Everyone knows that Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the biggest games of 2020, but the sheer scale of the game and its sales is still pretty unfathomable. According to new stats from Superdata Research [via GoNintendo], AC:NH, the game has now sold more digital units in a single month than any other console game in history.
There’s a LOT of people picking up the game, which has now racked up more than 5 million digital worldwide sales (that’s without including physical sales numbers).
Superdata explains: “Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold more digital units in a single month (5.0M) than any console game in history. The Nintendo-published title broke the console record for monthly digital game sales previously held by Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII. Animal Crossing: New Horizons also roughly matched the first-month digital sales of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon Sword and Shield put together. The game’s combination of social features and a relaxing setting likely appealed to individuals stuck at home. Closures of brick and mortar stores also meant that a higher share of consumers purchased the game digitally compared to past Switch titles.”
It’s bested some of Nintendo’s biggest releases on the Nintendo Switch, selling more copies over its first three days than both Pokemon Sword & Shield and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate did in their first 10 days [via Bloomberg].
Animal Crossing has been praised for being the game we all need to survive the current global catastrophes, giving players the chance to escape to a deserted island that they can build up to be whatever they like. Thanks to the game’s online features, people can connect within the game where they can’t in real life thanks to the global pandemic. From birthday parties to weddings, it’s all happening on the shores of New Horizons.
The pandemic has created a huge interest in the video games industry, with more and more non-gamers taking the plunge and trying out games for the first time. 2020 titles like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Call of Duty: Warzone have seen a massive surge in sales numbers, though it’s not all good news.
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 has been delayed indefinitely due to concerns over the ability to ship physical copies of the game, and it’s not expected to be the only title.
One of the biggest games of the decade, CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, is also due to land this summer, though the company is insisting the title won’t be delayed from its September release.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo