Was Animal Crossing: New Horizons just a pandemic pastime?

Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic kicking in. On March 20t, 2020, millions of fans had a new pastime to make their dull and boring quarantine days much more exciting.

Sadly, the craze around the latest title from the fan-favorite Nintendo franchise has plummeted as the pandemic is on the verge of ending, and people can finally go back to their lives. The type of content that once excited players doesn't get them excited anymore.

While Nintendo has promised to bring in fresh content real soon, as players get back to their busy lifestyles, they don't have the patience to wait for long.

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Is the current Animal Crossing: New Horizons content enough for its 31+ million players?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons shattered all sales records in the few months following its release. By December 31st 2020, the game had already sold 31.8 million copies worldwide, confirming its invaluable companionship to everyone during the pandemic.

Players could decorate their islands creatively, enjoy hanging out with their villagers and participate in interesting events. Unfortunately, all of this had a short lifespan, similar to the previous Animal Crossing titles.

The story with every title from the franchise is always the same, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is no different. With all the titles having essentially the same core elements, the upgrade only comes in terms of graphics and better gameplay.

Naturally, the hype is huge mostly around the time the game releases and slowly dies down. In the case of New Horizons, it exceeded all expectations merely because of the timing of the launch, that is, during the pandemic. But if Nintendo fails to include the desperately asked for changes such as an increase in island size, more events and more critters, Animal Crossing: New Horizons might not have a chance at being saved.