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TOAt some point, most mobile games die. Apple’s iOS software updates have killed thousands of games from the App Store over the years: older games simply disappear unless their developers make them compatible with each new device or software. (Most do not, or cannot, dedicate those resources to that). And for live mobile games, which encourage users to log in every day, the game’s popularity inevitably declines and its developer stops updating it, leaving it inert and unplayable. . Sometimes there is no warning at all. A game is there one day and gone the next. A truly gloomy fate.
The mortality rate of mobile games is high: 83% of them fail in their first three years, according to a survey. But maybe there is another way. In 2017, Nintendo released a mobile version of its hit life simulation game Animal Crossing. Called Pocket Camp, it ran for seven years before Nintendo ended its support last month. But rather than let the game die, the company released a full version for £8.99, which includes years of content and allows players to transfer their data and keep their memories, or start over. The game is still alive.
Pocket Camp is a good facsimile of the Animal Crossing console games, closer to the lighter Happy Home Designer derivatives than the DS and Switch versions. Your hyperkawaii character is in charge of a campsite, which you decorate with furniture and cute objects. Animals come to visit your campsite, if it is set up the way they like, and talk nonsense to you. You can give them things you find lying around: fruits, caught fish, and, for reasons best left unexamined, live insects. The guitar-playing dog, KK Slider (who, interestingly, is a caricature of one of Nintendo’s composers, Kazumi Totaka), plays concerts by a campfire.
The main difference between playing Pocket Camp and, say, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch is that Pocket Camp isn’t cold. He constantly pesters you to do inconsequential quests, collect more materials, and create more things. As is tradition in mobile games, every few minutes you get some kind of reward and every action in the game is recorded in a kind of progression tree, encouraging you to keep playing. There are 12 currencies, tasks, locations and seasonal events to think about at any time. But still, it has some impressive features. There are thousands of things to do and buy, hundreds of animal villagers to befriend. For £8.99, it seems generous.
The irony is that Pocket Camp is significantly better without all the insidious monetization that used to drive it. I’ve dipped in and out of this game over the years, particularly when I was waiting for 2020’s New Horizons to come out, but I was always put off by the ubiquitous countdown timer, the manufactured urgency of logging in every day (or multiple times) . per day) to complete objectives. Quick, it’s time to harvest your fruit! Look, this special event will end soon! Don’t want those limited edition items? Don’t you want to buy some leaf tokens to speed up all this crafting? This is a standard issue for live mobile gaming, but it’s also incredibly intrusive, even when the game itself is worth the trouble.
Pocket Camp Complete still has the features of all of those monetization systems; They are integrated into the game design. But now he freely hands out all those leaf tokens, bells, and items, where before he made you wait or pay for them. This transforms the pace of the game and you can play without restrictions, for as long as you want at a time. It’s now a budget pocket version of Animal Crossing that I can recommend without reservation.
More developers should do this: when a live game has run its course, simply package everything up and sell it for a single price. It happens in the world of consoles, where the “game of the year” editions offer an older game along with all its bonuses and extra content. This way, those who were there during a game’s first life can keep it, in some form. And these games may even find new players in the afterlife.
what to play
The adventure of dressing up as a fairy tale Infinity Nikki comes out this week, a game I’ve had my eye on for a long time because it’s unlike anything else out there. There is no combat here, but music, fishing, balloon rides and conversations with cats and frogs. Pink-haired Nikki is very much on the cutting edge of fashion and almost everything you do in her world gets new components for her amazing outfits. It’s an intriguing combination of cloying sweetness and completely strangeness, rather like Animal Crossing, really.
Please note: Being a free-to-play game, it’s possible to spend hundreds of real-world pounds on virtual dresses, so make sure those settings are locked if you have tween kids who want to play it.
Available in: PC, PS5, smartphones
Estimated playing time: 10+ hours
what to read
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The BBC estimates that 43 of the 45 best-selling mobile games are breaking the rules around the disclosure of random data loot boxes in your advertising. Regulators have been slow to take action on these gaming-adjacent features.
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Return Digital has belatedly delayed some of its games until next year (including Baby Steps, which I’m really looking forward to seeing). A tired and grateful applause to Devolver for the form of the announcement, which was made through a mock awards ceremony, the 15th Annual Devolver Awards Delayed 2024.
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to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th birthdaySony has released a set of previous PlayStation startup animations, including the PS1’s iconic and incredibly ’90s theme. Kotaku has more.
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What to click
Question block
Instead of a reader question, it’s my turn to ask something you.
I’m still looking for submissions for Pushing Buttons readers’ favorite games of 2024, which will appear in the last newsletter of the year. From Baldur’s Gate 3 to Astro Bot, submit yours with a few sentences about what they meant to you and look for results within weeks.
Reply to this email or email me at pushbuttons@theguardian.com.