Who knew the cute and cuddly creatures you meet on your Animal Crossing adventures were such beasts when it comes to sales? According to the Twitter user and video game statistics aggregator Game Data Library, Animal Crossings: New Horizons beats out Pokemon Red/Green/Blue for the best-selling game of all time in Japan.
With over 10 million copies sold in Japan and over 37 million worldwide, it’s quite a significant and impressive feat for the game. Beating out contenders like the aforementioned Pokemon titles (released back in 1996), Super Mario Bros, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it’s mind-boggling considering what powerhouses these franchises are.
Animal Crossings is Celebrated in Japan
Dubbed Dōbutsu no Mori+ in Japanese, the franchise of Animal Crossings has seen outrageous popularity in the East. While certainly popular in the United States and Europe, the Japanese celebrate the franchise with merchandise and other media. The franchise has a long history as a popular game in the country, beginning on the N64.
What’s also interesting is that the Japanese version of the game also boasts some distinct regional differences, which further ingratiates the Japanese people to the game. This makes a lot of sense, as Nintendo has historically been known to accommodate cultural differences for the different regional versions of their titles. And, as a Japanese company, this all lines up.
As many know, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a fantastic way to spend free time during quarantine. Here’s to hoping for the long-running success of the franchise–we can’t wait to see what’s next.
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