For a game that was originally conceived as a small, experimental title for the ill-fated Nintendo 64 Disc Drive, Animal Crossing has a way of burying itself in the hearts and minds of all who play it. It's a bright and colorful home away from home -- one that promises friendly neighbors, a home of your own and a world that doesn't mind the player taking their time and going at their own pace.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers a different, yet similar kind of experience: instead of moving away to a quaint little town or becoming the mayor, the player is whisked away onto an island, far away from the rat race and struggles of modern society. There's something really relaxing about this, and it's no surprise that this premise has resonated with Millennials especially.

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This revelation isn't exactly surprising. Even in 2012, when New Leaf released in Japan, Millennials (especially Millennial women) were a major part of Animal Crossing's demographics. NeoGAF user StreetsAhead translated an interview between Japanese publication Nikkei and Satoru Iwata, where he stated that in the first three weeks after New Leaf's release, the primary buyers were women between the ages of 19 and 24, with 59 percent of 3DS and New Leaf bundled sales being from that same group. More recently, former Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima announced during the March 2018 Financial Brief that the majority of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's active users were adult women, though he didn't give any exact age range.

There are a lot of potential reasons for this. Animal Crossing has always been a series about finding peace and stability. The player goes into a new town and gets a new place. While they may have a debt to pay off, Tom Nook isn't exactly in any hurry to collect it. Their neighbors might shuffle around, and some might even move, but there will usually be someone moving in not long afterward. The player might head into another town to visit or go over to the island, but their house will be right where it is, and their things will be right where they left them. The most stress the average player is going to find in an Animal Crossing game is if they forget to save and Mr. Resetti gets on their case again, something that's no longer possible with New Horizon's autosave. Or, if they're a completionist, they might panic over missing a time-sensitive seasonal item.

Related: Animal Crossing New Horizons: Five Things We Still Don't Know

The same can't be said for Millennials in the real world.

In the United States, Millennials are burdened by a lack of stability. With worries about student loan debt, being stuck renting instead of buying and a far less optimistic outlook on the world compared to previous generations, something like owning a home and being able to make a positive impact on neighbors can seem like a far-off fantasy. Add to that to a generational cynicism about corporate interests and the expectation that they'll only be able to retire when they're very old, and it's no surprise that having something that offers even a modicum of that would be extremely appealing. The Animal Crossing tag is filled with people explaining why the game is appealing to Millennials for these very reasons. To them, New Horizons is offering something special that hits a little close to home, which only adds to the ever-increasing hype.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons promises a home away from home, and a place on a deserted island where the player, their friends and their neighbors can live the stress-free, stable lives that many are unable to have in the real world. The game might not have been developed with this sort of wish-fulfillment in mind when it was released all the way back in 2002, but for many, it's the right sort of fantasy released at just the right time.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons releases March 20 on the Nintendo Switch.

KEEP READING: Why Animal Crossing Succeeds Where So Many Casual Games Fail