how Falcom makes any money with 10,000 sales for Trails. They must run a ridiculously tight ship.

Encouraging sales for Trials of Mana, though. Hopefully means Squenix turns some kind of profit worldwide.

@the8thark

Nothing you said relates to what Alex Sora said or my reply to him. You just wrote a lot of nothing.

@TheFullAndy

Actually read what I said and it will make better sense to you.

@the8thark

My comment to AlexSora was in relation to him being worried Smash being outsold would somehow affect the the second fighter pack, I replied saying that game was still a massive seller so no.

You have just talked about the Animal Crossing being a hit and drip feed of content. I was talking about Smash. So you said nothing to do with what I was talking about.

Also I really want to know who these idiots are who thought Animal Crossing was niche considering the 3DS game sold over 12 million copies?!

I don’t own either game! Ha!

@the_beaver I'm keeping my fingers crossed they start a "selects" line around the launch of PS5 and Series X. It would make a lot of sense, but you never know with Nintendo.

Have 2 kids but you can only use 1 island per game? Buy 2!

Animal crossing becoming more mainstream than any other mainstream game? Who would have thought that a few years ago

@electrolite77 @the8thark - Popularity has nothing to do with appeal. Street Fighter is also insanely popular, but it only buys into a specific group of people. None of what I said meant niche, like at all.

Smash is like that too, it only appeals to a certain group. Most of them are of a competitive (which is a broader definition than your immediate assumption). This shows when you see not every Mario fan buys Smash, not every Dragon Quest fan buys Smash, not every Animal Crossing fam buys Smash. Its market is limited to the type of game it is, and it is a game that is progressively reflective on skill.

Animal Crossing is different, as it is void of the punishing systems of failure, and everything is visually progressive. You see your growth and efforts in your game, and nothing is really timed in a sense that it simply needs to be done right away.

That's what makes Animal Crossing have a broader market appeal. There will simply be more people who will find enjoyment in AC than Smash. It isn't about saying Smash is niche, or unpopular.

Not sure how either of you got that from what I said.

Well, ACNH sales is going to SHATTER MK8DX in probably a short amount of time, only time will tell if MK8DX's Sale record is broken.

@tendonerd Actually you have to buy 2 Switches to do that, not 2 games or teach your kids to share the island.

So based on this info is has now moved up to #20 on Japan's all time most sold videogame.

Pokemon Red, Blue, Green 7.8M at the top. A little ways to go but inpressive!

Wow, there are A LOT more furries than I expected. Tried Animal Crossing, played for about 2 hours. Found it very boring.

@Paraka
You said "Popularity has nothing to do with appeal."
It seems you and I agree to disagree on this statement.

People purchase games that appeal to them. Sales figures are a good indication of how widely a game appeals to the gaming public.

What you are talking about is cross IP popularity.
Will Mario or Dragon Quest fans buy Smash Bros?
Some will. Some will not. What we do know however is a lot more people then just the competitive scene bought Smash Bros U. A lot of the Smash Fans just like the game and don't give two hoots about who beat who in which tournament.

I would argue most of the Smash Bros U sales are not the competitive community. They just like Smash Bros. I'm one of the non competitive Smash Bros U fans.

By your definition Animal Crossing is also buys into a specific group of people. That group being people who like chill relaxing sandbox games. No different to Smash bros or any other game that ever existed. If what a specific game is, appeals to you, then you go out and buy it.

Sure people can find games appealing for reasons outside the traditional typical reasons. But overall the more appealing a game is, to a wider audience of people, the more sales it will get.

@TheFullAndy
You said - "Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!"

I replied directly to that statement saying why in my opinion it is not a molehill. I believe it's massive news. What I said did directly relate to what you said.

Whether you agree with me or not - that's your choice and I'm ok either way.

@the8thark

Well you are wrong, this isn't an opinion thing, you are factually incorrect.

Regardless it was also days ago so I have moved on.