expansion and the free update as being comparable to "a big lick of paint over the whole game". The depth and quantity of new content were praised, and minor improvements were deemed to "really make it worth sticking around", though the finality of the update was criticized. Retrospective Due to the seasonal and real-time connection in New Horizons, the game saw multiple second opinions by critics and fans as new content was released, usually of positive to mixed reception. According to Vice Media and VentureBeat about 6 weeks after the release date, players who played the game for large amounts of time shortly after its release tended to suffer from burnout and play significantly less by the time the game had been released for six weeks. Vice Media noted how the game wasn't designed for people to be playing all the time and was rather intended for distraction, but "the pandemic isn't giving people much of a choice"; they reflected on the nature of the Animal Crossing series and how the game is better enjoyed at a slower pace of action. Venturebeats Jeff Grubb was able to recognize smaller hindrances and slow-paced gameplay that became increasingly frustrating the more he had to use them. Despite this, both reviewers continued to play and looked on the game positively by April 2020. A year later, past reviews were revisited by Andrew Webster and Brendan Lowry, writing for The Verge and iMore respectively, and both expressed similar thoughts of what the game had become; they both agreed the lack of island progression not continuing beyond a few months made returning difficult to enjoy, with iMore expressing concerns for the lack of upgrades to components such as buildings and shops, and The Verge considering the Nook Miles system to be "an afterthought" rather than goals to look forward to. Both still continued to enjoy daily tasks of tending to the island, however, with both citing how it gives the player something to do and offers a small distraction from the real world. By the release of the November 2021 update, fans were torn on restarting their island entirely to recapture the experience, as highlighted by Nicole Carpenter, writing for Polygon. Sales Animal Crossing New Horizons sold over 1.88million physical copies at launch in Japan, breaking the record held by Pokémon Sword and Shield for biggest Switch game debut in the region. The game sold