Nintendo has released its latest financial report, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is on track to becoming the best-selling Switch game of all time, with 31 million copies sold in under a year. The current best-selling Switch game is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has continued the tradition of a Mario Kart game dominating on each Nintendo system.
The response to New Horizons over the past year has been staggering. Nintendo saw a massive revenue boost in 2020, thanks to interest in the Switch caused by the COVID lockdowns. The release of New Horizons couldn't have been more perfect, as it launched just as people were looking for a way to escape from their daily lives, and find a way to spend time with their friends in a digital space. It didn't take long for New Horizons to become the second best-selling Nintendo Switch game, which is a staggering feat, considering it was competing with games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon Sword & Shield.
Nintendo was predicted to have a big holiday season, but the real winner was the Animal Crossing franchise. Nintendo has released its latest financial report on its website, and we now know that New Horizons has sold 31.18 million units to date, sitting just behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with its 33.41 million units sold. It's looking likely that New Horizons will beat Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by the end of 2021.
If New Horizons outsells Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, then it will be the first time that a Nintendo console will have a best-selling game that doesn't feature Mario since the Wii. Even that is debatable, as the Wii's best-selling game was Wii Sports, which was a pack-in game. If pack-in games aren't counted, then the best-selling Wii game would be Mario Kart Wii. A victory for Tom Nook and his friends would represent an unprecedented victory against Mario, though Nintendo isn't likely to complain.
The Nintendo Switch keeps growing in popularity, and the attach rate for both New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is staggering. The love for the mainline Nintendo franchises keeps getting stronger, but we might see more of a focus on the Animal Crossing universe in the future. New Horizons has provided a lot of entertainment and solace for people over the past year, and its popularity is well-deserved. We can think of few games as worthy to dethrone Mario Kart 8 Deluxe than New Horizons.
Source: Nintendo