Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas been a sales juggernaut since its release. The island living simhad sold 26 million copieswhen Nintendo last released their figures and that was before it had graced a holiday season. Nintendo’slatest set of sales figureswere released today and surprising nobody,New Horizonshas continued to fly. A staggering stat has appeared since the figures came out though that show just how well the game is selling.
Reported on Twitter by VGC journalistChris Scullion,New Horizonscould be on track to beatGrand Theft Auto V’sfirst 11 months PS3 and Xbox 360 sales. Within its first 11 months,GTA Vsold 34 million copies andAnimal Crossingis breathing down its neck on 31 million. That leaves Nintendo’s tranquil game needing just three million sales within the next two months eclipse its ultra-violent counterpart. That’s certainly not out of the question with the game having sold an average of 3.4 million units per month so far.
Will Animal Crossing: New Horizons beat GTA V in the end?
Almost certainly not. AlthoughNew Horizonsis selling like hotcakes - there are a lot of things to consider.GTA Vis now available oneight different platforms,Animal Crossingis only on theNintendo Switch.GTA Vhad also sold over 135 million copiesby August last year. That’s another issue forNew Horizons. As of today’s Nintendo update,the hybrid console had sold (a very impressive) 80 million units. That means Nintendo would need to sell almost two copies ofAnimal Crossingto everybody who owns a Switch.
Why is Animal Crossing: New Horizons so successful?
A combination of good timing and consistent updates. It’s hard to argue that the gamereleased at the perfect time. People were entering lockdowns all over the world and looking for something to play. Step forwardAnimal Crossing. The game provided a welcome level of escapism and a great opportunity to connect with friends. Nintendo has also updated the game every few months and we’ve already seentwo summer updates,Halloween,Thanksgiving,Christmasand more!
What’s next for New Horizons?
The game is in second place in the Nintendo Switch all-time software chart, just behindMario Kart 8 Deluxe. At this point, I wouldn’t bet against it taking the top spot. The game is also the second top-selling game in Japan of all time and could easily leapfrogPokemon Red and Green.In terms of content, Nintendo has already confirmed February’s big update,Festivale, withSuper Mario Bros.items coming soon.
