With online service for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp coming to an end on November 28, Nintendo has given a release date for the replacement paid app, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete. 

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete will be available to download and install on December 3. If you dive in early and download the game before January 31, 2025, you’ll get it half-price for $9.99. After that point, the price will increase to the regular price of $19.99. You can pre-register for the app now via the App Store or Google Play, depending on your device.

If you’ve been playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for a while, then you’re likely wondering how to prepare for this change. Aside fr??om spending all of your Leaf Tickets, one of the things you’ll definitely need to do is transfer your save file from the old app to ?the new one. 

How to link a save file in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

To prepare for the change in app, you’ll need to link your save file on Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp to your Nintendo?? Account us??ing the following steps:

1. Launch Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and let it load
2. Open up the menu in the bottom right corner and select “Settings�/li>

3. Tap “Link Nintendo Account� and a new window will open
4. Tap “Create/Link Nintendo Account�and wait for it to load
5. Either create a Nintendo Account, or enter the details for a previously existing one

Once you’ve done this, you should get a pop-up telling you that ?a link has been established and you can now download the save file. 

While you can do this now, or as often as you like, you’ll need to do it soon before the servers for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp go offline on November 28 to ensure you don’t lose any progress that you’ve made between now and then. If you’ve already logged in using your Nintendo Account, your ??save date should automa??tically update whenever you play.

How to download a save file in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete

Once Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete is available to purchase and download on December 3, you’ll be able to download the save file that you created by following the s??teps laid out above. 

To do this, you’l?l need to complete the following steps:

1. Launch Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete and tap “Tap to Start�/li>

2. In the window that pops up, select “Continue�/li>

3. Sign in to the Nintendo Account that you linked to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in the steps laid out in the previous section
4. When logged in, select “Transfer�and let the download complete

   1. This might take a while, depending on how long you’ve been playing, how many items you have, etc. Be patient and keep the game open while the save data downloads!

5. When the download is complete, select “Ok�/li>

Having followed these steps, you should be able to continue where you left off before the servers for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp were shut down, and everything should be right where?? you left it. 

What to do before transferring save files in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

There are a few things that should be remembered when it comes to preparin??g for the end of service on November 28:

• Items in your mailbox will not transfer with your save file, so remember to collect them before the end of service
• Certain data will not be transferred, so if you want to make a note or take screenshots, now is the time to do it:

  • Step count stickers
  • Fave Photo / Album
  • Stamps Received
  • Visitor history
  • Mailbox Item Log
  • Crafting work spaces 
  • Some islands in Gulliver's Ship

• Save data will only be transferable to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete until June 1, 2025

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Seven years after its debut, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be going offline. November 28 is the final day, but your camp isn't gone for good. On December 3, a new version of the game ca?lled Pocket Camp Complete will be arriving, and all of your content will transfer over.

It's not really a "new" game, but it will have a few different structures to it. Pocket Camp Complete is going to be a paid?? game, removing all in-game transactions. It will cost $20, though it will have an introductory price of $10 until January 31 of next year.

What is Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp?

If you're unfamiliar, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a game where you become the owner of a cute little campsite, and invite your favorite animal pals to hang out. You do random tasks by visiting different parts of the park, in a very 'quick bite' version of typical Animal Crossing activi??ties. You can decorate your camp with furniture, and your personal camper.

As someone who's enjoyed Pocket Camp on and off for 7 years, I'm glad that the end of this service doesn't mean e?verything is just evaporating. I've put a lot of time, and more than a little money into this thing. It's good to see live service games reaching end of life and converting into a more "normal" game at the end. I'm sure more than a few people would like to still be able to play Dra?galia Lost, even if no new content was being poured in.

Here's what transfers to the new app

Existing players can transfer their data to Pocket Camp Complete. You'll need to make sure you have a Nintendo Account and sign into the current Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp app before the game goes offline on November 28. When you launch Pocket Camp Complete, it'll a?sk you to transfer your save file by signing into the same Nintendo Account. Here's what will transfer over:

• Character Level
• Bells
• Friendship Levels with other campers
• Furniture collection
• Crafting materials
• Saved layouts for your camp, cabin, and camper

While it will probably be welcome news that Leaf Ticket premium currency ?and the Pocket Camp Club subscriptions will no longer be available, the lack of friend interaction might sting. The game will no longer require a constant network connection, but that means you also can't send gifts to friends, visit their camp, or shop in their market. However, a new feature means you won't be separated from your friends entirely.

There are new features, too

The new friend feature is called Camper Cards. They're cards that you collect featuring your frie??nds with their favorite camper. You can export it as a QR code that other players can scan to add you to their collection. Friends you've traded cards with will meet at the new location called Whistle Pass. Sometimes they'll bring you items, like fortune cookies and stickers. You and your friends can also hang out at 7pm every day to enjoy a KK Slider performance. All your current Friends List friends who sign in between now and the g?ame's end will automatically receive each other's Friend Cards.

Leaf Tokens will ??also be replacing Leaf Tickets, and are obtainable in-game via bell exchange or in-game events. They do the same thing as tickets, like speeding up your crafting time and helping you make furniture you don't otherwise have the materials for.

Pocket Camp Club subscriptions won'??t continue. Instead, all players will obtain most of the benefits that were previously featured. You'll be able to walk with your favorite animals, save layouts for your camp, and decorate your planner with stickers. However, features like the free monthly cookies will no longer be available.

There's also a Complete Item Catalogue that features all the furniture in the game. Anything you missed can be purchased wi??th ??Complete Tickets, another earnable item. These should help players fill out missing pieces of sets, regardless of season.

One really interesting thing to note is that there is still new content planned for the first full year of Pocket Camp Complete. The next year will round the game out to 8 years of content, which they ?will then compress into a rotating 4 years of events. Anything you've missed previously will become part of a regular, albeit long, rotating schedule.

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If you’ve been on Twitter today, you’ve likely seen Animal Crossing trending and wondered whether a new console game was on the horizon. There’s still no news on that front, but there is news relating to the mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

Pocket Camp has been a staple in the cozy gaming world since it first released back in 2017, and it’s maintained a dedicated player base throughout that time. It allows players to take Animal Crossing with them literally in their pocket, constantly updating and evolving with new e?vents and things to do. 

Sadly, Nintendo announced today that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be shutting down on November 29.

Players who are currently paying for a Pocket Camp Club subscription, or anyone who signs up for a subscription before October 28, will be able to continue using their Pocket Camp Club benefits until the shut down on November 29 at no extra cost. If your subscription is set to renew between October 28 and November 29, you’ll continue receiving benefits after the usual renewal date, but you won’t need to pay for re?newal. 

As for Leaf Tickets, you won’t be able to purchase any additional Tickets after November 26, but you will be able to continue spending any that you have until shutdown on November 29. You’ll need to make sure you do this, because Leaf Tickets w?ill not be transferable to the new offline app.

While this could all have been devastating news for anyone who has spent hours increasing their level, improv?ing friendships with campers, and pouring their hearts into creative designs for their campsites, there is a light on the horizon and i??t’s far from all doom and gloom. 

Rather than simply shutting down the game and leaving players at a loose end, Nintendo will be releasing a paid, offline version of Pocket Camp. Anyone with a ??save file in the current version will be able to import their save file to the paid version, allowing them to?? continue their game offline. 

What’s more, according to Nintendo, the paid version of Pocket Camp (which is as yet unnamed) will have no micro-transactions or subscription costs, ?such as th??e Pocket Camp Club plans. After a one-time purchase, you’re free to play as much as you like. 

There are some downsides to this new offline version of Pocket Camp. Gifting, visiting other players' camps, and Market Boxes will no longer be available, so Pocket Camp will become very much a single player endeavor. While some social aspects of the game may be lost in this transition, it seems like a s??mall price to pay?? for not losing all of the effort put into perfecting your camp.

There is no concrete release date for the new offline version of Pocket Camp as of yet, but Nintendo will be announcing further information �a href="//faq.ac-pocketcamp.com/hc/en-us/articles/36353725150489-What-is-the-paid-version-?of-the-app#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">around October� As a long-time player of Pocket Camp, I’ll definitely be keeping?? my eye out for any new u?pdates.

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Grab the Palamute update now

Monster Hunter Stories 2, like mainline Monster Hunter games, seems to be getting a ton of free post-launch DLC. One of the first ??big ones just dropped this week shortly after the game arrived, and it involves those trusty Palamute DLC companions!

This time around they're "Monsties," though, the game's term for creatures you can ride and follow you into combat. Stories 2 now sports five star Palamute DLC Dens, as well as eig?ht star Palamute Homes, and Capcom threw in an extra sidequest calle??d Throw Me a Bone (eight star) for good measure. As Capcom notes, in order to play the DLC (and online), you need to have the latest version of the game.

Also note that this doesn't automatically score you a Palamute to use immediately. You get a ticket with the update, at which point you need to go on the five star quest to explore a Palamute Den: then you get the egg you can hatch in??to your Monstie. You can climb vines with it, FYI, in case you need one of those!

Here's the full Palamute DLC patch notes, which you can also view here:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_za9lB052u4

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And most importantly: no microtransaction trappings

Nintendo's mobile support has been rather disappointing so far. After Super Mario Run didn't seemingly hit insane internal metrics, their mobile partners turned to gacha and microtransactions. Oh, and subscription services on ??top of microtransactions and gacha. A few of their games are out of hand with energy systems upon energy systems.

But if you just want Platinum Points for some of the new physical rewards, there's an easy way around all that muck. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for instance can grant you nearly 200 platinum per week for almost no effort.

Here's how.

First, download the app, link your My Nintendo/Nintendo account, and finish the tutorial. You're now entering the core game ??loop.

In short, the idea is that you need to fulfill "requests" for NPCs to raise their friendship levels and earn materials to craft new items (like tents, which in turn raise the threshold of those friendship levels, and allow you to "increase the cap"). Throughout the game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will tempt you with various energy syste??ms, microtransactions, and?? two subscription services. Ignore all that.

What we're going to do to farm 180 Platinum Points per week is merely engage with the base level request system. That's gathering items from four locations (Lost Lure Creek, Sunburst Island, Saltwater Shores, and Breezy Hollow, all marked on the map above) and turning them in. That's it. If you do 100 requests per week you can net the full reward amount: then turn the app off until reset (Sundays around 10AM ET) and r?epeat the process.

I've gotten it down to the point where only logging in a few times a day on Sunday can net me about 70 completed requests out of 100. I'm practically done at reset. That's because requests are super simple deliveries, which are completed at the press of a button. Once you have Pete's Parcel Service available from the main map?? you can complete requests in around two sec?onds each.

Here's how you finish one loop.

Log in. Head to one of the four areas listed above. Pick it clean of items by shaking the trees and grabbing everything on the ground. Then, go to the map and click Pete's Parcel Service. As quickly as you can, fulfill all of the requests listed (if you can't do one, just skip it or ignore it, it'll reset over time) with a few taps. If Pete's Parcel Service is cleaned out, tap each of the locations manually and see if the NPC has items near their head. If they do, you need to meet them first before they s??end their requests to Pete. Simply zone in, talk to them once, then ignore them and go back to Pete's menu. They'?ll be listed now.

If you've acted fast, the reset timer for fruit and other consumables will line up, and you can loop around again. Come back three hours later and repeat the process, as NPCs will be refreshed too. Do that a few times and you should already have around 50 requests completed. If you haven't' played the game already, you can net 300 Platinum Points each for linking your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Here are a few tips to help you along the way:

• Once you hit your item space/carrying cap, sell a few basic items (fruit) that are easily reacquired: don't be tempted by the predator microtransaction space booster. All you need is the capacity to carry request items, which can be gathered in the world.

• Skip the requests you can't complete right away (read: any that would take effort like catching a specific fish). You don't need to do them unless you want to.

• Spam the friend list matchmaking feature (yes, this game actually has invite request functionality). There is no downside to having more friends on your list, and you can easily buy items from their shops (using the social menu). Those items can help you instantly grab requested items that you don't have, like bugs or fish. With enough friends you can basically buy any item in the game.

• If you really want to be efficient, look at when the NPCs will "move" by clicking on an area and looking at their timer. At that point the entire island will refresh, granting you 12 new requests. Set a timer on your phone for that point, then pick the island clean and use Pete to rapid-fire those requests.

Also check out our other My Nintendo tips:

• Sign into the eShop on Wii U or 3DS once a week
• Find the Pikmin on Nintendo's site quickly
• 300 easy Platinum a month from Super Mario Run
• Earn up to 5,400 Platinum Points with Fire Emblem Heroes
• Go grab 100 easy My Nintendo Platinum Points wit?h the new Zelda missions

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Would it be sad if I used this feature to make all my Christmas cards this year?

I uninstalled Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp from my phone well before New Horizons hit the Switch, and I really have??n't seen any reason to go back to it. It's still the cute game I remember from when it launched, but it's shackled to fortune cookies and a subscription service I ju?st don't want to deal with.

If anything, I was good and ready to forget all about the app until I found out today Nintendo has added AR functionality to it. That...might be enough to change my mind. As you can see in the trailer below, the new AR feature will allow players to bring their favorite campers into our world, and we'll be able to go into Pocket Camp to visit our friends in our cabins.

That's pretty damn neat. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is now available on mobile devices.

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What brought you to the dance?

Industry giant Nintendo may ??be making plans to pump the brakes on its foray into mobile gaming, following disappointing numbers from its various releases in comparison to other to games and apps from other mobile publishers.

As reported by Bloomberg, Nintendo has seen success with releases such as Fire Emblem Heroes, Mario Kart Tour, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, but these numbers pale in comparison to other mobile games such as Epic Games' Fortnite Mobile, Mixi's Monster Strike, and Tencent's billion-dollar giant Honor of Kings. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also seen player numbers plummet on Nintendo's mobile catalogue, while Switch releases such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons conversely did gangbusters numbers.

Nintendo entered mobile gaming with extremely high hopes, understandable given the estimated $80 billion worth of the market. President Shuntaro Furukawa originally estimated an average of two-to-three titles a year, with aims of growing Nintendo's mobile revenue to $1 billion a year and beyond. Reality has been less optimistic, with Super Mario Run purchases and Mario Kart Tour paid subscriptions fallin?g far beneath expectations.

Mobile gaming is often thought of as predatory, a platform which openly encourages and nurtures recurrent spending, gambling mechanics, and obsessive behaviour, whereas Nintendo has always held a proud reputation in player circles as the "good guys" of the gaming industry. Interestingly, Bloomberg cites rumours that Nintendo has been increasingly concerned about the reputational damage that goes alongside mobile gaming, reportedly going as far as as??king developers not to put players in positions where they'd feel forced to spend money in its mobile titles.

In any regard, it seems that such concerns might not be too big a worry for Nintendo going forward. "We ar??e not necessarily looking to continue releasing many new applications for the mobile market," said Furukawa in May, suggesting that while Nintendo's venture into mobile gaming has proven both marketable and profitable, the legendary developer may choose to regain its focus on its fan-pleasing, home console platforms - a market in which it has not only seen consistent success but has also brought joy to generati??on upon generation of players.

Nintendo chills ??mobile ambitions after Animal Crossing success [Bloomberg]

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Is there such a thing as too much Isabelle? (no)

While nobody needs to be told that Nintendo Switch release Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a major success, it seems that said success has also boosted the popularity of mobile title Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which saw its most lu?crative month to date in April.

According to those ever-faithful number-crunchers over at Sensor Tower, Pocket Camp's downloads sky-rocketed in April 2020, with 7.1 million installs in a single month. By comparison, the free-to-play title saw 396,000 installs in January 2020. In regards to in-app purchases, Pocket Camp?? raked in a new record of $7.9 million USD, beating out its previously held high of $7.8 million in August 2019. Japan is noted as being the biggest spender, accounting for a whopping 74% of this global revenue.

Despite its cheery demeanor and happy-go-lucky attitude, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp raised an eyebrow with some critics and fans, who found its heavy reliance on paywalls and in-game purchases - all dressed up with colourful smiles - gross by design. But with Pocket Camp having made over $150?? million in revenue since its initial launch, it's unlikely that anything will change ?in the industry's drive to capture the lucrative mobile market.

New Horizons drives Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's best month e??ver [Sensor Tower]

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Under the guise of a 'second anniversary celebration'

Look, I really dig that Nintendo is still doing their thing in the console and handheld space, giving us good old fashioned games that generally have tasteful DLC after the fact. Or complete standalone treasures! But I really can't get d??own with their mobile strategy.

In addition to a huge push for gatcha gambling mechanics, the brazen monetization scheme for Mario Kart Tour, which includes gambling on top of limited-time FOMO content and a subscription option, is all just too much. Now the concept has crept into Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp; a cute game ??about making little creatures happy.

By way of an in-game news screen, Nintendo notes that the company is "celebrating" the second anniversary with something called the "Pocket Camp Club," which will go live on November 21. Benefits include a "camp caretaker" mechanic for "extra help around the campsite," for one plan. Another plan allows warehouse storage and gifts fortun??e cookies. More details are coming on November 20. Yep, there are two subscription plans in reality.

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. Our own CJ Andriessen ha??s summed up the history of this aimless app ?thus far: it's worth a read!

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Will any of them make the jump to Switch?

After a blistering hot summer that ext?ended well into the month of September, temperatures are starting to cool in my little town as autumn is finally rearing its head. Leaves on the trees in the park across the street are beginning to change colors, I can't keep my window open at night unless I want to freeze, and pumpkin-spiced foods have started showing up in bulk at all the bakeries in town. Fall is here and for me, this year, it's kin??d of a big deal.

I haven't lived anywhere in quite some time that had the type of fall season they get on the east coast. Blame it on living in Southern California and the Bay Area for so long, but for many years, my only experience with trees changing colors came when I popped in my copy of whatever Animal Crossing game I had at the time. That was the only way I could enjoy the season. Revisiting my town around this time of year became a tradition, the perfect excuse for me to get back into the game, and just because I now live in a place where I'll experience the very b??est -- and worst -- of every season doesn't mean I'm going to give it up.

Unfortunately, the only Animal Crossing game I have access to right now is Pocket Camp on my phone, a game that has somehow escaped deletion even though I haven't opened it in several months. Just five minutes in the app today reminded me of why I stopped playing, but it also highlighted why I kept at it for so very long: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has an astounding collection of decoratio??ns.

One of the great joys every time a new Animal Crossing game is released is discovering all the new pieces of furniture Nintendo has created for it. I always managed to find something new and interesting that becomes the focal point for a room in my house. Make no mistake: Nintendo likes to recycle content between games. There are furniture sets in Animal Crossing: New Leaf tha?t are nearly identical to the sets that were introduced all the way back on the GameCube.

Take the "Boxing Theme" set, for instance. Eighteen years ago it consisted of 10 items including a weight bench, blue corner, and a judge's bell. In every game since then, it's consisted of those same damn 10 items and a wallpaper and carpet scheme that's remained consistent as well. Another example is the "Space Theme" set that debuted with nine items on the GameCube. It expanded in Wild World by adding the moon and hasn't changed since.

I understand that players may have a certain affinity toward decorations from the series past. Making a bedroom look like a pirate ship is neat. I actually make a point to reserve one room in every house I build for my Jingle collection. So I get why these pieces of furniture return with every new entry, but I don't want every house to be a carbon copy of the last. New Leaf certainly upped the ante in terms of new decorations to work with, but honestly, its place as the standard-bearer for the franchise has been usurped by Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

When Nintendo introduced fortune cookies into Pocket Camp, it took what was a good little mobile slice of Animal Crossing and turned it into the gacha-monstrosity it is today. But it also gave the developers a chance to go nuts with the different types of items you can get in the game. Following it on Twitter and YouTube is an absolute delight because I get giddy every time a new fortune cookie collection drops. Not enough to play the game, but certainly enough to daydream? about how I'd place those items in a room of my house.

Because it's now October, there are several Halloween-themed events going on in the game right now. There is Jack's Ghoulish Gala happening in the player's garden, there's a new fortune cookie set featuring Lucky and a spectacular haunted house, and this spooky-looking treat trolly featuring Rover. All of this is in addition to a new terrain that makes your campground look like something out of a high school production of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

That's just what's been added over the past week or so. Before that, the developers introduced an adorable fairy jar and tree stump hideout, a breathtaking clockwork telescope, and a goddamn tapdancing stage. Last December, I nearly wore myself out trying to get everything in the Camellia Cookie collection, just nabbing the final item in the set hours before the event was over. I tried it again not long after when Pocket Camp introduced items that could transform my cabin into an old-timey movie theater, bu??t I couldn't push myself to do it. I loved that set, but thinking about how much ??time I had to put into the game for the Camellia collection expedited my eventual distaste for it.

I may never open the Pocket Camp app again, but I hope some of the ideas and features in it find their way into Animal Crossing New Horizons. Not the gacha-mechanic, of course, but all of these interesting and creative items Nintendo has been making over the past year. With the Switch sequel's heavy focus on outdoor decorations, I would absolutely love the opportunity to build a three-story pagoda in my town or have my own little stairway to heaven.

Some many great items have been added to this app, it arguably has it the most eclectic collection of furniture of any Animal Crossing game. As New Horizons continues to take shape, I can only hope Nintendo finds a way to implement all of these decorations into it. Because I'd hate to think something as wonderful as this grandiose bath will forever be stuck ins?ide a game I can no longer stand to look at.

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Gotcha!

Nintendo will be removing both Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem Heroes from Belgian mobile stores by the end of August. In a Tweet from Nintendo of Belgium, the company stated, "Due to the current unclear situation in Belgium regarding certain revenue models of games, the service for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem Heroes will be stopped in Belgium on 27 August 2019."

In a longer statement on its official website, Nintendo added, "Players who still have Orbs and/or Leaf Tickets in their account can continue to use them until the service ends. In addition, future Nintendo games with similar earnings models will no longer be released in Belgium. We would like to thank all players in Belgium for playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem Heroes."

The current situation Nintendo is referring to has to do with l??oot boxes being declared gambling by the Dutch Gaming Authori?ty last year. This declaration has resulted in EA, 2K, and Blizzard removing microtransactions from its games in the region, something that Nintendo is now getting around to. Inst?ead of simply removing the options, though, it seems Nintendo has opted for a more nuclear approach.

Belangrijke informatie voo??r gebruikers i??n België [Nintendo of Belgium via Eurogamer]

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Good will burning

Animal Crossing on mobile seemed like a sure bet when Nintendo announced it. The title would serve as the third game in the company’s mobile pillar. The series has a massive casual fan base that can be quite obsessive about it and I thought, even as a free-to-play title, it would be easy for Nintendo to tap into that fertile vein the way it did with Fire Emblem Heroes. And yet, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp never really took off. I enjoyed my first month with it, but as time went on and it wasn’t making the money it probably sh??ould have, things started to change.

Last year, fortune cookie loot boxes were introduced at an exorbitant price, putting them in line with the other, incredibly costly in-app purchases you can buy with Leaf Tickets. A few months ago, the game added a skip function that allows ??players to bypass most of the dialogue and animations that come along with completing tasks and activities. It’s a godsend for those who don’t have a lot of time to play during the day but still want to complete their goals -- as well as those of us tired of being asked if we’re working out like a fiend -- but it’s also a feature that eliminates part of the charm of the franchise.

Pocket Camp's dialogue has never been its strong suit, but there was still a certain charm about it. If that update stabbed at the heart of the Animal Crossing experience, the newest update just popped off two in??to the back of i?ts head.

Pocket Camp ver. 2.1 introduces a variety of new features, including player-specific fruit and new, easier ways to tend to yours and other players’ gardens. It also gives tireless mail carrier Pete a new job with Pete's Parcel Service. If you haven’t played Pocket Camp, the meat of the experience is finding supplies in the wild (fish, bugs, fruit, flowers, seashells) that you give to potential campground visitors upon request. The game has four locations where these animals will go and it cycles?? through them every three hours. Each animal has three requests per thre??e hours and the more requests you fill, the higher their friendship level goes.

Now, the update I mentioned previously that allowed players to bypass the dialogue still forced you to go to these locations and interact with the animals. With Pete, that’s no longer a requirement. If you have the supplies, he’ll just deliver them for you and you’ll still reap the rewards. So long as you have the supplies, you can fulfill all of your orders in less than two minutes. It certainly streamlines the experience to the nth degree, but in using it, I no longer feel like I’m playing an Animal Crossing game. Now, it’s basically a series of menus I navigate, ceasing to bring me any of the joy I’ve found in every title in the series (and yes, I’m including amiibo Festival here).

The other significant feature of version 2.1 is Blathers’s Maps. These maps are ??little board games players unlock that offer a variety of rewards, including bells, supplies, and Leaf Tickets. Each roll of the die ??costs players something, either bells or something more significant like essence. These maps are dotted with spaces, some of which have a reward, and if you manage to land on the spot and the most often pitiful reward is yours.

Common maps cost a small number of supplies for each roll, but rare maps can be a bigger drain on players. Some give you access?? to animals you haven’t met yet in exchange for essenc?e required for constructing the amenities that allow you to level up your friendship with the animals. A single roll of the die on a Leaf Ticket map costs 30,000 bells and one go-around on this rare map can absolutely drain a player's savings.

With the maps and all the other additions that have been made over the past year, there is easily more to do in Pocket Camp than ever before. But each new addition has me scratching my head, trying to figure out what this game is trying to be. Because it’s certainly not Animal Crossing on my phone. It hasn’t been that for a while. And it’s certainl?y not something that rewards players for grinding it out?. The best loot is tied to the fortune cookie loot boxes and the supply-draining nature of Blathers’s Maps actually make that grind all the more drawn-out.

The obvious answer is all of these changes are focused on pushing players to spend money on Leaf Tickets. That’s how Nintendo makes any money off this game. But the Leaf Ticket economy in Pocket Camp has been broken from the start, and no update has done anything to fix the incredibly poor pricing plans the game has to offer. Take the campground scenery for instance. Let’s say I want to trap my camp in an eternal polar vortex with snow falling, iced over trees, and frozen ground -- and I do want to do that. I would have to spend 850 Leaf Tickets to do so. That would take months of grinding to save up, forgoing any of the other incentives the game introduces to get me to part with what I earn, or I could spend nearly $34 on Leaf Tickets. That’s half the price of what Animal Crossing Switch will cost, just for scenery.

There’s a whimsical charm every time I boot up Pocket Camp on my morning commute. Seeing the animals skating on my ic??e rink, hanging out in my igloo?, or meditating on my Japanese pillows is a pleasant way to start each day. But that feeling of joy quickly subsides when I start to actually start to play and realize there’s very little gameplay left. It’s all been simplified into a busy interface that evaporates the mirage I’ve built up any sort of community of camp-goers over the past year or so. Without that feeling of connection to the characters and other players, all I’m left with is a constant reminder that, like in real life, hard work can only get you so far and the real rewards go to those who have the most money.

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Eevee time

Pokemon can crossover with anything. I mean think about it. If you need an edgy crossover, bam, Mewtwo can come in and shake 'em like a dog with his psychic mind powers. If you need cute: bam, Pokemon has you covered in multiple areas.

And covered Animal Crossing: Pocket shall be, as it's graced with one of the cutest creatures of them all, Eevee. According to ??the game's official Twitter account, starting t?omorrow an Eevee crossover event will be happening. It involves "Eevee items," alongside of a quick teaser featuring the Pokemon itself and the always creepy Gyroid.

To participate you'll ?need to ??locate Poke Balls and craft items. Exact details are scarce (including the end date) but for now that's what we got.

Animal Crossing UK [Twitter]

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'Look at all your different-coloured hats!'

[Update: The crossover event is live! Players can now partake in a scavenger hunt to earn in-game clothing. Buy Cookie Packs for Splatoon-themed fur?niture and even partake in a squid fishing tournament. Have fun!]

Following on from their recent tease, Nintendo Japan has announced via twitter that there is indeed a crossover event taking place between colourful Switch shooter Splatoon and mobile-title Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

The new event starts today and will give Pocket Camp players the opportunity to pick up a selection of cosmetic items based on the Splatoon universe. Hats, headphones and other clothing will be available to in-game avatars, as well messy-looking fencing and ground tiles, plastered with splashes of Splatoon's notable pink and green neon ink.

You can check out some of the items that will be made available in-game in the gallery below. Given that the crosssover event starts today, no doubt we'll be hearing further details soon. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is available now on iOS and Android devices.

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Is Pearl coming to ruin your town?

A mysterious tweet showed up yesterday on the official twitter for mobile title Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, that appears to be teasing a possible collaboration with the ink-flinging folk of Nintendo Switch shooter Splatoon.

The tweet features an image of a gyroid, ruthlessly splattered in trademark pink and green colours. "We're supposed to be getting a sneak peek at what's to come," muses Animal Crossing's Isabelle. "But all ??I see are those bri??ght colours."

The event is expected to start in-game as soon as tomorrow, September 13. This is great news, as Splatoon should, frankly, crossover with ALL brands. The?? world can a??lways use more Off the Hook.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is available now on iOS and Android devices.

Goodness! What's going on here? We're supposed to be getting a sneak peek at what's to come…but all I see are those bright colours. Hmmm…something about this does look familiar. What could it be? #PocketCamp pic.twitter.com/ngqDMwNT7f

— Animal Crossing UK (@AC_Isabelle) September 11, 2018

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'Fortune Cookies'

It's weird to watch the dichotomy between the DeNA mobile Nintendo realm and the traditional portable and console Nintendo universe we've known for decades play out before our eyes. Although the Big N has slid comfortably into the skin of DLC and season passes for a while now it's hard to think of them plopping down loot boxes into say, Splatoon 2.

But their mobile angle on the other hand has been very aggressive ever since the shortcomings of Super Mario Run's old school "$10 gets you everything" entry fee. Fire Emblem Heroes, their next venture, pursued the typical mobile gacha style blind box gambling strategy, hinged on getting players to spend hundreds of dollars to get the exact party members they want. None of that is particularly okay in Heroes, especially since there are virtually no regulations on loot boxes (thankfully Apple, perhaps due to pressure, is forcing studios to comply to s??ome rules by requiring rar??ity percentages), but it's a little more depressing to see it arrive in the kid-friendly neighborhood of Animal Crossing.

Just last night the free-to-play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp added in loot boxes -- a gacha style element called "Fortune Cookies" that you can purchase with premium currency. To convolute the system even further you acquire "stamps" from premium cookies, 10 of which are required for certain items -- and you can get duplicates of gear you already own. It might be an attempt to boost the project after six months after not hitting sales goals, but it just comes off to myself, and several other players I've spoken to, as po??or form since the game did not launch with them.

Does this mean that the next Pokemon on Switch is suddenly going to get loot boxes? Of course no??t, these are two separate ecosystems we're talking about here despite the looming slippery slope argument. But Nin??tendo really doesn't seem to have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish with their mobile venture. Do they want to just drain whales and make a quick buck like other studios by inserting gambling elements into all of their games? Or do they want to maintain their brand loyalty and bring in 3DS/Switch fans?

I have no idea, and I don't think they do either.

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8-bit Chic

The Animal Crossing series is no stranger to crossover content and the mobile spin-off Pocket Camp is soon going to honor Nintendo's biggest franchise. Starting on March 10, you'll be able to nab a bunch of 8-bit inspired Mario items to show off to al??l the ??campers in your town.

Not much is known about which specific items will be available (or how much they'll cost), but if this is anything like New Leaf, I'll be able to make an entire museum room dedicated solely to Mario items.

Super Mario Crossover Event Image! [Japanese Nintendo]

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Pitching a tent

Nintendo have shared an image on the Japanese Twitter for mobile hit Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which features silhouettes of a group of new villagers coming to wreck shit up join your homespun community.

The one thing the seven new characters have in common appears to be a love of garish clothing. I'm no expert when it comes to Animal Crossing, but I been unreliably informed that the characters are Marshall, Goose, Avery, June, Vesta, Drake and Mitzi. Feel free to correct me below in a really?????????????????????????? unreasonable way if I've gotten that?? wrong.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp launched on mobile devices in November, h?itting 15 million downloads in its first seven days. Are you still playing?

└|∵|┐ 新情報❗️ └|∵|┐

近々、キャンプの旅に出ようとしている人がいるようでヒ…👀
このシルエットは誰でヒかね…？#ポケ森 pic.twitter.com/d0DuseF7uR

— どうぶつの森 ポケットキャンプ (@pokemori_jp) December 19, 2017

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Animal Crossing: Town Planner

By now most of you have probably played or at the very least seen a bit of Nintendo's mobile venture for the Animal Crossing series, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. You might, however, be u??naware that this project was almost a di?fferent game entirely.

The early version of the game was internally referred to as "Animal Crossing: Town Planner." You probably guessed this bit, but rather than managing a campsite, players would place buildings to please the oh-so-needy inhabitants of an Animal Crossing Village.

Pocket Camp isn't exactly the deep Animal Crossing experience I was looking for, but according to the above Unseen64 video, the original game's design was even more simplistic. Town Planner was more menu-based and the player character didn't even have any environments&nb?sp;to explore.

The game that would've been Town Planner was received poorly internally and so Nintendo decided to scrap it and work from the ground up on what eventually became Pocket Camp. While I can't say I think this version would've been better than what we got I also can't help but wonder what it would have been like to plan my own Animal Crossing town, to be my own Nook.

[Via Eurogamer]

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Crafting cookies for Santa takes 27 hours

One of my favorite things about the Animal Crossing series is how it handles the different seasons. I haven't seen real snow in years so it's always nice to have a game I can pop in during the winter if I ever want to build a snowman or check out some holiday lights. With Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp launching right in the middle of the holiday season, I wond??ered if we would get Christmas t??hemed items this early into its run.

Wonder no more because the holiday season starts tonight, according to the official Animal Crossing Twitter feed. I'm willing to put the brakes on making furniture for potential campers if it means I can get a Christmas tree and?? Santa suit. Hopefully, Jingle will be making an appearance as well.

'Tis the season! We've got a fun holiday event planned for you, starting tomorrow, 11/30, at 10:00 p.m. (PST). I can't wait! #PocketCamp pic.twitter.com/5a0JzQa4mV

— Isabelle (@animalcrossing) November 29, 2017

If you're one of the 15 million people who downloaded Pocket Camp ??;and are still playing it, this should be a good sign of the support the game will get going forward.

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Less a campsite, more a metropolis

Data from analytical software website, Sensor Tower, shows that Nintendo's recently released mobile title, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, has been downloaded over 1?5 million times sin??ce launch last week.

The grandiose figure cements the game as the second most popular Nintendo mobile title after last year's mega-hit Super Mario Run, which bagged a staggering 32 million dow?nloads on re?lease.

In Japan, the community management spin-off reached a high ranking fifth place on the iPhone app chart this weekend, before dropping into a comfortable number 10 slot. The game hasn't had as much of an impact in the U.S. so far, where it sits around number 70. Ironically, Fire Emblem Heroes, which many woul?d consider a more niche title, had a m?uch more successful U.S. debut, reaching number eight in the charts after just one day.

Regardless, it's great news for Animal Crossing franchise fans, who must surely feel that the success of the free-to-play game could lead to a mai??nline Switch title down the line.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp download 15 million times [Sensor Tower]

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This one time, at Pocket Camp...

It’s been a long wait, but after teasing us for a year and a soft launch down under, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is finally available for players worldwide. I’ve been at it for a month now and I think it’s a darn good mobile game. Players who have enjoyed the Animal Crossing series thus far should have no problem finding their footing with Pocket Camp and its eccentricities.

However, even if you’re a veteran of the series, there are still some aspects of game you might be unfamiliar with. So, allow me to help you with your first week in the game with this? list of tips I’ve learned over the past month:

• Tip #1: ABC: Always Be Checking (to see if anyone needs help accessing Shovelstrike Quarry).
• Tip #2: Link up to your MyNintendo account and use the Leaf Tickets reward to unlock the second crafting slot. Otherwise, save your tickets for future exclusive items you may want. Some people might say it’s also worth it to expand your carrying capacity using Tickets, but that is slowly expanded as you level up. Best to play for a day or two to decide if you need to spend tickets that way.
• Tip #3: If you go over 10 of one item, start selling it.
• Tip #4: Save your nets and honey. You get one free of each. Wait until you’re having trouble catching a specific fish or bug to use them.
• Tip #5: Check the crafting time before you start. It’s easy to miss. Craft the quick items first and save the longer items for overnight or anytime you don’t expect you’ll be playing the game.
• Tip #6: The Market Box is not storage. If you put something in it, you can either sell it to another user or lose it. Items placed in the Market Box are not sold individually!!
• Tip #7: Log in everyday (obviously).
• Tip #8: Befriend everybody who shows up in your game. The more friends, the more likely it is you’ll find people to help you enter Shovelstrike Quarry.
• Tip #9: When you change camper style, your paint style will not carry over. You can go back to your old style if you miss it by getting your camper painted again with the style you unlocked. You don’t have to take out a loan when you change the camper style, only when you expand the interior.
• Tip #10: If you want a campground you can easily move around in, objects need at least one full tile space of separation to allow you to walk between them.
• Tip #11: There is a good chance you might not care for the game after your first day. Day one serves two purposes: to introduce you to the structure of the mobile title and to clearly show you its limitations and restrictions. From day two on, it’s all about adjusting your play schedule to match that found in the game for maximum enjoyment. Characters move around and think of new requests in three-hour intervals. Fruit regrows in three hours. Use this knowledge to your advantage to get the most progress daily without spending any money.
• Tip #12: We’re all in this together, so let’s agree to be nice to one another and help our fellow campers. With real money you can make this game work for you, but it’ll take a village to make the experience as wonderful as possible for those who choose not to or simply don’t have the spare cash to drop on a mobile game. Help people out by using your Market Boxes to their full potential. It may not make you rich but it can free up some valuable space in your inventory and may just help a friend complete a request. Check your friend lists to see if anyone needs help. Visit a campsite and give them kudos even if their designs suck. Let’s embrace the spirit of the series and put Animal Crossing’s chief lesson on the value of community to work. Together, we can Make Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Great For The First Time, or MACPCGFTFT.

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The good outdoors

Booting up Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for the 28th consecutive day, I find myself in rhythm with the beats of th?e game. I know when to log in, how long I’ll play in a given sitting, and I find myself maximizing what little time I have at work to get the most out of it. It’s an effort to get to this point, but I’d say after nearly of a month and countless hours of playing, the effort has been well worth it.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (iOS, Android [reviewed on an LG K20 Plus]) 
Developer: Nintendo, DeNA 
Publisher: Nintendo 
Released: October 25, 2017 (AU), November 21, 2017 (WW) 
MSRP: Free-to-Play w/ In-App Purchases

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is Nintendo’s third stab at creating a mobile game with DeNA – fourth if you count Miitomo, which I don’t – and is probably the most successful the partnership has been at recreating the console/handheld experience on a phone. Pocket Camp looks, plays and charms just like a standard Animal Crossing game, only miniaturized. Instead of a whole town to make my own, there is only a small campsite. Instead of hundreds of possible visitors,? there so far ?is only a select few.

Pocket Camp’s world is broken up into eight pocket-sized locations: my campsite, Lost Lure Creek, Sunburst Island, Saltwater Shores, Breezy Hollow, Market Place, Shovelstrike Quarry and OK Motors. Each location represents a feature of the land found in traditional Animal Crossing games. Breezy Hollow houses a tree with nearly every fruit in the game, Saltwater Shores is where I can fish for sea life, Market Place is where I find Kicks and the Nook kids selling their wares, and so on. The tw??o locations that are somewhat unique to the game are Shovelstrike Quarry and OK Motors. The former is a mini-game where I can break rocks for prizes that in no way equal the cost of entry and the latter is where I can upgrade my motorhome for a small l??oan.

Every three hours at four of those locations – Sunburst Island, Lost Lure Creek, Saltwater Shores, and Breezy Hollow – an Animal Crossing character will pitch the?ir tent and task me with completing up to three requests per visit. These tasks am?ount to nothing more than giving them whatever items they’re looking for, all of which can be found in the game. There will also be other players visiting who I can make friends with and visit their campsites.

When I raise my friendship level with a character high enough, I can ask them to visit my campsite. Before they do, I have to craft several items of their choice. This is the progression loop. I complete requests to raise friendship levels and gather supplies I need to construct decorations they deem necessary to visit my camp. Once I have all the items built, they can become permanent visitors to my site. I can also manu??ally switch them out if I want to change it up a little.

When I am not making friends, I am doing those standard Animal Crossing activities that have been with the series since its debut. I’m still shaking trees to collect fruit, fishing for sea and river creatures, catching bugs, and collecting seashells. Each of those deeds has been greatly simplified for mobile controls. I just tap on a bug or fish I want to catch and tap again when the exclamation point shows. I tap a tree to shake it and then tap every fruit that falls from it to collect. Pocket Camp is such ?a buttery smooth experience and with the update to version 1.0.0, I have seen fewer dr?ops in the frame rate and speedier loading times.

As with al?l decent free-to-play games, the first week is the best. Progress is fast, simple and cheap. It seems like every 20 minutes there is somebody new coming to the game, wanting to make friends and visit my ca??mpsite. Building the items they need to visit is a snap and in no time I have a campsite filled with new animal friends who want to remind me to visit OK Motors or buy some Leaf Tickets.

Playing every day for nearly a month, I hit the point where progress slows to a crawl. It’s not the waiting periods for crafting that is slowing me down; it’s the availability of supplies. Early in the game, I was drowning in supplies to craft with. Now, I need to complete several days’ worth of tasks just to save up enough cotton to craft a couch. Building enough items to coerce someone into visiting my campground is now a week-long project instead of something I can do in a day. There are also special items I’ll be asked to craft that carry monumental costs. This is where the In-App Purchases come into play with Lea?f Tickets.

I complained in my review-in-progress that Leaf Ticket costs are too damn high and the sentiment remains. Spending tickets to access Shovelstrike Quarry is still a waste. Using tickets to complete projects will quickly drain my supply. Costs for limited special items, such as the Tom Nook or K.K. Slider chairs, are such an exorbitant price it makes deciding between the two of them something akin to the world’s lowest-stakes Sophie’s Choice. Not to mention, blowing all of my tickets on those two decorations – and make no mistake they are nothing more than campsite decorations – will require me?? to make heavy time investments? in the future when new special items become available.

But even with the slow grind of progress, Pocket Camp still manages to be something I enthusiastically return to several times throughout the day. I like completing quests, I like going fishing and catching bugs. I like hitting up the stores and changing my fashion periodically. The classic Animal Crossing element?s still shine here, though I don’t find ??myself spending as much time in my camper as I do my house in a standard game.

What’s missing here is variety. Progression for all players seems to be set on the same path so every camp I visit has roughly the same furniture and the same visitors. Sure, around week four I start to see greater variations in campsite design, but each camp is still inhabited by the same characters you can find in mine. One of the great calling cards of Animal Crossing is no two experiences and no two towns are exact??ly alike. That’s not the case here. A month in, I have access to the exact same items as anyone else at ??the same level as me and somehow knowing that just makes everything a little bit less special.

Other aspects of Animal Crossing didn’t, or have yet to, make the jump to Pocket Camp. There’s no Redd and his fake Picassos, no Joan peddling her turnips, no Dr. Shrunk and his terrible jokes. There is no museum or café. There also doesn’t seem to be any bad weather. Sunburst Island will always ?remain sunny and it can snow in other places during the winter, but I never see a day of rain or overcast skies. I know I shouldn’t be ups??et by the lack of something as simple as rain, but I miss all the little characters walking around with their umbrellas and galoshes.

Playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp during its 0.9.0 phase is probably the most uneventful the game will ever be. Now that it’s launched worldwide, and if Nintendo and DeNA follow the route paved by Fire Emblem Heroes, we can probably expect a significant amount of events over its life that will make the experience livelier than this first month. But even with nothing of note happening in that time, I still managed to find that unique type of joy that comes along with an Animal Crossing game. It may not hook me the way a standard entry in the series does – or even that wonderful home makeover spin-off – but it absolutely feel??s right as a free-to-play game on my phone.

_{[This review is based on a retail version of the game downloaded for free from Google Play]}

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A whimsical community, right in your pants

[UPDATE: Reports are coming in that a rush on downloa?ds and players are causing inevitable server struggles, be forewarned.] 

Free-to-Play community management game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has been made available to download for Android and iOS right now, a day earlier than originally scheduled.

The cute world-builder sees you putting together a campsite community of friendly characters. There are quests to complete, strangers to befriend and a wealth of crafting options. Obviously the game is also laden w??ith in-app purchases, as is the style for the Free-to-Play genre.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp can be downloaded t??oday on Android and iOS devices. It is live today in North America, Europe and Japan, Australia received the game last month. The app can be downloaded through Google Play and iTunes.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp [Nintendo]

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The wait is over. The waiting begins.

People in Australia and New Zealand have been enjoying Nintendo's newest mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, for nearly a month now. The rest of the world has had to wait for this ambiguous "late November" release date teased last month, but that wait is just about over. According to the official Animal Crossing Twitter account, Pocket Camp will get its global release on Wednesday.

I’m so excited to share this news with you… Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be coming to mobile devices worldwide on 11/22! I can’t wait! #PocketCamp pic.twitter.com/yvzMDz7uHl

— Isabelle (@animalcrossing) November 20, 2017

The impatient person I am, I downloaded the game from the Australia Google Play store and have been at it for the last month. It's cute, it's charming, it's about what I was expecting. You can check out my review-in-progress here and expect a final review shortly after launch.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp [Nintendo]

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Roughin' it

Many years ago, as the struggles of college encased me in a constant state of anxiety, I would often daydream of leaving it all behind, throwing away my cell phone, and hitting the road in a VW bus. I found them parked along the streets of my college town, in all different colors, and each time?? I passed one while going fo?r a walk it would lure me another inch towards that nomadic lifestyle, one free of all the worries and financial troubles of the modern day. I could feel the stress lifting off my shoulders every time I thought about it, but it was all just my imagination.

In reality, what I was doing was romanticizing poverty. The people who live out of their vans and venture across the country aren’t the soulful folk poets and sensitive writers I imagined them to be. As I read in Jessica Bruder’s Nomadland, many are struggling to get by, working odd jobs just to put food in their mouths and gas in their tank. Learning the realities of the nomad existence crushed my wayward dreams, but van life in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has?? tho??se idealized impressions creeping into my mind once more.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (iOS, Android [reviewed on an LG K20 Plus]) 
Developer: Nintendo, DeNA 
Publisher: Nintendo 
Released: October 25, 2017 (AU), Late November (WW) 
MSRP: Free-to-Play w/ In-App Purchases

With Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Nintendo and DeNA take the classic Animal Crossing formula, cut it up and serve it back us slice by slice. Most of the important facets of the series are here, including fishing, decorating, bug catching, fruit collecting and shopping. Instead of doing all of these activities in one large town, I now travel from tiny location to tiny location to access them. Nothing looks that much different from a standard Animal Crossing game, it’s just now I have to deal with a short load screen when I want to m?ove from task to task.

Right away let me say I am very happy how well this game runs on my phone. I h??????????????????????????ave a mid-tier LG and I was skeptical about how the game would run. It is smooth with crisp, colorful graphics a shade better than what I find on my 3DS. Touch controls are responsive and secon??d-nature by design. Like every other smartphone game Nintendo has put its name on, this looks, sounds, and controls exactly as you expect it to.

Much of the Animal Crossing experience is simplified. I no longer have to worry about carrying nets or fishing poles as they’re automatically equipped depending on where I am. Sneaking up on a bug requires no effort as long as I remember to tap when it prompts me. Fish in the game are so eager to be caught they make ?a b-line for the hook every time it’s cast, like I dipped it in pure Colombian cocaine before letting it fly. There’s no back and forth, no repositioning to make sure the river and sea creatures notice me. I can cast my line nearly anywhere and they come running.

Putting a series as beloved as this one on mobile could have been a disaster but I am pretty m??uch on board with the direction taken here. Broken up the way it is, I willingly return to it, day after day, to fulfill character requests, visit the campsites of other players, complete the daily and stretch goals and check out the new threads, déc?or and camper coatings that rotate in with a new day.

What I’m not on board with is some of the ways In-App Purchases are implemented. The economy of it feels off in version 0.9.0. Like the rent, Leaf Ticket costs are too damn high, flying out of my account faster than I can earn them. Nets to catch groups of fish and honey to catch bushels of bugs cost 15 tickets each use. It’s 20 tickets to visit Shovelstrike Quarry once, another 20 tickets to expand my inventory by five slots. I have to drop 80 tickets to gain the ability to craft two items at the same time. 150 tickets for some of the special camper pa?int job. 250 tickets for a damn Tom Nook chair! That’s not the mention the pressure I can be under to drop some tickets speeding up the crafting process.

The waiting game grows far too ridiculous too early in the game. Crafting chairs and ??sofas for my first five guests is a quick process with each item taking a minute to make. On the sixth character I try to invite to my campsite, not only does he require five items for me to craft before he’ll show up, but one of those items takes more than six hours to make and a second one requires five hours. Into my first day of playing, just two and a half hours or so under my belt, progress is already being put into timeout for half a d??ay while Cyrus takes his sweet ass time putting together a speaker system and drum set.

It’s an absolute buzzkill of a maneuver. I know waiting is to be expected here. Amenities can take a few days to build if I don’t spend any Leaf Tickets. I just didn’t ?expect it would happen this fast. I thought it would ease me into it more gr??adually, allowing the game to strengthen its grip on my free time. Instead, as I stare at my phone knowing progress is hours away, my attention starts to slip.

A real saving grace for Pocket Camp is I’m rarely without something to do. Like classic Animal Crossing, when I&rsq?uo;ve run all my errands and checked out the selectio?n at the shops for the day, I can just fish, catch bugs and grab seashells to my heart’s content. These items are most likely needed to fulfill requests, so I can grow my friendship level with the denizens of this squatter’s paradise even if I can’t get them to visit my campsite.

After three days I’m at level 20. I’ve already hit the cap on the number of guests I can have at my campsite at once and have begun rotating them out. Right now, the essence of Animal Crossing is there, or at least enough of it that I still look at the app longingly, with the doe-eyed glare the series manages to educe from me. It’s still early in my new vagabond lifestyle and I can go either way with it. A lot of what I love about the franchise is here, but I’m not quite sold on its Free-to-Play restrictions. Expect a final review of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp when it launches worldwide next month.

_{[This review in progress is based on a retail version of the game downloaded for free from Google Play]}

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Launching next month

It's been more than a year since Nintendo announced Animal Crossing would be making its way to smartphones. In that time the company has been mum on details, leaving fans to wonder just what type of game it would be. The big challenge for Nintendo and its mobile ventures has been crafting something that is tailor-made for a smartphone, captures the essence of the series, is able to stand on its own, and gets people excited about the company's next console offering. After seeing the game in action, I have very little doubt Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will do just that and more.

Embracing the tiny home lifestyle, Pocket Camp has shrunk our living space from a whole house to just a little camper. It's where our created character will live as we take control of a campsite we'll need to decorate to attract new visitors. Judging from the Nintendo Direct, crafting will be the prime objective of the game. Collect the right materials to craft a piece of furniture -- which will require you to wait a set amount of time -- ??and a character may stop by. It looks as though the campsite is very customizable with furn?iture, decorations and larger amenities to fill the empty space.

Though small, we'll be able to make the camper?? all our own. We can decorate the interior, exterior, and even add a loft for extra room. That camper will travel with our characters when they visit other lo?cations in the game like Breezy Hollow, Sunburst Island, and Market Place.

As you meet and greet visitors ?you'll build a relationship level with them. The higher it goes, the more likely it is they'll come to your site. This is achieved through crafting, chatting and completing requests.

Other Animal Crossing staples are here too. Time will pass by using a real-w?orld clock, there will be seasonal events with limited-time?? items, and we can find familiar shops set up in Market Place to peruse. Loans also return, this time courtesy of OK Motors where you can expand and upgrade your camper. Players will be able to visit one another by sharing player IDs and other players may randomly show up in your game from time to time.

Though it wasn't explicitly said in the Direct, the official site confirms Pocket Camp is a Free-to-Play app. Bells return as the in-game currency but there are also Leaf Tickets that can be purchased with real money or earned through playing. These can be used to speed up crafting time or purchase specific crafting materials. There will also be ads on the screen letting you know about limited time deals. Annoying,?? but not a deal breaker. A consistent internet connection is also required.

What I like best of what was shown is the character interaction with the items?? we'll create. A pool isn't just there for looks. Characters will chill out next to it or float on th??e water, soaking up those summer rays. That, along with the super helpful fishing net, are just some of the additions I'd love to see make their way into the next proper entry in the series. 

It's not Animal Crossing for Switch, which people won't stop asking for until it finally happens, but Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp absolutely looks like something that will devour my attention on my commute to and from work. Its longevity will depend on just how long those crafting wait times will be and if there will be activities we can do while waiting for them to complete. I need to see how it controls before I make my final judgment, but getting a delicious slice of the Animal Crossing formula on my phone should be enough to hold me over until that Switch game becomes a reality. If it is anything like Fire Emblem Heroes, Pocket Camp will only improve in the weeks and months following its? releas?e.

Preregistration for the app has begun. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will l?aunch for iO?S and Android in late November, unless you live in Australia or New Zealand where it is apparently already available. It will require iOS 9 and newer, or Android 4.2 and newer.

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