The Nintendo Switch's 2020 schedule is currently extremely bare, but Tom Nook and his friends might be holding up the entire year in terms of sales, as the UK launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is over three times more successful than that of Animal Crossing: New Leaf during the same timeframe.
The Animal Crossing series has been one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, but it has been stuck on handheld systems for a while now. The last console Animal Crossing (if you discount the awful Amiibo Festival spin-off) was City Folk on the Wii. Much like the release of Pokémon Sword & Shield as the first Pokémon games on a home console, there was a lot of anticipation for the first mainline Animal Crossing game on a home console in over a decade, in the form of Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch.
It seems that the love for Animal Crossing is as strong as ever, as the game has seen phenomenal success in the UK during its launch week. According to Christopher Dring from GamesIndustry.biz, the sales of Animal Crossing: New Horizons were 3.5 bigger than those of New Leaf during the same time period in the UK. The sales during this launch period are better than all of the other Animal Crossing titles combined, which doesn't even factor the digital sales of the game.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf sold 12.45 million units and would go on to become the seventh best-selling game on the Nintendo 3DS. It's possible that Animal Crossing: New Horizons could reach even greater heights, especially due to the current coronavirus situation causing people to self-isolate and stay at home as much as possible.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is facing stiff competition if it wants to become the best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time, as it will have to defeat the juggernaut that is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and its 22.96 million units sold. With this strong start in the UK, it's possible that Animal Crossing: New Horizons might just have what it take to knock Mario out of the top spot.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Christopher Dring/Twitter