Nintendo Direct Gave Us Fresh Bounties For Upcoming Farming Sims

This year has given us a fresh bounty of harvesting farming sims.

Yesterday’s Nintendo Direct That alone gave us 5 farming sims: Harvestella (which is now there is a demo), Rune Factory 3 Special, Another New Rune Factory, Seasonal Tales: A Wonderful Life, Faye Farm.plus Switch Online subscribers in Japan I have the N64 game Harvest Moon 64.

It’s on top of recent additions like Final Fantasy 14’s Island Sanctuary Modequirky Ooblets, and just released in Early Access Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Before that, this year saw Rune Factory 5, Immortal Life, Harvest Days: My Dream Farm, the beekeeping sim Apico, and more.

And still unreleased are indies like Coral Island and Roots of Pacha.

Phew.

However, not all farming sims are created equal. Farming meets Final Fantasy combat and character design in Harvestella? Please sign up.Tsui, lots of cute farming witch and frog? came out.

It’s not like players haven’t been spending a field day with their farming sims for a while, just look at the long history of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series, or even Zynga’s Farmville.

However, the popularity of these games has grown tremendously over the last few years. That’s largely due to the success of the popular indie Stardew Valley and Nintendo’s giant Animal Crossing.

The latter in particular became prominent during the pandemic, with players seeking a more relaxed experience during stressful times. The second wave came with the release of DLC.

It’s unclear when this current farming game began development, but it’s unlikely that it was conceived after Animal Crossing and had all development completed at the same time.

Additionally, Twitch has a cozy and comfortable revolution, with farming sims proving particularly popular with viewers who find solace together in growing crops, caring for animals, cottagecore, and a sprinkling of romance. It’s like ASMR in games.

Farming sims definitely have an audience and the genre has a lot of success.

However, for those who aren’t into farming sims, its prevalence has become something of a joke.

Imagine a Zelda farming sim! In fact, I would definitely play it.

Or imagine Kratos joining Sony’s PlayStation State of Play. In fact, I would definitely play it too.

Someone else mocked up Mega Man’s farming sim. I will probably play it too.

Uh oh. If you see me with a pitchfork and a straw hat… No, I’m not.