UK Charts: Animal Crossing Remains Nintendo's Brightest Star As Switch Takes Four Of Top Ten

I'm interested in the physical release of Streets 4 as the first game is such a big nostalgic part of my childhood.

Another really strong week for Nintendo, Paper Mario is showing good legs.

Animal Crossing is just a phenomenon and as ever MK8 Deluxe is a beast!

Also Luigis Mansion 3 in 17th ahead of Fifa 20 which will make some people ecstatic!

Well, you can say that AC is selling so well because it's a big IP but, also, because there isn't many other options from Nintendo in the past 8 months.

I have played this every day since launch, and continue to adore this game. There are so many different ways to play it, so much charm and beauty. What ever the rest of the year holds for Nintendo, 2020 will be a great year with the release of New Horizons.

@tourjeff

"Well, you can say that AC is selling so well because it's a big IP but, also, because there isn't many other options from Nintendo in the past 8 months."

There are 14 Switch titles in the top 40 and another 10 third party titles available on the Switch.

So that is 24 titles from the top 40 available on the Switch so no I wouldn't say that. The game is just a phenomenon.

@TheFullAndy AC, as I said, it's a big IP and certainly had benefited from the current world situation. It's a phenomenon as you say.
However, this doesn't exclude the fact that in 2020 we didn't have many new games from Nintendo that would be strong enough to persuade people to buy them instead of AC.

I am happy for everybody who is enjoying that news. Personally I would like to see something else by now.

@tourjeff
3 of the Top 10 best-selling games on the charts released more than 6 years ago.

People buy games they are interested in, not because they are new.

@tourjeff

I would suggest they would just buy the new games alongside Animal Crossing. The game has become like MK8Deluxe in that if you buy a Switch you buy that game along with it. It is probably around 18 million sold already after 4 months which is insane.

My main point was even though they are not many new Nintendo releases (still been 4 released and you know, there is the pandemic) the chart shows there is plenty of choice. Also many of these people would be new Switch owners so all the games would be considered new to them, and Animal Crossing is still top of the list.

So I don't agree with your assessment.

@westman98 "3 of the Top 10 best-selling games on the charts released more than 6 years ago.
People buy games they are interested in, not because they are new."
Yes, people buy games that they are interested. No doubt, however, it's not the majority of people is it?
If it was, instead of 3 games older than 6 months we would have more games like that on the top 10 following your logic.

@tourjeff

29 of the UK top 40 were released before 2020 so that backs up westman98's point.

You seem determined to put a negative spin on this for some reason.

"Did you buy any of these chart-topping games this week?"

Yes, of course. 😀
I have played Animal Crossing New Horizons for more than 270 hours within 36 days in a row.

I will continue to beautify my island with proper furnitures on empty spot that i will turn into public places after dinnertime. ☺

@TheFullAndy yes, I get your point but I disagree 😉
Personally I think it's soon to say that AC will be a MK8 style of game, meaning, that will keep appearing on the charts for years.
And no doubt that there are plenty of options to please many gamers but I don't think this changes my point of the lack of new games from Nintendo.
You also mentioned that, partially, these are new Switch owners so they'd buy AC but if that's the case then we probably would also see other older games on the chart (ie. Mario Odissey, Zelda, Splatoon etc). These are new games for the owners right?
Anyway, as I said I agree to disagree with you 👍😉

@Anti-Matter

Err....but you clearly didn't buy it "this week".

@TheFullAndy he talked about the top 10 only.
So no, not trying to put a negative spin.

@tourjeff

OK we will agree to disagree. I suggest you check out the UKIE top 40:

https://ukie.org.uk/news/2020/08/third-week-no1-sonys-sumptuous-samurai-em-ghost-tsushima

You will see plenty of the Nintendo classics in and around the top 20.

@tourjeff we're talking a 3 year old platform with tons of games. Not every user buys a game on the sole premise of it being one of the latest chronological first-party releases, and I couldn't possibly hold my eyebrow down at the sight of anyone who does at all. "I don't care for Animal Crossing, but other recent Nintendo games interest me even less, and I will most definitely have a stroke if I don't own a new Nintendo game on Switch soon"? Yikes, not a very humanity-flattering picture being [inadvertently] painted here.

Back when Switch was first revealed, I could have bought it for portable Skyrim alone - and I'd probably still have got more lasting impressions for my buck from a $300 Skyrim device than many folks get from the $500 smartphones they feel compelled to replace in two years. But this kind of fixation is particularly unhealthy.

@nhSnork if you followed the discussion after my initial post you will see that we touched the point you make.
And just a FYI, my first comment is talking about in general - no other big hits released to challenge AC - not specifically about any type of user.
In regards to the users, that can apply to the other side of the spectrum as well so the same way that there are users on the situation you described there are others up to date with the their games and waiting for new stuff.
Heck, you can see some of them commenting here even.

Surely by now Nintendo must have sold more copies of MK8D than they have actual Switch consoles!

Very, very conservative approach from Nintendo. It's kind of similar to their approach to NOS reward games. MK8 does not even get DLC's in case this causes an imbalance in Nintendo's release schedule. They probably have mollycoddling saints as shareholders.

@tourjeff
So you admit, buying a game just for the sake of buying it? You have no interest in it, but you buy it anyway, because if no other options?

@MrBlacky where did I say that exactly? 🤔

@tourjeff

I don’t think that there would be a new Nintendo game that could keep people from buying it. Only Zelda or a new MK could.... maybe....

@Cyrax77 probably not, I think Nintendo didn't release 2x big franchises in one semester (I might be wrong though).
But I think that IF there were more options, perhaps the AC sales would not be as great.
Also there is the lockdown situation that certainly helped.
At home, for instance, my daughter (9 years old) asked me to buy it for her after seeing the ad on the TV.
I bought it because of the lockdown situation but this kind of request is something that she normally doesn't do, usually I'm the one introducing her to games so my case was one of the lockdown ones as I only got it for her because she couldn't get out to see her friends.
Having played AC myself, I don't see me buying it again as it doesn't appeal to me.
My point is: wouldn't people buy something different if they had the option?
Perhaps not to beat AC sales but enough to make a dent over the months?

Not surprised - Ghost of Tsushima is an amazing game.

Fairy Tail runs awful on Switch. Decent RPG (if you like the Anime), but decided to return the rental. I'll play it on PC at some point once on sale.

Great to see Paper Mario and F12020 holding on 👍

Basically @tourjeff and I are patiently waiting for the next Wave Race or 1080 and until that happens we will never be truly satisfied!!

@beazlen1

I am with both of you regarding Wave Race (and F Zero and Starfox).

I would be happy with an HD remake of Wave Race 64, just imagine the HD rumble!

@tourjeff
Okay, my mistake. So you are the only clever one, buying just the games you want. Every other person is falling for Nintendo's trap and just buys a game for the sake of having a new game.

@tourjeff You could say that, but you wouldn't be making much sense. You'd just be making a point about your displeasure at the lack of first party titles from Nintendo. Which is a totally legitimate complaint. However, Animal Crossing is selling well because it has become a sensation.

@beazlen1 hahaha, true story!
Either of them would satisfy my expectations until next year lol

@MrBlacky still not answering my question and adding more stuff to it but okay.

@Batty5 yeah, you can say that I'm not happy with the games released so far but what I said on my first comment was an opinion based on the fact that Nintendo didn't release any 'new' games that could potentially compete with AC. As far as I can remember only AC, the board game collection and Paper Mario are really new games. So out of 7 months we had only 3 new games and that's being generous with the board game one.
All the other comments after that were responses based on the replies I received from people 'guessing' what people were buying but nobody showed me a link proving their points (facts).

You said "... because there isn't many other options from Nintendo in the past 8 months."
So I first mistakenly assumed, you were also one of those who buy a game just for the sake of buying it. 🤷‍♂️

@TheFullAndy I recently purchased the Japan re-release of WaveRace 64 - WaveRace 64 rumble edition. It’s got rumble and memory pak function plus the frame rate in the podium scene seems much smoother than my NTSC version. I didn’t know it was a thing back in the day. Anyway I’m pleased to report the trusty old rumble pak is put to great use. And yes HD rumble in an HD remake would be great!

@beazlen1

That is class, must have cost a few quid!

@tourjeff

"the other comments after that were responses based on the replies I received from people 'guessing' what people were buying but nobody showed me a link proving their points (facts)"

Seriously bud?

I literally provided you a link to the UK top 40 which showed a number of Nintendo titles people were buying.

@TheFullAndy £22 on eBay with box, instructions and a rumble pak. Free postage from Japan. Unbelievable, didn’t pay import tax either as seller marked Package as only worth $8. Had to mod my American N64 with a sharp knife though -small price to pay to enjoy the definitive WaveRace game IMO.

@beazlen1

Not bad at all, you are clearly the enthusiast!

Hopefully when the N64 games arrive in September on Switch Online (a hopeful prediction) Wave Race has the rumble included.

@TheFullAndy yes, you provided a link, however, it doesn't say what kind of people are buying.
Are they new Switch players?
Are they current Switch owners buying games that they didn't have before? Etc.
You and a few other people said here that X, Y and Z games are being purchased by new Switch players.
What I am saying saying is that nobody has a link to a research proving it.
I can also look at the top 40 and say that the people buying are currently Nintendo Switch players without any new options so they are buying old games not owned yet.
However, I can't prove that the same way nobody proved to me that these sales are generated by new Switch owners.

@tourjeff

Alright let's break it down then to its most basic terms

The chart shows which games sold the most last week.

The highest selling Switch title was Animal Crossing.

That's it.

Based on the logic of your last comment to me there is no point even trying to guess the reasons why as apparently no one has been doing street surveys or whatever. But all the comments in reply to you were because, that's right, you tried to guess why Animal Crossing sold the most.

Shall we just end this here as you have basically just admitted your original comment was pointless?

@TheFullAndy no, it wasn't pointless and I could discuss it further but, then again, we can't agree on it.

@tourjeff

No we can't discuss it further as you dismiss out of hand any other suggestion unless someone provides you with links to extremely specific research for some reason.

So my last comment provided you with the only true fact. Animal Crossing was the higgest selling boxed release for Switch last week. End of.

@TheFullAndy yes, fact:
AC is a big IP and didn't have any proper competitor game from Nintendo in the first 7 months of 2020.
And still not having it for the foreseeable future.

@tourjeff

A new Paper Mario could not be considered a competitor? It just had the biggest launch week of any Paper Mario in the UK three weeks ago?

Animal Crossing would continue to sell well regardless of any new first party Nintendo release, just like MK8Deluxe does. Animal Crossing is now the biggest selling boxed release in the UK in 2020, even more so than Last of Us 2 which had a massive launch and briefly overtook it for a few weeks after a massive launch (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-08-03-destroy-all-humans-makes-top-three-after-12-year-absence-uk-charts). Animal Crossing is just a massive seller.

I expect any reply to include links to research to prove your point!

@tourjeff
Even if Breath of the Wild 2 launched tomorrow, Animal Crossing would still be a sales juggernaut.

The only competition Animal Crossing will ever have to worry about is its direct sequel, which will be a Switch 2 game that probably won't be released until 2027-2028, when the current Switch will be long dead.

@westman98
Fact is, if a game is selling in extreme high numbers, it's because of some kind of hype surrounding it. Not because "there is not many other options".

Its weird to see so many Sony titles struggling to maintain evergreen status. They sell really well at launch, probably better than most Nintendo titles, pass 10 million rather easily... then just sort of fall off a cliff. The fact that a four month old game and a three year old game from Nintendo are selling better than a one month old game from Sony - which broke all kinds of sales records - feels strange. Its even more odd to look at life time sales and see that Nintendo already has like four games that have sold more copies than the number 1 best selling game on PS4 despite the PS4 having been on the market longer and having a larger install base. Throw in the fact that most PS4 games can be purchased for $20 after just a year while Nintendo aggressively locks down that $60 price tag and it does begin the beg the question... what is Nintendo's secret?

@Chowdaire

If I had to try and sum it up, Nintendo are the masters of making games that truly appeal to everyone.

Sony and Microsoft have never achieved that really.

@TheFullAndy
For Microsoft, the existence of Gamepass means their first party games are unlikely to ever sell significant retail numbers ever again. Halo Infinite multiplayer going F2P further cements that.

For Sony, all of their big releases are story driven realistic cinematic experiences, and in the case of TLOU2, a fairly linear one as well, so a big opening weekend followed by huge week-over-week sales drops was to be expected.

@tourjeff I can think of many instances where the only new release during a Nintendo dry spell didn't sell an exaggerated amount of copies despite there being no other options, because that's not really a thing. People either want the game or they don't, nothing sells out everywhere and generates massive hype for months just because there aren't many other new options at the time. There are a dozen reason it sells as well as it does, from screenshots and memes on Instagram to mobile phone players becoming fans since New Leaf to the fact that it's simply charming and adorable af.

@westman98

Interestingly though Forza Horizon 4 is regularly hovering around the top 10/20 if the UK chart.

With Microsoft I think it is a mixture of game pass and the fact that frankly their first party offerings over the last decade (with the exception of a couple of titles) have been piss poor.

Halo Infinite multiplayer going free to play and not linked to Gamepass is another decision I just don't get.

@TheFullAndy
Forza Horizon 4 (and 3 before it) were heavily bundled with Xbox One hardware, which explains why it has high retail sales.

@westman98

Ah fair enough.