Animal Crossing: New Horizons has proven to be a massive success for Nintendo, selling plenty of copies and Switch consoles for the company all around the world. In France, however, Animal Crossing: New Horizons truly shined, as it was the highest-selling game in the country last year.
What makes this achievement noteworthy is the fact that Nintendo has not seen one of its games take this title in 12 years. Back in 2008, the Wii’s entry in the Mario Kart series was France’s best seller, with the FIFA franchise outperforming every other video game release in France since 2014. Ending FIFA’s streak and giving Nintendo a major win in the territory at the same time, this accolade shows just how popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become.
Amassing an impressive six million copies sold in Japan and 26 million games sold in total, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has proven to be a juggernaut since its release last year. Appealing to gamers of all ages, genders, and nationalities, the latest Animal Crossing has something for everyone. With consistent seasonal updates as well as the addition of fan-requested improvements, the game has given fans a reason to keep working on their islands, something that has led to positive word-of-mouth for the Nintendo exclusive.
Further assistance for the game’s sales was its effect on pop culture and the climate it released in, as Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrived at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Giving players a way to connect with one another despite the real-world crisis going on outside, the life sim has served as an escape for gamers and non-gamers alike. Consistently trending on Twitter and making unexpected appearances via NFL games and IKEA furniture catalogs, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has seemingly taken the entire world by storm.
While the game has excelled in France, its neighboring countries have also seen Animal Crossing: New Horizons become a sales juggernaut. The UK, for example, saw the game topping charts for the entirety of last year. With January sales for Animal Crossing: New Horizons continuing the trend in the country, it seems like the game will continue to thrive in the rest of Europe as well.
With Animal Crossing: New Horizons recently following the real world and kicking off a new year of in-game content, players can expect some popular features from 2020 to return. With new additions equally likely, it seems the Animal Crossing hype will not die off anytime soon.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Nintendo Switch.
Source: NintendoEverything