The sales figures for New Horizons and what it means going forward

[Shellzilla_515]

It's definitely a concern for me. As many others have said on here, a good chunk of players may have already dropped the game. Moreover, there's probably a huge number of people that weren't satisfied playing the game may be in the tens or even in the hundred thousands. I really do hope Nintendo will put out more meaningful updates as to just getting holiday updates. If they weren't that restrictive with time travel and all that, all the holiday events would be in the game from the start and would heavily focus on the gameplay stuff. Add updates that actually add to the game. Not something that has to be there as an afterthought.

Disclaimer: The developers do not owe us anything. They worked pretty hard on this game and still are. It's just that these issues need to be addressed to increase the longevity of the game for years to come.

 

[ReeBear]

While I would like to hope more sales means Nintendo will put more thought/energy into the games, I'm definitely the kind of materialistic trash who would love to see better/more varied official merchandise for animal crossing. Ideally I'd like to see both but my cynical capitalist heart holds more hope for mediocre merch than QoL gameplay improvements:')

 

[-Blue-]

There are about 3 kinds of players.

1. Dedicated fans who will bought it just because it's the next installment of Animal Crossing.
2. New players who bought it because of the hype and all the self quarantining.
3. New players who bought it because they're just casual gamers looking for a new game to try.

A lot of players from 2 and maybe 3 have probably dropped the game already. I don't think nothing really validates Nintendo's questionable decisions, especially since a lot of us pre-purchased the game before knowing about the direction of the game. A good chunk of players from #1 probably never expected there to only be 1 Nook's Cranny upgrade or all the missing core features of the game, such as diving and art. I for one never expected the updates to be this slow. I for sure thought Nintendo was just holding back the next Nook's Cranny upgrade from time travelers and was going to give us it sometime in May

My main worry about New Horizon selling so well and breaking the records of any other of the series is they may just keep this slow drip feed for the remainder of the franchise. I am glad that the game is getting recognition and doing so well...but at the same time I'm looking at the state of Pokemon and how much backlash Sword and Shield got because of how much they cut the corners with everything. The Pokemon dex is akin to the cut furniture. I'm not a Pokemon fan, but I bought Sword on a whim because I thought 'Let me see what I have been missing since the gameboy era'

I had fun with the game. But little did I know how much they truly cut because I just got back into the series. When I saw examples, pictures, and videos, I saw how alarming the cuts were. I was to Pokemon to what newcomers to NH were. People who just got into the series who didn't know what they were missing.

The slow dripfeed means that the last true big update was diving back in Summer. I see quite a few stating how they are focusing on events for the updates right now. And that is fine. I like a good holiday that gets me in the spirit. Jingle Day? That didn't give me any emotion. It felt so lackluster. Sure figuring out what they wanted in NL was a pain because of how you had to go about it (or just keep resetting until you got it right and then save) but they could had just fixed that version. The idea was cute. Entering someone's house and they thought you were actually Jingle. 'I've been a good girl this year Jingle, do you have a gift for me?' This is the kind of stuff that really brings the event to life. I loved it.

They showed in the Halloween update they could do that. You could dress up as Jack and they thought you were Jack. Their dialogue regarding that was so funny and cute. So it's not like they didn't think about it. They just chose not to do it that way. Halloween and Harvest Day were actually much better in NH, but it's like they phoned it in on Jingle Day. So if they were actually focusing all their time and resources on the events, they really weren't doing a lot.

 

[Angelbearpuppy]

My first animal crossing game was on the game cube. I loved my little town so much. However afterwords I took a break from the series. When the 3ds came out I owned one but could never get into the system itself. It fit weird in my hand and the screen was tiny to me even the XL version. I actually sold it and never looked back. I became more of a pc and consul gamer until the switch. I liked the look of it. Bought it loved the versatility and screen size and it has been my primary game system sense. When New Horizions came out I picked it up due to nostalgia. I remeber actually being afraid that I would not get my physical cooy before the world went pandemic crazy. So I guess I am a new old fan?

Anyways.

Taking a break from the series and coming back might give me some different perspectives. I see a lot of improvements from where I last seen the game and am able to take it more at face value? Even then, the game does stale a bit and I think that is why I have reseted four times. I also took a two month break, although that had more due to a trying semester in college than the game itself.

Taking the pandemic in mind however, I am hopping now that the big holidays are out of the way, that after the anniversary they will focus on putting more smaller events and holidays sprinkled through the game. Looking back at other games I can see some events missing.

They are or were probably strapped for resources and tine like everyone else in the world. So it would make sense for them to focus on the bigger event updates first. At least that is my hope.

The sales and intrest in the game might refule the franchise. But like others said only time will truely tell.

 

[Matt0106]

Hopefully it means Nintendo will :

1. Prioritize a new Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo Switch successor when it is released in 2-3 years from now or so
2. Stop treating AC as a second-thought series and put as much resources in its development as Zelda or Mario enjoys
3. Find some way to have interesting spin-off that can leverage the brand, and its hundreds of lovely characters without being half-arsed Mario Party reskins
4. Explore the commercial potential of leveraging the adorable stable of 460+ characters in that series to make interesting derivative products available
5. Maybe seek out partners for an animation cartoon show that makes the brand an household name just like the Pokémon TV show has done for the last 23 years.

This all sounds really cool! I think the one thing that makes me antsy though is the potential of the Pokemon-effect; that series has taken a hit because each game has to be on time in order to meet with the coordination of all the merchandise and trading cards that are scheduled to be released, as well as the anime, and as we've seen, it is beginning to affect the actual quality of the games.

I'm sort of happy that Animal Crossing is currently popular, but that it is getting the same treatment with Zelda and Mario and it is being treated game first, and then sprinkles of merchandise happen here and there second. I would be very saddened if Nintendo ever went down the same route like the The Pokemon Company and started putting out yearly mediocre entries just to meet the demand of their merchandise.

 

[Plum Pudding]

I thought NH would be like NL but with terraforming. I'm a little bit disappointed and I hate crafting. All the material takes a lot of storage space. Also, I thought pretty much everything could be customised so like, I bought the yellow phone box thinking I could change its colour like I saw on pictures and videos, only to find out that you can't customise it. (Doesn't matter because I like the yellow) but what I mean is that you have to do a lot of research, read tutorials, guides. I naively thought that I could just take my New Leaf knowledge and apply it to NH.

 

[RedPanda]

I would love an update that included mini games akin to the ones that were included in New Leaf with the Welcome Amiibo update. Especially Desert Island Escape because it was a new way to utilize the cute villagers and experience them in a different context that I really enjoyed. Finding new ways to tap into the villagers as a experiential resource would be ideal from my perspective.

I also second the notion of an animated cartoon being an excellent way to promote the franchise and I don’t say that out of total selfishness because I would love to see it!

 

[-Blue-]

I thought NH would be like NL but with terraforming. I'm a little bit disappointed and I hate crafting. All the material takes a lot of storage space. Also, I thought pretty much everything could be customised so like, I bought the yellow phone box thinking I could change its colour like I saw on pictures and videos, only to find out that you can't customise it. (Doesn't matter because I like the yellow) but what I mean is that you have to do a lot of research, read tutorials, guides. I naively thought that I could just take my New Leaf knowledge and apply it to NH.

While NewLeaf had a new idea with you being the mayor and having pwp being able to be decorated around the town to give your place perfect town (or 5 stars in NH's case) it didn't override the main game. You could play the game however you wanted. It was just a new feature/gimmick. It wasn't there to take priority over everything else. It was just there for you to mess with.

I think that's where NH messed up. Terraforming because more than a new feature/gimmick. It became the entirety of the game. The other games had plenty of other things to do, aside from their new features. But that's not the case in NH because if you choose not to terraform you're kind of locking yourself out of 70% or possibly more of the game's features.

 

[RollingAntony]

My main worry about New Horizon selling so well and breaking the records of any other of the series is they may just keep this slow drip feed for the remainder of the franchise. I am glad that the game is getting recognition and doing so well...but at the same time I'm looking at the state of Pokemon and how much backlash Sword and Shield got because of how much they cut the corners with everything. The Pokemon dex is akin to the cut furniture. I'm not a Pokemon fan, but I bought Sword on a whim because I thought 'Let me see what I have been missing since the gameboy era'

I had fun with the game. But little did I know how much they truly cut because I just got back into the series. When I saw examples, pictures, and videos, I saw how alarming the cuts were. I was to Pokemon to what newcomers to NH were. People who just got into the series who didn't know what they were missing.

The slow dripfeed means that the last true big update was diving back in Summer. I see quite a few stating how they are focusing on events for the updates right now. And that is fine. I like a good holiday that gets me in the spirit. Jingle Day? That didn't give me any emotion. It felt so lackluster. Sure figuring out what they wanted in NL was a pain because of how you had to go about it (or just keep resetting until you got it right and then save) but they could had just fixed that version. The idea was cute. Entering someone's house and they thought you were actually Jingle. 'I've been a good girl this year Jingle, do you have a gift for me?' This is the kind of stuff that really brings the event to life. I loved it.

They showed in the Halloween update they could do that. You could dress up as Jack and they thought you were Jack. Their dialogue regarding that was so funny and cute. So it's not like they didn't think about it. They just chose not to do it that way. Halloween and Harvest Day were actually much better in NH, but it's like they phoned it in on Jingle Day. So if they were actually focusing all their time and resources on the events, they really weren't doing a lot.

Pokémon cuts don't affect new fans of the series and the majority of the old players aren't affected as well.

What do you mean about Jingle Day? They had special dialogue if you were dressed as Santa both before starting the main Jingle task and during it. There was also special dialogue if you did the second task that carried over to the next day. Apologies, I'm only confused that you might have missed all that dialogue?

 

[RoyalTea]

It does worry me a little bit, because I'm concerned AC might turn into a town builder. I hope they go back to the roots of the original game in the next one and make it more villager-focused rather than being all about town decoration.

But remember that from a business standpoint... this coming to pass would really be the only logical option. Animal Crossing as it has been had never garnered widespread success. It’s been a curiosity in the gaming world. It’s a cult classic with a small, dedicated following.

Look at the recent more popular games that are even remotely similar:

• Stardew Valley
• Terraria
• Pokemon
• I’ll even throw Harvest Moon into the mix

They’re all builders/collectors of some kind. Base building style games enjoy widespread success. Stardew Valley has gone from indie darling to megastar with minimal character development and repetitive game play.

If I were a large company with shareholders...I’d be looking at these games to tell me what to make next.

The sad truth is there is too much risk in innovation for most large companies, which is why it’s often left to indie developers to advance genres and seek out new play styles.

For those who don’t understand shareholders... basically if i pay you $1 to make a product... but I expect you to pay me back $25 AND you’ll still need to cover all your expenses as you continue to sell that product... are you going to make the most original product that people have never seen before and may or may not like? Or are you going to make something that you know people like and will most likely sell? Either way I expect $25. You can either pay me out of your pocket or profits. But if you don’t pay me, i will not give you money for your next project.

Tl;dr
Innovation is a really big risk for a large franchise. I think we can expect Animal Crossing to become more like some other popular games in the future despite its flash in the pan success.

 

[Mezzanine]

Deleted

 

[RollingAntony]

But remember that from a business standpoint... this coming to pass would really be the only logical option. Animal Crossing as it has been had never garnered widespread success. It’s been a curiosity in the gaming world. It’s a cult classic with a small, dedicated following.

Genuinely curious why you think AC is a cult classic/it had never widespread success when its a franchise with two entries above 10 million copies sold. Most franchises never reach those numbers (Nintendo wise, only 2D and 3D Mario, Mario Kart and Pokémon) so even before NH it had already reached astounding numbers.

I do think the series as a whole is/was kind of underrated and overlooked by the capital g "Gamers", the "enthusiasts" who predicted FFVIIR/TLOU2 to sell more and evidenced by many Gamers surprised at the numbers. Of course NH being an ultra hit made some of these Gamers realize there is a franchise out there named Animal Crossing and why game journalism focused so much on the game after release; but the franchise was already big and firmly established.

 

[RoyalTea]

Genuinely curious why you think AC is a cult classic/it had never widespread success when its a franchise with two entries above 10 million copies sold. Most franchises never reach those numbers (Nintendo wise, only 2D and 3D Mario, Mario Kart and Pokémon) so even before NH it had already reached astounding numbers.

I didn’t look up numbers before posting and so yes, I’m a bit surprised that Wild World has those kinds of numbers. My post was purely casual conjecture.

After looking at the figures, the franchise definitely carries more weight than I previously thought.

 

[R. Planet]

I think the ONLY thing that is certain now that AC has had it's biggest hit, is that we will absolutely not have to wait 7 years or whatever for the next installment.

 

[mermaidshelf]

I would love if AC got something close to the budget that Zelda got for BOTW. I wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer for the next release as long as it feels like a complete game. I know this isn't an ACNH only problem or even limited to just Nintendo. The whole gaming industry has now standardized selling incomplete games that we need DLCs for, oftentimes paid.

 

[Licorice]

I’m hoping this means even more updates in the future and an overall longer lifespan for this game.