People In Japan Are Ignoring Social Distancing To Wait In Line For New Animal Crossing Book

TheGamer

By Scott Baird

Published May 11, 2020

The love for Animal Crossing is such that people in Japan are willing to risk their own lives (and the lives of those they love) to own a piece of it.

The love for Animal Crossing is such that people in Japan are willing to risk their own lives (and the lives of those they love) to own a piece of it, as people are queuing up with a flagrant disregard for social distancing in an effort to purchase a strategy guide for New Horizons.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the biggest games of 2020. The game represents the long-awaited return of the series to a home console and it has captured the imagination of fans across the world, who have taken to social media in droves to discuss the game. In the space of a few short weeks, New Horizons has become the sixth best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time and is poised to rise up the ranks over the course of 2020.

There are several strategy guides for Animal Crossing: New Horizons being released in Japan at the moment. According to Kotaku, there are three books that are all over one thousand pages each. These books are currently difficult to find, which is why people are forgoing their health to try and nab a copy. A picture shared by Mari Saito on Twitter (originally uploaded on Yahoo Japan) shows people queuing up outside a Kinokuniya store in Shinjuku to buy one of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides. The picture shows them queuing up in close proximity, with no regard for maintaining distance in order to prevent a potential spread of COVID-19. According to Kotaku, around a hundred people showed up to try and buy a book.

These Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides are highly sought after due to many elements of the game still being unclear, even after it has been in the hands of fans for several weeks. The guides are so desired, in fact, that they have become almost impossible to purchase online.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a beloved title, but it's not worth risking sickness or exposing others to sickness. This is a game that will be around forever and a strategy guide is not a worthwhile reason to visit a store in these times.

Next: Animal Crossing Localizer Explains The Magic Behind The Game (And Why He Wrote That Sea Bass Joke)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.

Source: Mari Saito/Twitter, Yahoo Japan, Kotaku