Animal Crossing: New Horizons had a huge year, and it has officially broken the one-year sales record for Nintendo of Europe. During the last year, it dominated the charts, selling a staggering 7 million units.
According to information from Nintendo shared with GamesIndustry.biz, those game sales account for about one-third of all Switch owners in Europe. Nintendo’s investor site puts the total sales figures for the game at just over 31 million, meaning about 24 million copies have been sold in other regions. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has previously set a short-term launch sales record for Europe back in 2018, though it doesn’t appear Nintendo specified if that game also held the one-year record.
A few factors likely made it easier for Animal Crossing to set the new record. Aside from its acclaim and the series’ overall popularity, it released three years after the Switch first launched, meaning there was a larger player-base for the game out of the gate. Of course, COVID-19 also kept people inside all year, and New Horizons allowed them to stay connected. Certain politicians even recommended this specifically early on in the pandemic. Prior to a policy change from Nintendo, some, like now-President Biden, even used the game for their campaigns.
It’s helped that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has gotten a steady stream of content updates, too. We just saw “Shamrock Day” items based on St. Patrick’s Day make their way to the game, and Easter-themed “Bunny Day” items are coming tomorrow. Even Mario couldn’t stay off the island, with his own goodies available to celebrate the franchise’s latest Switch release, and you’ll have to be careful of the April Fools’ Day items coming in the next update.
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