Animal Crossing sales continue to rise three months after its launch. New Horizons breached five million sales mark in Japan alone.
The rising number of sales is expected as the major cities are still practicing stay-at-home protocol. But, it is shocking to know that the five million Animal Crossing record is for its physical sales.
The data came from Famitsu Japan. According to the reports, New Horizons is now part of the top 10 best selling games in Japan.
【あつ森】パッケージ版の国内販売本数が発売から約3ヶ月で500万本突破!#あつまれどうぶつの森 #どうぶつの森 https://t.co/WFRpKHjzP5 pic.twitter.com/pz7IZ9zGZA
— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) July 1, 2020
Animal Crossing sales at an all-time high
This new record of New Horizons has bested fellow Nintendo AAA titles such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is currently sitting at 3.73 million physical sales. On the other hand, the latest Pokemon game has 3.63 million in sales.
Last month, Nintendo has announced that the digital sales of Animal Crossing are blowing all of its contenders away. The company stated that 50% of the sales are from digital copies.
“The Animal Crossing series is suited to be played as a digital version, and we believe that the timing of its release, coinciding as it did with the rise in calls to remain at home, resulted in some consumers choosing the digital version,” said Shintaro Furukawa, Nintendo president.
“We see the very high percentage of digital sales as being due to these unique factors and have not premised our financial forecast on this trend continuing as it has,” he added.
If that is to be considered, the combined physical and digital sales of New Horizons in Japan are currently around 8 million copies. However, there is no official announcement regarding this yet.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is currently on its way to break global records.
COVID-19 impacting Animal Crossing sales
Nintendo sales rose up by 34% during the first quarter of the year amid the pandemic. Nintendo Switch sales broke some record. One contributing factor is the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
When New Horizons came out, it was well-received with 13.41 million copies in just six weeks. It easily surpassed the sales of Super Mario Odyssey and Pokemon Let’s Go!
The gaming industry is still on momentum as the lockdown continues in a lot of places. A vaccine is not yet fully developed. People are still advised to stay at home.
This time also saw the surge of newcomers to gaming in either PC or consoles. It is expected that as the pandemic continues, the demand for games will rise.
Animal Crossing July update brings in new features
Nintendo recently released a trailer of what to expect this July. The company is introducing new creatures such as the Ocean Sunfish, Napoleon Fish, and a whole lot more.
Besides the fishes, new bugs are set to appear on the game such as several types of cicadas. Beetles, stags, and more bugs will also appear on player islands.
However, that is not the most exciting part.
This July, Nintendo will release an update that will allow users to swim in the ocean. This also opens up more creatures to collect.
Players may now dive into spots and grab some starfish and shells. The items collected on the ocean may also be used to craft in-game items.
With this update, it is anticipated that a lot of players who went on a hiatus will come back.
Animal Crossing sales may also go up as new players who were not attracted to the game before may join anytime soon.
Images used courtesy of Nintendo/YouTube Screenshot, Animal Crossing/Nintendo