Animal Crossing: New Horizons had a majorly successful launch in March 2020, the same month in which the COVID-19 pandemic brought millions into their homes. The Nintendo Switch in particular experienced great success that year and was one of the hardest-to-find consoles at the time. Nintendo effectively capitalized on this by releasing a Animal Crossing: New Horizons special edition Switch close to the game’s launch, turning the heads of collectors, prospective Switch owners, and Animal Crossing fans.
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This special edition Switch was the basis for a wooden Christmas ornament an Animal Crossing: New Horizons fan made for the holiday season. This fan, who goes by the username AdamanArticuno on Reddit, made the piece by painting a piece of wood and adding in details using a laser cutter, such as the realistic buttons on the ornament’s Joy-Con controllers. The artwork inscribed on the ornament’s screen was adapted from art made by user Alex_Plalex. It shows the Animal Crossing villager Marshal fishing in a river.
Other fan-made Animal Crossing Christmas ornaments often feature characters from the games, like series icons Isabelle and KK Slider, rather than real-world Animal Crossing products. Regardless, multiple fans can be seen in the comments of the post speaking on how much they would like to have their own Nintendo Switch ornament. Many were impressed at the amount of detail the creator put into the wooden piece, some even admitting to initially mistaking it for official merchandise made by Nintendo.
The popularity of Animal Crossing merchandise in recent years can be attributed to the series’ active fanbase which grew significantly with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Having the series come to one of the most popular consoles on the market did wonders to introduce millions to the wholesome and colorful world of Animal Crossing. Perhaps more significantly, it also showed just how big of an audience there was for cutesy social-simulation games.
Games like Disney Dreamlight Valley and Cozy Grove both experienced great success in the wake of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the last of which got its final major update in November 2021. The Animal Crossing series is known for having large amounts of time between entries, so fans of the series looking for something new still have things to play. The continued popularity of these games could potentially inspire even more developers to create their own take on the genre.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available for Nintendo Switch.
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Source: Reddit
