Answer and Explanation:
The expression "to take something by storm" means to have great and rapid success somewhere. Therefore, when the author states that Animal Crossing "took the world by storm last spring," she means the game became successful quickly all over the world. Notice that we can infer it was all over the world because she used the word "world" in the sentence. If someone says, for instance, that "this new band took the city by storm", that would mean the band's success is limited to the city.