During this pandemic, we need something to cheer us up and ways to bring us together even though we can’t be together physically. It’s times like these where video games can really help us fulfill a need for social interaction. 

Even though I don’t own the game myself (yet) I can see just how much of an impact Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH), which is a game for the Nintendo Switch, is having on people all around the world. It’s a game that honestly couldn’t have come out at a better time. When playing ACNH, you can do things such as garden, go fishing, catch bugs, find fossils, and work on building your island up from nothing into a flourishing village. Animal Crossing gives people a way to come together virtually, by allowing players to open their islands to their friends. I’ve seen articles about people having birthday parties over Animal Crossing, and I even saw that a man surprised his fiancée with a wedding on Animal Crossing after their actual wedding had to be canceled due to the pandemic. While Animal Crossing can’t replace real interactions, it at least gives us another type of media to enjoy with friends during this time of social distancing. 

Alissa Garguilo (‘20) has been a fan of the Animal Crossing series since she was nine years old and played Animal Crossing: Wild World on her Nintendo DS. She also played the Animal Crossing game City Folk on the Wii. Although she only bought a Switch last week, she’s been playing Animal Crossing for almost two or three hours every day since then. “I’d definitely be playing it more if I had less schoolwork, though,” said Garguilo. 

I asked her if she thinks the game is bringing people together, and Garguilo agreed, “I do think it brings people together because they can play together and share a common interest. It’s also brought people together because it’s something fun and lighthearted to talk about it instead of everything else that’s happening in the world.”

There’s so much to do in the game, such as bringing new villagers to your island and making the island as beautiful as possible. “I really enjoy fixing up my island and advancing the game. It’s always very exciting when I get to do things like building a bridge or upgrade to building Nook’s store. My favorite little activity though is fishing,” Garguilo said, “There are just so many more things you can do in the game that you couldn’t do in Animal Crossing games before. I feel like ACNH has more of a storyline, and you can really make your island your own. I also love how the characters are more customizable in terms of outfits and hairstyles and accessories.”

Right now, Animal Crossing is one of the world’s most popular games. Nintendo has sold 1.88 million copies in just three days, according to data from March 25. ACNH is also the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game in Japan. 

According to Famitsu, a Japanese website about video games, “The launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has seen a huge spike in Switch console sales, too. Just over 392,500 Switch machines (both original and Lite versions) were sold last week in Japan, which is more than 585% up over the previous week. Switch has now shifted 13 million consoles in Japan.” (GameIndustry Biz) This data also doesn’t even include digital sales. 

It’s safe to say that Animal Crossing is making waves across the world for all of the right reasons. Hopefully, it is a game that continues to brighten people’s days and bring people together as we all make our way through this quarantine period and come out of this quarantine time.