Animal Crossing: New Horizons became a smash-hit last year, breaking multiple sales records around the world. Fast forward to 2021, and the lighthearted life sim continues to break new records, just about a full year after its initial release.
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched on March 20, 2020. The island life simulator title was met with universal acclaim, with fans and critics unable to find any particularly glaring shortcomings. The game officially turns one-year old this coming Saturday, and fans are highly anticipating Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ upcoming anniversary update, which promises new features, seasonal items, and more.
The record hails from the EU, where Animal Crossing: New Horizons has broken Nintendo of Europe’s one-year sales record, selling an astounding 7 million units since launch. According to info Nintendo shared with GamesIndustry.biz, the ACNH sales account for roughly one-third of all Switch owners in Europe. Looking at Nintendo’s investor site, this puts total sales figures for the game at a little over 31 million copies, meaning about 24 million copies have been sold in other regions. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate had previously set a short-term launch sales record in Europe in 2018, although Nintendo isn’t clear on if the title also held the full one-year record.
While 7 million copies sold is certainly an impressive sales figure, a single country alone has managed to sell 6 million. Outselling literally every single other Switch title, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the best-ever selling Switch game in Japan, beating out other IP originals like Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Several factors likely contributed to the latest Animal Crossing‘s success, beyond the series’ acclaim and general popularity. The title released three years after the Switch’s launch, meaning a much larger player base from the beginning. Coupled with people having to quarantine because of COVID-19, Animal Crossing: New Horizons acted as a way to stay connected as well as a de-stressor for plenty of gamers.
It’s also helped that the title has received a steady stream of new content as well. It made waves when it was announced that ACNH was getting Super Mario Bros 35th anniversary content, featuring functional warp pipes, question blocks and other iconic items. Now, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a Sanrio collaboration pack, featuring a number of Sanrio-inspired villagers and items including Cinnamoroll and Hello Kitty. However, the big catch with the latest content drop is that it has to be purchased at Target, via an Amiibo card. Players will have to act fast if they want to ensure they get their preferred Sanrio character’s card.
While Nintendo is seeing the most financial success it’s had since the Wii, the gaming giant is the furthest thing from slowing down. A new report reveals that Nintendo expects to break software sales records this coming fiscal year, which begins in April. The company plans on shipping a whopping 250 million units, and cites unnanounced “marquee game releases” and “blockbuster software” as the reasoning for its bold projection. With rumors of the Breath of the Wild sequel and a Switch Pro model looming, gamers will want to keep a close eye on the big N in the coming months.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out now for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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