Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a new mobile game from Nintendo, coming next month
After relative silence for some time on what the upcoming mobile Animal Crossing game would be, a huge host of details about the game have been released, from its name to a release window that's just around the corner. Next month, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is coming to iOS and Android devices.
In a departure from the series' regular setting, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp puts you as a camp manager, where you'll design the layout of the camp and help out its many animal visitors, making friends with your favourites so they return regularly. Typically, Animal Crossing games have you helping out a small village as you collect fruit, fish, etc, while Pocket Park translates the mechanics of a stable village to a somewhat more transient experience of campers that come and go as time passes.
For the most part, the mechanics of typical Animal Crossing games remain the same, albeit with more of a focus on helping fellow campers rather than selling goods to make money. After fishing, collecting fruit, or catching bugs, campers will request an item (for example, an apple), and pay you for it, increasing your friendship level. With the resulting money or crafting item rewards, you can either craft or buy new furniture for your camp, styling it your way.
There's also customisation options for your own camper, which seems to act in a similar way to the house from older Animal Crossing games, letting you change up both the interior and exterior. And on top of that, the player character can also be customised with special hairstyles or outfits, all at the cost of bells, one of the game's in-game currencies.
Bells can only be gained through play, while the other available currency, Leaf Tickets, can be gained through play or through microtransactions. Leaf Tickets are used to buy certain furniture from on of the in-game shops or to rush certain in-game events, where they will otherwise take hours or days. Given the game is free to play, this is the primary source of in-game purchases you can make, which seem to be primarily for saving the player time if they want to pay.
A somewhat new feature, although based on one of the features from previous games where you can build new structures for a village, is amenities, which can offer new activities for your campers. Some of these include swimming pools, merry-go-rounds, or half pipes, and can attract certain animals to the camp.
As per all Animal Crossing games, it also has seasonal updates and events, changing the look of the game and the items available. Given the game will release in November, most people will see the game starting in late autumn, with a likely Christmas event around the corner as we end the year, with fireworks to set off 2018 just after.
Full details on the new game can be seen on the reveal video above, livestreamed earlier this morning. The exact release date for the game hasn't been announced, although it should be coming to both Android and iOS simultaneously in November.
It is, however, already available in Australia, but no-one is sure why. We've reached out for comment and clarification on the matter.