This past Friday, two of 2020’s biggest games saw release: DOOM Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While both of these games will likely prove to be rather successful in the long-run, the latter game seems to be off to an impressive start. According to GamesIndustry.Biz publisher Christopher Dring, UK sales for New Horizons are significantly outpacing the game’s predecessor, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. New Horizons‘ launch week sales are three and a half times those of New Leaf, and its sales are outpacing the first week sales of every Animal Crossing game combined, which includes spin-offs like Happy Home Designer and Amiibo Festival. What’s even more impressive is the fact that these numbers do not account for digital sales!
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It will likely be a bit longer before New Horizons‘ sales numbers come in for North America, but it’s safe to assume the game is performing somewhat similarly. Still, with the coronavirus pandemic leaving many in self-isolation, it is impressive just how well the game is selling. Nintendo does not tend to release information on digital sales, but it would be interesting to see how many people have opted to purchase the game in that format, for various reasons.
Of course, it’s a bit unsurprising to see the success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The series has significantly grown for Nintendo over the years. The Nintendo GameCube original seemed fairly niche at the time of its release, but in the nearly 18 years since, Animal Crossing has slowly become a major franchise for the company.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a huge hit in the UK. Its sales are 3.5 times bigger than the launch of the last main game (on 3DS). Its launch week is bigger than the launch of all the other Animal Crossing games combined (inc spin offs). And that’s even without digital
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) March 22, 2020
As gamers hunker down at home, Animal Crossing: New Horizons seems like the perfect game to spend some time with. The title offers a fairly mellow experience, and in a world currently filled with anxiety over the future, everyone could use a game that truly helps them unwind.
Have you purchased Animal Crossing: New Horizons yet? Are you happy to see the game performing so well? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
