Animal Crossing: New Horizons has the second biggest launch of the year

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a massive success for Nintendo. The scale of this success is only starting to become apparent as more sales figures are revealed. According to The NPD Group, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the biggest selling in the U.S for March, has had the countries third best launch for a Nintendo title ever, only being beaten by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

As for how it stacks up over the year, it is the second best selling title of 2020, beaten only by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This, on top of the obvious accolade of being the fastest-selling game in the series, ever, has turned Animal Crossing: New Horizons into a bonafide giant for Nintendo.

The game will also likely have an incredibly long tail. For every person who was prompted to buy it by potential lockdown and quarantines, more will have made the decision to be careful with their money in these uncertain times, and will only pick it up after life has returned to normal.

The sales figures are just further evidence of the enormous success of the Switch as a console. Despite only being available on a single platform, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has moved enough units to soundly beat successful games that were available across three or more platforms, which often includes the Switch.

It is almost certain that Microsoft and Sony are looking at Nintendo with a degree of envy, as sales figures for games like Pokemon Sword and Shield, Breath of the Wild, Smash Bros., and Animal Crossing repeatedly show that their level of customer engagement for their flagship titles cannot be beaten.