Collaborative, multiplayer games, casually referred to as “couch-cooperative,” such as “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” “Mario Party” and “Mario Kart” that can be played virtually with others, are making a huge comeback in the gaming world and driving Nintendo’s profits through the roof.
“With families isolating together, Nintendo is one of the few video game systems in which it’s actually quite easy to have several people playing in the same room,” he said.
Nintendo Switch sales skyrocketed 24% in the past year, and Nintendo video game sales soared 42% since March 2019, according to the Japanese video game company’s annual report.
Breakout game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” sold 11.77 million copies in less than two weeks after its initial release in March, and sold 13.44 million in the first six weeks of its release.
The enthusiastic response to Ocasio-Cortez’s presence in Animal Crossing is just one example of how deeply that game, and other Nintendo games, have infiltrated American culture during the pandemic.