Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Kazuyoshi Sensui [1] |
Producer(s) | Hideki Konno [1] |
Series | Animal Crossing |
Engine | Unity |
Platform(s) | Android, iOS |
Release | Original Complete
|
Genre(s) | Social simulation |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp [b] was a 2017 free-to-play social simulation mobile game developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. An installment in the Animal Crossing series, it was released in Australia in October 2017 and worldwide the following month. The game continues the series of social simulations that allow players to interact with a small campsite with various campers, performing small tasks, engaging in commerce, and decorating living spaces.
The game reached its end of service at 15:00 UTC on November 28, 2024, and was replaced with a paid offline version with no micro-transactions called Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, released on December 2, 2024 at 12:00 a.m UTC. [2] Players have until June 1, 2025 at 7:00 a.m UTC to transfer their save data before it is then automatically deleted. [3]
Animal Crossing is a series of social simulation video games in which players customize their avatars' living spaces and communities by trading materials and favors for decorative items. [4] [5] In Pocket Camp, the player decorates a campsite in lieu of a town, and gathers materials such as wood and cotton from the surrounding area to trade for furniture orders. [4] The player-character befriends neighboring animal characters, who can visit the player's campsite, as can other human players both invited and at random. [4] The player's avatar can travel to multiple locations, such as Sunburst Island or Saltwater Shores, and a marketplace that sells furniture and avatar clothing. The player's customization options extend to their avatar's gender, facial traits, and recreational vehicle abode. [4]
Neighbors in nearby "recreation sites" reward the player with crafting materials for completing requests. A local craftsman, the alpaca Cyrus, turns these resources into furniture, pools, and new locations. The player can attract specific neighbors by placing their favorite furniture at the campsite. Each visit increases that relationship's experience level, in a new game mechanic for the series. Akin to previous games, the player can fish and pay off a debt on their home. [5]
In lieu of the villager interaction seen in previous titles, Pocket Camp takes a complex look at the villager relationship system. Each villager has a specific relationship level that is increased by performing tasks and chatting with them each day. The player is then rewarded with furniture and clothing representative of the villager's aesthetic.
The mobile game features optional microtransactions that can be purchased to improve gameplay. Compared to the main series games, a new currency, Leaf Tickets, are obtainable within the game or through microtransactions, which the player can use to reduce in-game timers or to craft without raw materials. [4] [5] The player accrues Leaf Tickets by completing in-game tasks or buying the currency outright through the real-world app store. The player can also trade Leaf Tickets for special event furniture, which attracts specific characters to the player's campsite. [6] The game's developer plans to introduce seasonal events and furniture with limited availability. [4]
In addition to Leaf Tickets, the game features purchasable fortune cookies that reward randomized items depending on type of fortune cookie. [7] These loot boxes are typically released for a limited time, and their themes are typically associated with a villager. Fortune cookies can be found by visiting the Market Place, and they can be purchased by either Leaf Tickets or bells. [8] Players can purchase a fortune cookie for 50 Leaf Tickets or 5,000 bells. Each fortune cookie contains 10 limited-edition items ranging from 3-star ratings to 5-star ratings. The 5-star rating item is the rarest to obtain, and it unlocks a Scrapbook Memory pertaining to the villager associated with the cookie. [9] Fortune cookie purchases also come with redeemable stamp cards. Players receive a stamp every time they purchase a fortune cookie. Every time players reach 10 stamps, they can exchange their stamp cards with a selected fortune cookie item. [10] When players purchase 5 fortune cookies at once for 250 Leaf Tickets, they receive an extra stamp for a total of 6 stamps. [11]
There are several events in the game that are repeated with similar game-play elements and different rewards including Garden events, Fishing tournaments and Scavenger hunts.
Nintendo planned a mobile game in its Animal Crossing series among the company's first smartphone releases, as announced in early 2016. [12] The Animal Crossing series was selected for its wide demographic reach. [13] The mobile game was originally scheduled for release later that year but was later delayed, [14] as Nintendo prioritized its release of Super Mario Run . [15] Over the next year, Nintendo experimented with microtransactions in the mobile Fire Emblem Heroes . [16] On October 25, 2017, Nintendo revealed Pocket Camp during a Nintendo Direct presentation as its fourth mobile app. [12] [16] It was released in Australia the same day for iOS and Android platforms, [17] and was released worldwide in 41 other countries on November 21, 2017. [18] [19] An update in December 2017 brought limited edition Christmas-themed items, such as Santa Claus outfits and Christmas trees. [20]
Pocket Camp features gacha gaming loot boxes. [21] Nintendo's concerns over the loot box gameplay present in Pocket Camp led to the decision to revoke access to downloading or playing the game for Belgian users, starting from August 27, 2019. [7] [22]
On November 21, 2019, Nintendo released two subscription plans for players to purchase in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. [23] The Happy Helper Plan allows users to choose a villager who helps the campsite by gathering materials, earning bells, and fulfilling villager requests. The chosen villager also earns rewards for the player by participating in reoccurring events. The plan gives subscribers 60 Leaf Tickets every time the subscription is renewed. The Furniture and Fashion Plan allows players to save design layouts and distributes five Fortune Cookies to players each month. These Fortune Cookies contain themed furniture/clothing items that are no longer available to purchase in the game. Both subscription plans also help reduce furniture and clothing crafting time, and allow players to access the Pocket Camp Club Journal, which contains articles, images, and videos of Animal Crossing villagers interacting with each other, and increase storage space for players to store furniture items. Upon their release, the Happy Helper Plan cost $2.99 per month, and the Furniture and Fashion Plan cost $7.99 per month. [24]
On January 27, 2022 Nintendo released a third plan, the Merry Memories Plan allowing players to customise an in game planner. [25] The plan allows for access to the planner sticker shop, the ability to link with Google Fit or the iOS Health app to record steps, increased rewards from seasonal in-game events and 20 leaf tickets per month. [26]
On August 21, 2024, the game's official X account posted a statement that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp reached its end of service at 15:00 UTC on November 28 and will be replaced with a paid, offline version without micro-transactions allowing users to transfer their save data. [2]
On October 27, 2024, the paid version was revealed to be titled Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete. [27] The paid version released on December 2, 2024, for $19.99, with a temporary discount of $9.99 for the first two months of release. The game is set to include all previously released items and events (minus various collaboration items such as the Sanrio collection), with one additional year of new content, from December 2024 to September 2025.
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 72/100 [28] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
IGN | 8/10 [29] |
Nintendo Life | [30] |
TouchArcade | [31] |
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregate Metacritic. [28] Praise was given by Polygon for the game's approach to introduce mobile players to the gameplay of the main series games, although the results were somewhat mixed over the time-dependent gameplay. [32] Polygon described the tutorial to be too overly extensive, but welcomed the concept of organizing and completing various activities according to real-time. [32]
By September 2018, the game had grossed $50 million. [33] As of April 2020 [update] , the game has grossed over $150 million worldwide. [34]
Less than a week before its worldwide release, the game won the award for "Studio of the Year" (Nintendo EPD) at the 2017 Golden Joystick Awards; [35] after it was released, it was nominated for "Best Mobile Game" in IGN 's Best of 2017 Awards. [36] In Game Informer 's Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, it took the lead for "Best Simulation Game". [37] It was also nominated for the A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game at the New York Game Awards 2018, [38] for "Mobile Game of the Year" at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards, [39] [40] and for "Mobile Game of the Year" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards. [41] [42] At the Famitsu Awards, it won the Excellence Prize. [43]
Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games based on the Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.
Animal Crossing, stylized as Welcome to Animal Crossing, and known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori+, is a 2001 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the first game in the Animal Crossing series, and is also an enhanced version of the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, which was only released in Japan earlier the same year, and was followed by another edition, Dōbutsu no Mori e+, in 2003.
Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series created and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In Animal Crossing, the player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various Animated animals and can do various activities like fishing, insect catching, and fossil hunting. The series is notable for its open-ended gameplay, chill gameplay, cute dialogue, nice hourly music, and use of the video game console's internal clock and calendar to simulate real passage of time.
Totakeke, more commonly known as K.K. Slider or K.K., is a fictional character within the Animal Crossing franchise. One of the franchise's most popular characters, he debuted in the title Animal Crossing, and has appeared in every installment since. K.K.'s main role is as a folk rock musician who performs to the townsfolk, through live performances and purchasable in-game albums. He is based on Nintendo video game voice actor and composer Kazumi Totaka – his Japanese nickname "Totakeke" being a contraction of "Totaka K." – and has been said to be an animal caricature of Totaka.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a 2012 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. In the game, the player controls a human character who takes on the role of mayor in a town populated with anthropomorphic animals. As the fourth main title in the Animal Crossing series, it was released in Japan in November 2012, and in 2013 in international territories.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is a 2015 sandbox video game developed and published by Nintendo, with assistance from Monolith Soft, for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Japan in July 2015, in North America in September 2015, and in PAL regions in October 2015. The game is a spin-off of the Animal Crossing series where the player designs homes for various anthropomorphic animal characters.
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as "Stardew Valley". The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.
Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division, abbreviated Nintendo EPD, is the largest division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. The division focuses on developing and producing video games, mobile apps, and other related entertainment software for the company. Nintendo EPD was established in September 2015 after merging their Entertainment Analysis & Development and Software Planning & Development divisions.
Super Mario Run is a 2016 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and later Android. It is Nintendo's first mobile game that is part of one of the company's long-running and major franchises.
Fire Emblem Heroes is a free-to-play tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for Android and iOS. The game is a mobile spin-off of the Fire Emblem series featuring its characters, and was released on February 2, 2017. Fire Emblem Heroes received a number of awards and nominations in "Best Mobile Game" categories. As of 2020 the game had grossed over $656 million worldwide, making it Nintendo's highest-grossing mobile game.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are 2017 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Part of the seventh generation of the Pokémon video game series, the games are enhanced versions of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, which released the previous year. Announced in June 2017, they were released worldwide on 17 November 2017. They were the final mainline Pokémon games for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, with the series migrating over to the Nintendo Switch the next year.
Nintendo, a Japanese home and handheld video game console manufacturer and game developer, has traditionally focused on games that utilize unique elements of its consoles. However, in the early 2010s, the company saw several successive fiscal quarters where they were running at an operating loss. This financial turmoil prompted a shift in strategy to enter the mobile gaming market with the aid of mobile platform development partner DeNA, using mobile titles as a marketing tool to entice that audience into purchasing Nintendo's dedicated video game hardware.
Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition is a 2018 action role-playing game co-developed by XPEC Entertainment, SummerTimeStudio and publisher Square Enix. The title is an abridged version of the 2016 title Final Fantasy XV, remaking its storyline, graphics, and gameplay for mobile devices. Originally released for Android and iOS, it was later released for Windows 10 through the Microsoft Store, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The console versions were released under the title Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD. Split into ten chapters, the game follows protagonist Noctis Lucis Caelum and his party across the world of Eos, with players navigating semi-linear environments and fulfilling quests to advance the story. The first chapter is available for free, while subsequent chapters must be purchased.
Isabelle, known as Shizue (しずえ) in Japan, is a fictional character from the Animal Crossing series of video games. She is a gentle Shih Tzu that debuted in the 2012 release Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where she serves as the secretary to the player character.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch; it is the fifth main entry in the Animal Crossing series. In New Horizons, the player controls a character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook, accomplishes assigned tasks, and develops the island as they choose. They can gather and craft items, customize the island, and develop it into a community of anthropomorphic animals.
Zipper T. Bunny is a character in the Animal Crossing series, having first appeared in the 2008 release of Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii. He is a yellow anthropomorphic rabbit who appears on the Animal Crossing equivalent of Easter Day, Bunny Day, tasking the player with finding eggs across the town.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 2023 life simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft Montreal and published by Gameloft. The game has players tend to a magical valley populated by various Disney and Pixar characters who previously underwent a curse that caused them to lose their memories of their lives in the valley.
Raymond is a character in the Animal Crossing series, having first appeared in the 2020 release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch, as well as an update in the 2017 mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. He is an anthropomorphic cat who may appear on a player's island in New Horizons and be subsequently recruited as a villager to their island. He also appears in the manga adaptation of New Horizons, and has had merchandise created featuring him, including stickers, magnets, and plushes.