Pandemic boosts variety of video games

You're stuck in lockdown but that doesn't mean you can't visit a tropical island, a space station or have games night with your friends - certain video games have filled the need of the world's confined for a bit of distraction, adventure and socializing and achieved unexpected success during the pandemic.

No adversaries or competition in "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" which came out in March for Nintendo's Switch console. Instead players explore an island, collecting fruit and making tools and furniture, trading with others, as the seasons slowly change.

This version of the game certainly hit the spot with players hungry for a bit of light-hearted diversion. It powered to the top of the sales charts in the United States in March 2020, and was among top sellers in other countries as well.

It was the number two title in Europe for 2020 overall, according to GfK.

"The smashing success of Animal Crossing is explained by two factors: one is an underlying trend towards family games and the other is the short-term factor of the confinement," said Nicolas Vignolles, head of the association of French video game publisher association SELL.

He said parents suddenly confronted with being confined with their children looked to video games to find options for family entertainment, and that "Animal Crossing was an ideal game for parent-child interaction."

Nintendo's chief in France, Philippe Lavoue, has acknowledged the firm's lucky timing of releasing the game just as many people were needing an escape.

"But we were happy to have helped confined people feel less lonely and to escape mentally," he told the French newspaper Le Figaro.

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