Nintendo`s "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" Video Game Is An Escape From The Corona Virus Lockdown!

As the world is waiting out the corona virus pandemic in lockdown, in-home entertainment in the form of video gaming has seen exponential growth in terms of demand. In particular, Nintendo’s “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” has taken over some countries like the USA, the UK, and Japan. Released on March 20th, 2020, the video game has broken previous sales record since its launch in Japan and the UK. According to Famitsu, Animal Crossing sold 1.88 million copies in Japan, having beaten other popular video games such as Pokemon Sword, Pokemon Shield, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The game was launched at the right time, as people all over the world are stuck at home in isolation to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Animal Crossing can be played on the Nintendo Switch, which itself has become a high-selling product, as people of all ages are able to keep themselves entertained during lockdown.

The corona virus pandemic has had a positive impact on the overall video gaming industry. As more and more people across the globe are quarantined at their houses, they are looking for other ways to keep themselves occupied within the confines of their isolation. Video gaming has emerged as a popular means of entertainment which also allows for social connectivity over digital platforms. For example, in China, Steam, which is a major PC digital game distribution platform, reached the highest count of users at 19.1 million in February when China was in lockdown. In the US, Verizon reported that gaming internet traffic has gone up 75% since quarantine came into effect. Streaming service Twitch saw a 20% increase from the previous year in the hours of content consumed since the lockdown.

COVID-19 has also helped remove the stigma from playing games online, as many people previously believed gaming to be a waste of time, but are now invested in activities such as building their islands on the video game Animal Crossing

Nintendo is a major player in the global video game software market. The Global Market Model has estimated slight decline in the global video game software market in 2020, at -0.5% annual growth rate. This is due to economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures being taken to contain it. Despite this, the market is then expected to recover and grow at an annual rate of 11% from 2021 and reach $223.2 billion in 2023.

The Global Market Model is the world’s most comprehensive database of integrated market information available. The ten-year forecasts in the Global Market Model are updated in real time to reflect the latest market realities, which is a huge advantage over static, report-based platforms.

*The model is based on the consumption of goods and services in monetary terms (nominal growth), and therefore differ from GDP forecasts published by many leading institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.