Video games have become a powerful coping tool as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to spread. Developers are making their games free or cheap, Pokémon Go was made easier to play indoors, and Twitch is skyrocketing in popularity. Animal Crossing: New Horizons seems almost ideally suited for this scenario.
It’s a game where players can live a relaxed life in the outdoors, and safely meet up with friends online. It’s cute and charming, and the desperate circumstances have made the anticipation around an already popular game even greater. A cursory glance at Twitter reveals fans begging Nintendo to release New Horizons early or counting down the days until it comes out. It’s not a situation Nintendo could’ve planned for, but the game’s creators are hoping the new game can help players in some way.
“I am very disheartened and saddened.”
“We’ve been planning this release for quite some time, so it’s unfortunate that this timing overlapped with what’s currently happening in the world,” New Horizons producer Hisashi Nogami tells The Verge. “I am very disheartened and saddened by the events happening across the world. Considering the timing, we hope that a lot of the Animal Crossing fans will use this as an escape, so they can enjoy themselves during this difficult time.”
One element that should help with this is New Horizons’ simultaneous global release. 2012’s New Leaf, for instance, launched in Japan several months before the rest of the world, so there was some disconnect between regions. But with virtually everyone on the planet currently impacted by the pandemic in some form, New Horizons director Aya Kyogoku says that a simultaneous release is particularly important now.
“It’s the kind of game you want to enjoy with other people, and talk about it, and share the experience with your friends and family,” she says. “So I think that a global, simultaneous release is a really good approach for the franchise.”
Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches on March 20th on the Nintendo Switch. Stay tuned for more from our interview with Kyogoku and Nogami later this week.
MikeTHR on March 21st, 2020 at 07:10 UTC »
My dad passed away just over two weeks ago. Animal Crossing on GameCube was his favorite game ever and he must've put thousands of hours into that save file. I really wanted to surprise him with a Switch and Animal Crossing.
My family had to cancel his funeral because of COVID-19, and the world just seems to be falling apart now. I can't tell you how good it feels to play Animal Crossing. I almost teared up when I played it for the first time today and the Nook kids came on the screen.
I needed this game right now. The world needed this game.
Cripnite on March 21st, 2020 at 04:59 UTC »
Just bought it for my wife who’s been very stressed this week (my job entails me being in the midst of a lot of potentially sick people and it’s considered essential) and she spent the last hour and half destressing and enjoying it. Worth every penny.
ReverieLagoon on March 21st, 2020 at 04:43 UTC »
There is no game that is more fitting for a bizarre time like this than Animal Crossing