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If it’s an intuitive game that’s easy to pick up and master, one which gives you freedom to do as you please, and allows you to interact with and connect with other players in a meaningful way, then chances are that it’s going to be very popular.Īnimal Crossing: New Horizons, while not perfect (no game ever is), ticks all of those boxes. Since the early 2000s, a wealth of research has shown that video games which satisfy these three basic needs also tend to be the ones that the most successful. Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, OvercastĬentral to Self-Determination Theory is the idea that intrinsic motivation is a fundamental underlying factor for most forms of play – video games included.Relatedness, unsurprisingly, refers to our need to be connected with other people. Intrinsic motivation is built on the foundations of three basic human needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness.Īutonomy relates to the need to experience freedom and choice in the activity you’re engaging in, and competence refers to the need to be good at activities, and exert control over them. One of the most influential theories about human motivation is known as Self-Determination Theory.įirst developed in the 1980s by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, Self-Determination Theory suggests that while some behaviours are driven by external motivation (say, to gain a reward such as money or praise), others are shaped by more intrinsic forms of motivation – that is, we do some things simply because we enjoy them. It’s not just about timing and escapism though – New Horizons hits some basic psychological buttons too. It hasn’t just captured the imaginations of kids and teens either – according to Nintendo, one of the main player demographics is people in their 20s and 30s, looking for a nostalgia hit by playing the latest iteration of a game they first encountered in their youth.Īnd by the company’s estimates, some 40 per cent of sales to date have been to female players. By early May, it had sold over 13 million copies worldwide – more than its predecessor, New Leaf, sold in six years. It sold five million digital copies in the first month after its release, more than any other video game in history. Animal Crossing: New Horizons fulfils players’ three basic human needs © Getty Images