There is an even darker side to Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ than players think - the game's Black Market. The latest installment of the franchise has received a lot of buzz since its release on March 20, 2020, particularly when it comes to its Black Market aspect outside the game itself. Some fans have even taken it upon themselves to use the game to replace real-life events given the current situation with the Coronavirus.
The Animal Crossing franchise is known for being more lighthearted than many other games on the market, entertaining players since the series’ debut in 2001 in Japan. In the latest installment, gamers can use the Custom Designs Portal to customize their homes and clothing. Through this creative aspect of the game, many players have crafted room designs that pay tribute to popular novel and film franchises, such as Harry Potter and Pokémon.
According to Twinfinite, there is a darker side to Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Black Market, and it made one player a millionaire. By selling a villager named Ozzie on Noozakon – a website that functions like Amazon, but for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and users spend Bells instead of real money for their items – this player was able to acquire one million bells in exchange for Ozzie’s adoption by another player.
Ozzie’s seller was as shocked by the offer as anyone else, as they used Noozakon as an experiment just to see how much someone would offer for the villager, without the intention to actually sell him. However, when the offer of one million bells came in via the virtual chat platform Discord, this Animal Crossing: New Horizons mayor couldn’t turn such a lucrative offer down, despite how sad it made Ozzie to be the victim of nonviolent human trafficking by being forced to move somewhere else - though the villager had decided to move anyway and was simply given a new home in a new village. However, one million Bells isn’t the highest price for a villager, with some selling for 10 million Bells or more.
The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Black Market is mostly used for players to buy and sell items used to decorate their homes and characters, spending Bells – the game’s currency – to acquire their items from other players. However, the selling of one’s villager to someone else is a sure sign that people are not only committed to the game, but also willing to engage in virtual nefariousness in their desperation to entertain themselves during the coronavirus pandemic. At least their darker sides are coming out in a video game as opposed to real life.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons released on March 20, 2020 and is available on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Twinfinite