Animal Crossing breaks decades-long Japanese sales record

The launch of Animal Crossing New Horizons back in 2020 was a phenomenon in many ways – quickly becoming the second-best-selling game of all time on Nintendo Switch. That said, in Japan the game has managed to exceed even this, having now broken a decades-long sales record held by the original 1996 Pokémon.

Since its release back in 1996, Pokémon Red/Green has held its position as the best-selling game(s) of all time in Japan with 7.93 million copies sold in the region alone.

While this record was technically already broken by Animal Crossing New Horizons back in 2022, the game has now doubly secured its position at the top of the podium, with industry analyst Genki_JPN revealing:

“Animal Crossing New Horizons has sold over 8 million physical units in Japan and is the best selling physical game ever in Japan above Pokémon Red and Green!”

Given the fact that digital gaming didn’t exist back in the 90s (especially on consoles/handhelds) Pokémon’s physical and total sales share the same figure.

As such, Animal Crossing not only superseding Pokémon both in terms of total sales, but now also physical, puts it in a league of its own – and with physical media becoming less of a factor as the years progress it is possible that this new record may never be beaten.

KitGuru says: Are you surprised by the overwhelming success of Animal Crossing New Horizons? Will its record ever be beaten? Do you still buy physical games? Let us know down below.

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