Fans and critics alike knew that Animal Crossing New Horizons would be a smash hit. The only question was how many units the game would end up selling. On Tuesday, Famitsu reported opening weekend sales figure for Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch, and the results surpassed expectations.

Right Out of the Gate

Faster than Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Breath of the Wild. Super Mario Odyssey. Pokemon Sword and Shield. Animal Crossing New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch is now the record holder for opening weekend sales in Japan.

On Tuesday, Famitsu reported that Animal Crossing sold over 1.88 million copies on opening weekend in Japan. This sales figure is more than Nintendo’s other popular franchises, such as Smash, Zelda, Pokemon, and Mario. In addition, this data only includes physical copies sold. Because Japan is limiting access to retail outlets due to the coronavirus, digital sales might have surpassed physical.

Not only is Animal Crossing selling better than any other Nintendo game, but it is also helping to sell hardware. Nintendo sold almost 400,000 Switch units the week prior to the Animal Crossing launch, which brings the total units sold in Japan to over 13 million. Once retailers receive the next shipment of Animal Crossing Special Edition next month, we anticipate hardware figures to spike even further.

Nintendo’s fiscal year report is set to release next month, and it will be interesting to see the total number of Animal Crossing sales worldwide.

Conclusion

While it is not unusual for Mario and Zelda games to dominate Nintendo sales, Animal Crossing for the Nintendo Switch is a pleasant surprise. Although the game might not reach the sales volume of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it will be curious to see the worldwide popularity of Animal Crossing. But we want to know what you think. Are you currently subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online? If so, did you buy Animal Crossing for the Nintendo Switch? Let us know in the comments below or the social media links on the right. Also, be sure to check out our other news items on Pokemon, Modern Warfare, Capcom, Blizzard and more.

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