The crossover between Sanrio and ‘Animal Crossing’ might be the best yet

The crossover between Sanrio and Animal Crossing: New Horizons goes live in just a few days, so here’s what you need to know to take advantage of this sugary sweet collaboration. Nintendo initially made the announcement in February with a two-minute clip on YouTube that showed the addition of Sanrio amiibo cards. You can grab the ACNH crossover pack for $5.99 at Target on March 26.

The Sanrio amiibo cards come with their items and characters so residents can invite new figures from the Sanrio world and host them on their islands. You can expect to see Rilla, Marty, Etoile, Chai, Chelsea, and Toby through the amiibo cards, bringing with them a chance to dress up in famous Sanrio themes like Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, Little Twin Stars, Cinnamoroll (which is my favorite), My Melody, and Keroppi.

Powerhouse of a collaboration — ACNH currently enjoys astronomical success among gamers, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced many to stay home and turn to digital entertainment. Released in March 2020, the game bagged the highly coveted title of selling more digital copies than any other console game in video gaming history. With five million downloads, ACNH beat the goliath Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Seeing the sweet little game about planting fruits and vegetables on your island and visiting your equally cute friends over tea and crumpets beat a grisly first-person shooter game where blowing up buildings and people is normal was honestly comical.

With the collaboration between Sanrio and ACNH, Nintendo will take advantage of the former Japanese titan's unbeatable success at marketing kawaii-culture iconic characters like Hello Kitty and Pompompurin. No signs of Gudetama, sorry.

What we've seen of the crossover in the YouTube video has already impressed gamers, and the credit goes to Nintendo. The amount of attention the company has paid to interior decor alone is impressive; if you notice the Keroppi-themed room for Toby, you'll see prints for the famous and studious frog, a little figure of his head, and a sculpture dedicated to him in the background. You might even notice that the Keroppi-themed house is by water, which could be a subtle ode to the avid swimmer. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that little details like these ones make ACNH the addictive game it is today.