| PAOerfulone said: Apples and oranges. GTA V released on PS3/360 just 2 months before the launch of the PS4/XOne. It did monstrous, gangbuster numbers because in terms of scope, size, and openness, it was Breath of the Wild BEFORE Breath of the Wild. And it was seen as the last big swansong of the PS3 and 360 before moving on to the next generation. Then, when they got ported to PS4 and XOne, pretty much all of the people who bought it on the old consoles bought it again as one of the first games they played when the got the new consoles + new gen gamers who wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And overall, the game's monstrous success is based almost entirely on its own merit. The biggest reason why it's at 135 million copies in 7 years and STILL not slowing down, is because the game is just that damn good. Animal Crossing is not doing this on its own merit. It's monstrous success is unquestionably boosted by a worldwide pandemic that caught everyone off guard. And with everyone basically trapped indoors, most turned to video games as a time-killer and a source of comfort and escapism, and New Horizons was the PERFECT game to fulfill ALL of these needs. It was a right place, right time scenario. Once this pandemic is finally over and things go back to normal (whatever 'normal' will be moving forward), it'll still have steady legs because it'll still get the new gamers year after year who want to see what the fuss is about. But it's not going to be the same beast it once was. Just like Pokemon isn't the same beast it once was when it was on top of the world in the late '90s. Sooner or later, that bubble is going to pop, and while Animal Crossing will still be one of Nintendo's biggest franchises moving forward. I don't think any game after New Horizons will ever reach these same levels again. |
This is flawed as how come only ACNH is benefitting from the pandemic and no other game then? Right time and scenario yet only one game is benefitting? At this point it feels some people are using the pandemic as an excuse to play down the sales like they did with the Switch sales last year what further calls what you said here out is the Pokemon part as S/S is now the third best selling game on the way to be the second best selling after breaking 20m for the first time since the 90s Pokemon is still very much the same beast.
GTAV sold well because it's good and with wide appeal to sell over time on top of what it sells upfront and is on multiple platforms (5 with a 6th being added) AC does the same as an exclusive the sales for NH have been brewing for a while with two 10m sellers and a massive cult following being generated from them, the unified userbase and momentum of the Switch it's like when people thought MK wouldn't sell MKWii level sales again yet here we are with MK8D.
