Animal Crossing: New Horizons breaks Switch sales records in Japan

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game in Japan.

According to Famitsu data, the title sold 1.88 million games in just three days in the country. By comparison, the previous 3-day Switch record was held by Pokémon Sword and Shield, which sold over 1.36 million copies (both games combined). The previous standalone game record was Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which managed 1.24 million units in three days.

The game's sales far outstripped the opening performance of its predecessor, Animal Crossing: New Leaf on 3DS. That game achieved just under 722,000 sales during its opening three days.

The data does not include digital download figures.

The launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has seen a huge spike in Switch console sales, too. Just over 392,500 Switch machines (both original and Lite versions) were sold last week in Japan, which is more than 585% up over the previous week. Switch has now shifted 13 million consoles in Japan.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has also broken records in the UK, and is the second biggest Switch launch in the market after Pokémon Sword and Shield.