Countless brands have taken to Animal Crossing: New Horizons to engage Millennial and Gen Z players and IKEA Taiwan recreated its 2021 furniture catalog entirely with designs and characters from the popular game. The remade catalog uses furniture and decor pieces from the game, and animal villager models, to recreate its standard catalog, showing how easy it is for the designs to be adapted to virtually every style.
On the cover of the IKEA catalog, the recreated version shows a dark rug and perfectly placed items like tables, lamps, stools and other elements to create the same look and feel of the real 2021 catalog cover. Although back-to-school season looks different for many students this fall, the catalog offers an inspiring way for Animal Crossing players to refresh their style in-game or in real life.
Game-Inspired Furniture Catalogs
IKEA Taiwan Recreated Its Furniture Catalog with Animal Crossing
Trend Themes
1. Gaming-inspired Marketing - Companies can leverage popular video games to engage younger demographics and create unique marketing experiences that align with their interests.
2. Virtual-to-real Product Adaptation - Brands can explore ways to adapt virtual products and designs to real-life offerings, creating unique and immersive shopping experiences for their customers.
3. Cross-industry Collaboration - Collaborations between industries that might seem unrelated, such as gaming and furniture, can result in new and innovative products that appeal to a wider audience.
Industry Implications
1. Furniture - Furniture companies can explore ways to incorporate gaming-inspired designs into their products to attract younger demographics and create a unique shopping experience.
2. Gaming - Gaming companies can explore collaborations with other industries to create unique in-game experiences and expand their reach outside of traditional gaming demographics.
3. Marketing and Advertising - Marketers and advertisers can explore new ways to engage younger demographics through gaming-inspired experiences and collaborations with companies outside of their traditional industry.