Animal Crossing Hits 3 Million In Japan, Anime Planned

A report on the website of Japanese newspaper Hochi Simbun, as translated by consumer game website IGN, has reported that three million copies of Animal Crossing: Wild World on the Nitnendo DS have now been shipped to Japan. Current official Media Create game sales figures put the game’s sell-through total, as of last week, at 2,645,481, but additional supplies have obviously been shipped to keep up with demand. Released in November of last year the game was the most successful of 2005 and has not been out of the Japanese top ten since, in fact returning to the number one spot as recently as March. The game has proven a more moderate success in North America, but its success in Europe, where it was released only recently, has already shown some of the same longevity as in Japan. As a result of the game’s success Nintendo has already hinted at plans for a Wii version and is also planning an animated movie, to open in Japan this December. Unnamed members of the game’s development team are said to be involved in the production, which will apparently retain the themes which has made it so popular – despite the fact that the game has no overarching storyline or ending. The director of the movie will be Jouji Shimura, who has previously worked on properties such as Master Keaton and Shin Angyo Onshi. Nintendo has previously hinted at plans to enter the animation business, although it is unclear whether this new Animal Crossing project is a major part of those plans, or merely a separate response to the game’s success.