Nintendo has finally announced its first Animal Crossing game for smartphones. The game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will release for both iOS and Android sometime in November.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp – what’s new?
Just like other mobile games, Pocket Camp also runs in day and night, and the players have the choice to hop around to different locations such as Saltwater Shores and Sunburst Island. A marketplace within the game sells furniture items, shoes and clothing. The character in the game could be a girl or boy with options to change the hair, skin and eye color.
Players would be able to personalize their character and the campsite. There would be various collectibles in the game, which could be used to decorate the furniture. A player who wants to get these collectibles will have to visit the nearby sites, and do some service to the animals. Once the player has everything they need, an alpaca blacksmith Cyrus would help in crafting the material to create beautiful furniture.
The trick here is that different animals have different preferences when it comes to furniture. So, the chances of an animal visiting the campsite increases if the furniture lures them. In return, the “friendship level” between the animal and the player would increase. This new feature helps the players to gauge how much an animal likes them. Players can also visit other farms and make friends with the players.
Further, new crafting items would help in building a new pool or a playground, but finding such items could take time. This is where Nintendo comes in, offering in-game purchase of those items and speeding the construction with Tom Nook’s help by paying with Leaf Tickets, which can be earned inside the game.
A player can do some classic Animal Crossing activities like fishing, either through fishing net or rods. Of the two methods, the fishing net is quicker as it catches a bunch of fish at once. Nintendo has also promised seasonal events for the game along with limited time furniture that would be available through updates.
Mobile games – a big segment for Nintendo
Over the past year, this is Nintendo’s third mobile game after Super Mario Run (launched in December 2016) and Fire Emblem Heroes (launched in February). Mobile games have helped Nintendo earn ¥9 billion during the second fiscal quarter this year, a 450% increase on a year-on-year basis. Shortly after their release, both of the games hit the top spot in the U.S. Apple App Store rankings for games. Fire Emblem Heroes is a free-to-play game, while the Super Mario Run is a premium app that costs $10.
Pocket Camp has the capability to replicate the success of Fire Emblem Heroes, which turned out to be a bigger hit than the Super Mario Run due to its free-to-play business model. Animal Crossing is a step ahead than Fire Emblem as it is woven around features like daily play, a small in-game purchase and communication. The Animal Crossing series has been a big hit, selling over 30 million games since it was launched in 2001.
