Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the biggest Nintendo Switch launch to date in Japan.
According toFamitsudata, the Switch exclusive sold some 1.88 million copies in its first 3 days on sale in Japan, clearly surpassing the previous record holderPokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield(1.3m). PreviouslySuper Smash Bros. Ultimatesold around 1.2 million during its launch week in Japan.
Around 392,000Nintendo Switchconsoles were sold in the week ending March 22, which is the console’s biggest sales week ever in Japan – higher than even its launch (330k).
The Famitsu data does not include digital sales, so New Horizons’ actual sales numbers will be even higher, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Retail group Geo had previously indicatedrecord sales for Animal Crossingin Japan, but this is the first report of actual numbers.
To date, 2013’s Animal Crossing: New Leaf is the best selling franchise entry, with more than 12 million units sold worldwide.
One independent game analyst has predicted New Horizons will comfortably beat that figure in its first few months.
“Whatever your optimistic sales expectations forAnimal Crossing New Horizonslaunch sales were, I can already tell you it’s too low,” wrote analystBenji Sales.
In the UK,Animal Crossing: New Horizons also achieved the biggest launch for a single Nintendo Switch game.
The Switch exclusive’s launch sales were 3.5 times bigger than the last game in the series, 2013’s Animal Crossing: New Leaf onNintendo 3DS, according to VGC network partnerGI.biz.
In fact, New Horizons sold more copies in its first on-sale week than the launch sales of all previous Animal Crossing games combined.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons reviewswere published on Monday ahead of the game’s release.
VGC’sAnimal Crossing: New Horizons reviewsays the “comforting life sim is a tranquil haven at a time the world needs it most”.
