Animal Crossing New Horizons: A Virtual Island Getaway

During the peak of shelter-in-place restrictions in the United States, the weight of daily stresses felt ten times heavier while quarantined at home. Because of this, many people turned to finding an escape in the virtual island paradise of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Designed for the Nintendo Switch, New Horizons is the latest iteration of the social simulation game Animal Crossing that first came out in Japan in 2001 (Khan). Just four months after its release in March 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons had sold over 22 million copies worldwide (McFerran). But why has this game captured the hearts of so many people?

In New Horizons, players fly solo in transforming an island into a bustling society fully equipped with shops, homes, gardens, and more. Filled with anthropomorphic animals to keep the player company, the island can be built at the leisure of the player: there is no time limit, no enemies, no high scores, and no pressure. Romana Ramzan, a lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland who teaches game narrative said, “They get absorbed into the day-to-day things without the real-world consequences… It’s the universe you’ve always wanted but can’t get” (Khan).

And that is why so many people have turned to playing New Horizons as their daily getaway from reality. It is helping players feign the white-picket-fence American dream that has become ever so elusive. Players can own property, start small businesses, and decorate their islands any way they want. Even though doing these things can cause debt to be accumulated quite quickly, unlike in the real world, it can be paid off easily to the charming raccoon that runs the island. And the player is able to achieve whatever they want, at their own pace because New Horizons does not have a final level or an ending; the game continues forever. Even if the excitement surrounding New Horizons dies down as our country begins to pick up its place again, it will be comforting for players to know that their virtual safe haven will always be there waiting for them.

Works Cited

Khan, Imad. “Why Animal Crossing Is the Game for the Coronavirus Moment.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/arts/animal- crossing-covid-coronavirus-popularity-millennials.html.

McFerran, Damien. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons Has Sold Over 22 Million Copies.” Nintendo Life, NLife Media, 6 Aug. 2020, www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/animal_ crossing_new_horizons_has_sold_over_22_million_copies.