Despite being originally created as a cheerful, social simulation game series for children, Animal Crossing has settled as one of the most popular Nintendo games for adults. Since the first release in 2001, the game’s been sold in over 70 million units. The last of the series, New Horizons, broke the previous record for most Nintendo Switch game copies sold in a single month, selling over 40 million units.

In the age of a pandemic-struck world, social distancing, and distress, Animal Crossing has brought comfort and happiness to players’ lives over the last few years. As a psychologist, Dr. Rachel Kowert points out:

“During lockdowns, people were very self-aware that they were loving Animal Crossing because it was meeting three needs: being in control, being good at things, and having friends when those three needs could not be as well met at other places.” — Source

As a player myself, I find Animal Crossing emotionally soothing and relaxing because of the lack of violent elements. Even an occasional encounter with a tarantula running around your island in late evening hours, innocently ends with restarting the game.

Instead of mimicking real life, Animal Crossing focuses on showing the beauty of simple moments in life, such as the passing time. For instance, you can gradually watch how seasons slowly change from spring filled with cherry blossom petals to a cold and snowy winter.