Animal Crossing New Horizons Has Record-breaking Opening Weekend

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This article was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.

We knew people were hyped for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but it seems the game is surpassing all expectations as it tops charts across the world in it’s opening weekend.

In Nintendo’s homeland of Japan, the game has reportedly had the biggest launch of any Switch title to date, surpassing the 1.3 million combined units of Pokémon Sword and Shield and the 1.2 million Super Smash Bros. Ultimate shifted in it’s opening weekend. That’s according to VGC, reporting on figures released by retail group Geo.

Meanwhile, here in the UK, New Horizons has apparently sold more in it’s first few days on sale than every other release in the series combined - including spinoffs. That’s according to GfK figures reported by GamesIndustry.biz.

That’s also even more impressive when you consider those numbers only factor in physical sales. Digital downloads are likely even higher, given the social-distancing measures in place due to the coronavirus outbreak, not to mention that its dip-in-and-out nature means Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the kind of game you want on your Switch permanently.

It’s hard to imagine this success won’t be replicated in the US and elsewhere as those figures emerge. Needless to say it’s well place to surpass the 12 million sales of its predecessor, the 3DS’ Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Do you think it can become the Switch’s best selling title overall? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to check out our ongoing review diary of the game!