Although Nintendo has had a reasonably lax year by its recent standards, few can deny thatAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswas one of 2020’s most important games.Unifying friends and families during the pandemic, the newest entry in the seminal Nintendo life sim became a worldwide phenomenon, with players taking to social media to show off their towns, arrange visits to capitalize on turnip prices, and share custom designs.
Speaking on the success of the game in a recent interview with Polygon, it seemsNintendo of America President Doug Bowserhas been incredibly impressed withNew Horizons’performance. Speaking on the game’s reception, the Nintendo executive cited its global success as being “well beyond expectations,” claiming the team had no idea it would become such a significant cultural behemoth in the weeks following its release.
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“I don’t know that we expected it to be truly the cultural touchpoint that it became across the globe,” Bowser claims in the interview, discussing how incredible it was to see players “celebrating graduations; having birthday parties [and] weddings” they couldn’t currently hold in the real world. He goes on to mention how players also shared a lot of community creations which has, in his eyes, been a huge reason behind the game becoming such a beloved viral hit.
Additionally, the regular free seasonal content that Nintendo adds to the game has been another feather in its cap, with players returning frequently to see what fresh features have been added to the title. Recently,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsbegan its Holiday-focused season, with the game previously throwing the “Turkey Day” event in accordance with Thanksgiving and currently looking to hold “Toy Day” on Christmas Eve. Speaking on similar updates, Bowser confirmed that Nintendo will be continuing to focus on these significant new content drops during 2021, with the stream of qualityAnimal Crossingcontent set to continue going forward.
For those who somehow missedAnimal Crossing’srise to viral stardom this year, the game was released back in March during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. With many quarantining at home, it soon became an escape for players all across the globe, trending on social media daily. Whether the likes of Brie Larson, Elijah Wood, Danny Trejo, or even Joe Biden, it seems a number of high-profile names have been linked to the title since its release, withStar Wars: Rogue Onewriter, Gary Whitta, even starting his own talk show in the game calledAnimal Talking. As the pandemic rages on into 2021,New Horizonsis sure to continue thriving as a social hub for friends to connect.
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