During its Animal Crossing Mobile Direct today, Nintendo has announced the official title for its first game since Super Mario Run. Enter Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
Pocket Camp is about a smaller experience as one might expect, compared to the series full titles. Players will take the reigns as a new campsite manager and build up a new camp for themselves and their friends. Travelling around the world in their camper van, areas include an island, seashore, forest, and river, among others.
With time passing in real time, players can expect the world to persist even while they’re away from their phone. Scenery will change and new animals will show up throughout the experience. And in the name of the Animal Crossing franchise, everything is customizable, right down to the inside and outside of your camper van.
In the interest of multiplayer, you can become friends and visit their campsite. Though, in true Nintendo fashion, friend codes seem to be back, and they’re another awkward way to exchange information rather than using built in systems like Game Center or Nintendo Account. This seems like a perfect place for Nintendo Account to have taken centre stage, especially if Pocket Camp will add something to a potential future Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing title (no, there was no word on that in the presentation).
Unlike Super Mario Run‘s one-time payment for the full game, Pocket Camp utilizes an optional pay model whereby players can pay to buy items and materials. However, it appears that everything can be earned, found, or traded for, so the game becomes less of a pay-to-win and more of a pay-to-go-faster model.
The series, traditionally on Nintendo handhelds and home consoles, has sold over 30 million units to date.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will come to compatible smart devices (likely phones as opposed to tablets, though we can hope) on the iOS App Store and Google Play in late November 2017. A persistent internet connection will be required to play.
