As promised Nintendo has lifted the lid on its Animal Crossing mobile title - it's called Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and will launch in late November on both iOS and Google Play.
First of all, the videos (including a short 'digest') are below.
As you can see it's looking like a rather extensive experience. Despite the campsite setting a lot of the same hooks remain in place - you have a home to decorate and expand, while you manage a campsite rather than a full town. It's all about gathering resources to construct furniture and amenities for the site. The map shows four varied areas to visit, too - you can find different resources and also bond with a variety of animals. If you do tasks for them that's another way to earn useful goods, and they'll visit your campsite.
In terms of online features there are a couple of key areas. One is that you can have other human visitors and become friends through the app, and likewise you can visit other camps. You can exchange praise as 'kudos' and even buy goods from each other, while there's also a marketplace to buy other goodies with in-app money.
As expected there are also optional microtransactions, with pricing in US dollars below. These Leaf tickets can be spent on resources or items, and can also be used as a shortcut to speed up construction. These are typical mobile approaches, though as Animal Crossing is normally a patient experience many will likely wait out build times. You can also earn Leaf tickets (and conventional Bells) in-game and through achievements, plus My Nintendo support seems inevitable.
Let us know what you think of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp so far. It looks like quite a fleshed out Animal Crossing experience for mobile, and it'll be fascinating to see how well balanced its microtransactions are in the free-to-start title; you can pre-register your interest at this website.
Are you excited about this?
Comments 104
Pocket Camp looks okay, but I'm not losing my mind over it or anything. It seems like a bit of fun, but I don't really know how long it will captivate me for. Guess we'll have to see next month.
Probably the best thing they could do for an Animal Crossing mobile game. It's funny, the wait times in the mobile game that you can pay to advance are similar to the ones in the mainline games that you can't.
Looks good. The microtransactions don't look as invasive as they could have been. Less invasive than the gacha mechanic in FE Heroes at least
Switch game please. This does look kinda cool for a mobile game, though.
Slightly disappointed at the lack of custom designs/clothes.
I am impressed to be honest. Pretty deep for a mobile game.
I’m honestly not sure why Nintendo would release an Animal Crossing game for mobile devices when they just came out with the Switch. I think most people would rather play a mobile AC game on their Switch rather than on their phones.
I'm so getting it. Free game for me, and I won't spend a dime.
sure why not
Does it work in offline mode?
@HFish The userbase for smartphones is much bigger than the Switch. So I can see why they did it.
Looks Fun and Decent 😊 Also the Top Payment for Microtransactions is $7.99 which is not breaking the bank for anyone if they choose to purchase Leaf Tickets. Looking forward to downloading it in November 😊
Great display for Nintendo! This will be the most successful by far of their mobile success. People want free to play games and this is just that! I am not a big animal crossing fan but this app certainly caught my attention surprisingly. On the go from my phone, this app seems like the perfect thing to play for a few minutes in between waiting for things in real life! Great job Nintendo!
Not a huge fan of Animal Crossing, but I may check this out. The IAPs don't seem too obstructive.
I mainly use the Animal Crossing games to teach my villagers dirty things to say and chop down the trees in my friends' villages. If I can't do that with this game then I won't play it!!!!
Looks like a fun little spin-off in the same vein as Happy Home Designer.
The microtransaction currency is the giant elephant in the room, though. Currently it looks to be for people who are impatient, but if they start locking limited time exclusive content behind it, it will go South fast.
I saw the modern furniture. That is what I always collect, so here we go again! For my RV though. I'll do whatever the camp needs for Lobo since he was one of the first critters I ever met!
@Phin68 Plus, it's a spin-off as well. Whatever new Animal Crossing game that comes to the Switch will be a full fledged console title.
@HFish Google "how many people have a smartphone" and you'll have your answer.
Looks a little better than I thought but still slightly shallow when compared to the far more comprehensive 3DS version. I'll wait for a proper Switch Animal Crossing game free of microtransactions.
It looks much better than what I expected which was a city builder. It will be interesting to see if it ties in with an AC game on the Switch, maybe connect your Ninten ID and you can visit the campsite on the Switch. That would be a cool little feature.
@AlternateButtons there’s no way a mainline AC won’t come to switch. This will drum up interest and hype for the series, and I expect a new larger fully-fledged entry on switch next Christmas.
@iNintendo I mean I'm sure people thought there was "no way" a full AC wouldn't come to the Wii U. One can even say it fits better there, considering the second screen. I do think it will come to the Switch eventually, but when..............
Aww I love Goldie ^^. I must say...this looks great!
@Captain_Gonru So what's the verdict? You're the only person I know who's really into AC. Giving up on the Windows phone yet?
I haven't watched the video yet, and it's after midnight so I'm going to bed, but it sounds like an AC game. Better than aF. Better than HHD even. I'll probably play a bit, like 15 minutes a day throughout the holiday, then we'll see.
So, does the visiting remind anybody else of Miitomo? Like Miitomo and it's one room decorating only existed as a stepping stone beta test for this.
Micro-transactions sicken me. This style of mobile game is a cancer destroying the industry. Is this the real future of gaming? Touchscreen only micro-transaction infested perversions of fun and beloved game series? Dumbed down for 3-8 minute play sessions?
I might try this game. Maybe. But if I run into the MT wall I will drop it like a hot rock.
No thanks. Wake me up when we get a real Animal Crossing game (on Switch).
@DarthNocturnal Aw dang
It will be interesting to see what kind of connectivity with a home version it could have.
Looks cool for fans but about 30 hours in New Leaf (my first AC game) was enough to exit the series. I had a good time but it wasn't for me.
This might be fun to play while we wait for the real Animal Crossing coming to the Switch. It seems like you can get by without paying real money, so that's good. I wonder how this app and the real game will interact with each other.
@Nintendoforlife I think a lot of people say that Animal Crossing works better as a handheld game. I never expected an Animal Crossing on Wii U nor wanted one. AC is not worth a yearly or biyearly release. With so much time passed and Switch being a hybrid, AC is a no brainer at this point.
I‘ll check it out but I doubt I‘ll get as much playtime out of it as with console releases. Also note that I said the same thing for FE Heroes and Mario Run, both of which I have installed on my phone but have yet to play them. So there‘s that.
My family is AC crazy so I'll be giving this a look. I'd really have preferred if they had gone the Super Mario Run route with a one time payment though. I don't like the idea of constantly looking at a money sink.
Big ol MEHHH
@brandonbwii
"I think a lot of people say that Animal Crossing works better as a handheld game"
How so? In terms of gameplay, the dual screens of the DS are just enlarged with the Wii U. Of course it's nowhere close to as portable, but in some cases HD gameplay would trump that.
"I never expected an Animal Crossing on Wii U nor wanted one."
Why would you not expect it? It was released on the GameCube, then Wii, so why wouldn't you expect the Wii U to also get it?
"AC is not worth a yearly or biyearly release. With so much time passed and Switch being a hybrid, AC is a no brainer at this point."
The last console version was released in 2008 so that's around 8 years of time when it could have been developed. I would say that's a generous time frame to release a game of its popularity. I do agree AC will work perfectly on the Switch, I just don't think it will happen as soon as people believe it will.
@HFish Nintendo plans to use mobile as a tool to push people towards their dedicated hardware. It's less for people who already play games in the series than it is for people who don't. I imagine their plan is to create a situation like Pokemon had. Build hype around the free mobile game then use that hype when the next game comes out on Nintendo's dedicated hardware. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if we started seeing info about Animal Crossing Switch early next year with a launch either mid to late in the year.
Of course there's gonna be an Animal Crossing on Switch at some point, maybe even announced next year. But Jesus Christ y'all, look how much has been coming out for the Switch in just a year, between first party, third party, and indie releases. And we already know some major titles that'll be releasing in '18. Honestly, I wouldn't even want one that soon because I need time to enjoy the stuff that's currently coming out, some of which I won't get for a while because my bank account isn't infinite.
This definitely seems like something to try to get some more people into the series who may not have ever touched it before. Heck, before New Leaf, I had zero interest in the series and only got NL because my girlfriend and other friends were. It also seems like something just really nice for when I'm on break at work or something. Granted, I've been replaying NL a good bit so I don't know how much time I'd personally spend on it.
Pretty much straight Animal Crossing on mobile, I'm perfectly okay with that.
I'll at least give it a try.
Do people care about mobile games now the switch is out and doing so well?
Looks really good. I hope leveling up villagers becomes a thing going forwards. It's be great to have a villager move in permanently.
Curious how they are going to blunder this.
Huge install size?
Always on internet connection required?
Game has to reload from scratch if focus is taken away from the app?
All of the above?
Some new way Nintendo finds to be ahem..."quirky."
Requires persistent internet Darn train tunnels..
Meh, looks okay but it's still free to play with micro transactions.
I play games to have fun, not to be constantly reminded I can spend realy money to make the game more fun.
Yes, I spend realy money on games all the time, the difference is that with microtransactions it's basically a bottomless pit. You can throw all the money you have at the game but there will never be a point where you don't need to pay for anything anymore.
Can't wait for the Switch version to get announced and released, can't come soon enough
Lets just hope that its just a "Hype Machine" for upcoming proper titles, as Nintendos mobile games have a tendency to just fade into obscurity pretty quickly.
Probably worth a try, certainly not worth any money.
@Heavyarms55 Micro-transactions in full-price single player games may destroy the industry, but in mobile games where you pay nothing up front, they're a legitimate payment model. Not one I personally indulge, but still logical.
I’m so so excited.
Anyone notice they’re still trying to use friend IDs? I thought they learned from Mario Run to use social networks to connect to friends...
Still enjoying Mario Run, but I've barely touched Miitomo and Fire Emblem since playing them at launch. Not sure I'll bother downloading this one.
New things I want to see in the Switch version... That could happen because of this game.
1)fishing net, can add boats in the game, which you can go to the ocean and throw a net to get cool things and even get bonus points for recycling
2)RV, which can be decorated and can take you to friends' towns in real time and interact with them. It would be cool. Maybe you can even take a couple of friends and road trip to exotic locations (aka New towns, and take fruit and things back to you town)
3)new characters and connection to this mobile game, send best friends etc.
4)friendship levels.... Maybe even enemy levels (but I don't think that one is plausible). Le el up friends for more interactions and new things to do, kinda like Mable sisters and the owl in the coffee shop.
I like the Nintendo approach to microtransactions. They truly are optional. I maxed out my Super Mario Run tickets by playing the game.
The game is already available in Australia on Android - have enjoyed the half hour I have played so far.
For those curious the download size is sitting at 329mb currently, but the game seems to download additional data when it's needed so it could get larger.
And no issues at all when switching to another app or minimizing thankfully!
Kind of weird that the log-rolling world is gone. I hope that doesn't carry over to the next "real" entry.
Looks alright, but not as great as the 3DS game New Leaf. Since I have New Leaf and since the mobile game will have microtransactions, I'll likely just skip the mobile game.
It looks fine.
I will get it, but I can't see myself playing it much.
It looks great for a mobile game and I love how the developers used the Animal Crossing vibe so good. When the Switch version of AC comes out, I would love to see it interact with the mobile game.
For those wondering why they develope a mobile game rather than a Switch version; it is to attract new consumers to the Switch and Animal Crossing fanbase.
@noutBr If it works just like Fire Emblem Heroes, you don't need to spend a single penny.
I really liked it. I was worried Nintendo would be over simplistic but just as with Fire Emblem, they've managed to create a taster version of the franchise. This should feed the Animal Crossing hunger until its time for a new main series entry.
Not a phone gamer, but this looks like a solid title for those platforms. They'll make a ton of money off this and will help grow a new audience for a future Switch title.
@kepsux
Nintendo's console games on their own hardware are tiny; how are mobile Nintendo games supposed to be huge?
@eelzilla Confirmed: Now available on Australian Google Play store
@westman98 Well, Super Mario Run is 231MB and another high quality runner (Rayman Fiesta Run) is only 56MB, so I dunno, but they figured it out somehow.
I just also checked the size of the Nintendo Switch Online app, and it is 55MB. Hahaha. Sigh.
Sizes sourced from Android, btw.
Looking good, and boding well for AC Switch. That game is gonna be huuuuuuge (as in scope).
This looks alright, don't know if it will have any real impact or big userbase though. We shall see. However I don't think it's going to do much to get new people to buy any forthcoming Animal Crossing games on the Switch.
Firstly by the time that game comes out, potentially holiday 2018, this game will be long since forgotten by the majority of people, plus even if not the full experience, what reason is there to purchase a new gadget and a full price game when they already have it on their phone for free?
This game is already available in Australia. 😜
http://mashable.com/2017/10/25/animal-crossing-australia/
Meh. If you have New Leaf, you might as well just play that. This game adds nothing significant that New Leaf doesn't already contain. What a waste of time.
I'll wait for Animal Crossing Switch.
Well, it's free, so I'll certainly try it. Looks like a fun distraction.
@HFish
It makes so much sense.
Pokemon Go indirectly made a big impact on 3DS sales, and regularly Pokemon games. Sales really increased significant.
It's this positive side effect that Nintendo is after, when releasing these smaller versions of popular franchises for mobile.
If your want the real deal though, you have to invest in some Nintendo hardware. But as an introduction to Nintendo, these mobile games are perfect.
Also, these days many kids only have mobile and tablet for games. It is important for Nintendo to be on those platforms, so that they can influence new generations of gamers with their content and franchises.
Like every mobile game, this will be driven by micro transactions, no thanks...
@FragRed
Pokemon Go indirectly made a big impact on 3DS sales. So there you have it. It makes sense.
This is a weathered down experience compared to the full console version. It serves as a great introduction to Nintendos franchise, like with all their other mobile offerings.
If you want more of this, and perhaps something more fleshed out, you need to invest in some Nintendo hardware. It all makes perfectly sense business wise.
Nintendo needs to be on those big mobile platforms to influence potential new customers.
The most funniest thing is that this is the first HD Animal Crossing lol.
AC on Switch would trigger an immediate Switch purchase. My wife is a big fan through all the AC titles.
AC on mobile? Maybe. But I suspect that if you are an AC fan, the mobile version won't float your boat and you'll end up getting out your 3ds to play NL.
@GaymerGuy5 Top payment is 7.99? Guess you didn't catch the scroll bar on the side. It's just cut off from being at the top of the page.
No intel on amiibo compatibility? That surprises me considering how many cards there are. I suppose Apple's stance on NFC messes with that idea.
Anyway, seems like a decent effort on Nintendo's part. Already about 1000 times the draw that amiibo Festival had.
We've gone from amiibo to now microtransactions. Well done Tom Nook
I've never played Animal Crossing, and a F2P mobile game with microtransactions doesn't sound like a good place to start.
Do people even read the article/watch the video before commenting? Good grief.
@HFish As it’s trying to entice people who don’t own a Switch and the mobile/tablet crowd. Not that difficult to get your head around it.
@Dr_Corndog Micro transactions are only there if you’re a lazy so and so who can’t be bothered to wait, rather than intruding on the game. Again, not that difficult to get your head around that.
Wait, I thought there would be a Zelda mobile app?
Is this technically the first HD animal crossing?
I’m not a big Animal Crossing fan so I couldn’t care less about a Switch release (if only to shut people up) and this looks fine to me.
I hope I can play this on my iPad because I don’t have a phone. It looks fun and I’m going to try it out at least.
The setting makes no sense. Who puts electric instruments and cupboards out in the open on a campsite?
@LafayetteBlues Gotcha. No need to be rude about it.
Portrait only again, as expected. What is it with Japanese telephone gamers? Do they only have one hand? We see in widescreen, portrait mode makes sense for lists, and nothing else.
As for the game, it's free to play garbage. Recent revelations from EU reveal just how cancerous and dangerous free to play is. The so called "whales" get addicted and spend tens of thousands. It's toxic, and it should be banned. It ruins lives, and it's something Nintendo should have absolutely nothing to do with. I realise most people are immune and won't spend a penny, but not everyone is so strong willed.
Just so I'm clear, something like dungeon keeper is poison to the industry, but this is ok.
@rjejr I actually had a Windows phone until recently. After some poor decisions on Microsoft's part, I finally jumped ship last weekend. I guess I couldn't have done it at a better time, seeing how much I enjoy Animal Crossing.
From first impressions the micro transactions don't look to intrusive, and more like the old "speed up this process" affair, which I've been able to live with on quite a number of mobile games.
One thing I hope is that this will familiarize people with AC who've never played it, and attract them to get the main entries in the series. And hopefully, if there's going to be a Switch version, they'll include some kind of connectivity feature between it and AC: Pocket Camp.
it'd be decent if you payed up front and the game wasn't designed to drain your wallet with microtransactions, but considering it is, I'll never accept it as a real Animal Crossing game.
As long as we get a Switch game soon after, I don't really care. I thought the presentation was fine. As with most mobile games, I play for maybe a month, then drop off. Oh, and I never drop a cent on games like these. This is why I have a Switch and 3DS.
Looking forward to playing the game!!
@OfNullAndVoid "One thing I hope is that this will familiarize people with AC who've never played it,"
I think more people are familiar w/ AC now from those rows upon rows of AC:aF amiibo that lined the shelves at Target, TRU and GS for a year or so. (Saw the boxed game new at GS for $9.99 the other day.) Still don't know why they went with AC over Pokemon. Did you know there are now more Link amiibo - not LoZ, just Link himself - 11, then the total for Pokemon, which I think is now 5.
Anyway, congrats on the new phone. I bought a new Samsung cheapie a month ago b/c the old battery died. It's mostly the same but it's so nice to have 16GB rather than 8GB so I'll give this a try. Nothing ever moves to SD cards well for me.
Come join us over at https://www.reddit.com/r/ACPocketCamp/ to discuss the game!
@sandman89 it's not about a mobile game. It's about AC. People who play it, love this game. I don't like Stardew Valley etc, so this will be a perfect hold off until the Switch release
@moroboshi People getting addicting and dropping a ton of money isn't the fault of game developers. That's people being stupid. As for this AC game, it actually looks quite nice. Might decide to download this when it pops up in the US. And I will probably drop a couple dollars to show some support.
To all of the people complaining that this doesn't look super deep, it's not supposed to, this game is meant to introduce people to the Animal Crossing series and convince them to buy the deeper games on 3DS or the eventual Switch version. It's literally AC Lite.
Hi NLifers! Please take a moment to add me if you’re so inclined : 06922055902
@misfitpierce Whoops Didn't Notice that 😅 Never mind then lol
@Indielink
Year right... like drug dealers a totally innocent. We should let them roam free as they want to. It's just people being addictive and stupid taking those drugs, right?!?
There are actually people who get addicted to games, and can't stop paying those micro transaction. The gaming industry are calling them "whales", and some mobile publishers are active targeting them in their games. I think that is a problem.
I also think, that this trend is ruining many games for all others. Like we see more and more mobile games, that is designed to make people addicted and get as much money out of them. They a no longer designed to be completed without paying a lot of extra micro transaction. And some games can't be completed at all.
This trend has also slowly transferred to bigger games, and is a treat. The big publishers like EA are more greedy than ever before. Games should be made and designed only to give the customer a complete and pleasant gaming experience. Not to farm people for all their money. And if I pay 30-50$ for a game, I want a quality product.
@DarthNocturnal Dang, that sucks. I can only do wi-fi with my device so I don't think I'll be playing this game a lot.
I thought this game might take away from my Stardew Valley obsession on Switch. But I really don't think it will. I'll download it and maybe play a little of it at work but I don't think I'll be putting much effort in to it. Was more hoping for a full Animal Crossing experience (which hopefully is coming to Switch in the not too distant future). The odd short play through here and there as I said at work is likely all this game will get from me. And I'm definitely not spending real money to buy those Leaf Tickets just to speed up construction. If it takes 72hrs to build a pool, then so be it. Hopefully it's not difficult to earn those Leaf Tickets through normal game play and that, like the Miitomo Drop Tickets are, they become available to download from My Nintendo and they replenish themselves every month so that way it's easy to get a few from My Nintendo each month.
Looks great and will definitely get. However, wish it was just $5 and done like Mario Run. In-app purchases really annoy me, personally.
My wife will like this.
They need to do a complete overhaul for switch.
@kepsux
BTW Pocket Camp is just over 100 MB in size. Half the size of Mario Run.
It looks nice as a little time waster while I'm on the subway or the bus.... But I have a complaint already.
Pregistration is NOT available on Chile's Play Store!
I already had the same thing with Fire Emblem Heroes - it isn't available here on Chile, and if I wanted to play it, I had to download the apk to my phone and update it manually.
So, since manually updating is annoying, if this isn't available on Latin America, I won't bother. I won't jump through the hoops for a company that ignores a whole part of the world!
I can't even begin to say how I'm happy to see this and how it appears to really be a free full blown non-corner cut Animal Crossing experience as that long video has it all and more new too. Sure you can pay to speed up some timers, but it's wholly non-necessary in the least bit. They've taken a solid angle with it much like Pokemon Go/Magikarp Jump so only the impatient whale type fools will need to make the splash repeatedly. Perhaps if you feel rewarded enough with the time into it, buy a thing or two to pay them their respects.
Nintendo is showing they do care to make a game anyone can approach kids to adults while not making it as a pissy rotten cash grab to force you to pay and pay again just to advance the game along. I never though I'd trust a company with a free to play game to be honest about it, but they have.
@Captain_Gonru "And, is it wrong that I sort of hope it doesn't do well? If it takes off, what does that mean for a proper new entry?"
Yes, yes it is wrong.
How about you look at it this way - if it does well and becomes popular, that's marketing for a new AC Switch game that people will buy for $60 each. Maybe some DLC microtransactions to boost profits even more.
I see your concern, why make the effort for a real game when you can make money on mobile junk, but I've always, always, seen the 2 as complementary, they drive the demand for each other, nto repalcmeents.
If anybody tells me they aren't buying SMO b/c they have SMR I'm so kicking their behind. Big time. Mobile is marketing. Even if the mobile game makes more profit than a console game, the console game also sells other games. I've never worried about Nitnedo going 3rd party mobile, they like their hardware and software. Mobile is their new handheld, the 3DS replacement.
Of course Switch may never get an AC game, and you can blame that on mobile if you want, but I'l just say they wanted to keep it on mobile, not every 3DS game was on Wii/U. So far mobile has Miitomo, Mario, FE and now AC. Mario is out tomorrow, Switch is getting an FE game next year, nobody wants Miitomo on Switch anyway.
http://www.siliconera.com/2017/06/01/fire-emblem-switch-going-look-beautiful-says-nintendo/
So just enjoy it if you want, don't if you don't, I honestly don't think it has ANY bearing on a Switch AC game, they'll make that or they won't.
FYI AoS Fri Dec 1.
http://deadline.com/2017/10/marvel-agents-of-shield-season-5-premiere-date-for-season-5-inhumans-clark-gregg-1202184120/
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