Nintendo's next mobile game, 'Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp' is out now
We knew it was coming in late November, and now it's here.
Nintendo's next mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, arrived early on Tuesday morning, Eastern Time. Nintendo's Monday tweet announcing the release date said "11/22," and it seems that release timing operates on Japan time; the game arrived in U.S.-based Android and iOS app stores right around midnight on Nov. 22 in Japan.
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Pocket Camp rethinks Nintendo's enduring series about building a quiet, rural life in a small village filled with adorable talking animals. While the core ideas remain the same -- you customize your living space, travel to other living and social spaces, and gather resources -- your home base is a campsite rather than a town.
Also, in a new twist that aims to foster more social play, visiting campsites and being visited by others strengthens in-game relationships.
More practically, the free-to-play Pocket Camp places limitations on your progress through the use of timers and resource availability. Spending an in-game currency called Leaf Tickets -- which can be earned by completing certain tasks or purchased outright with IRL cash -- allows you to sidestep those constraints.
Pocket Camp follows social sim Miitomo, endless runner Super Mario Run, and -- most recently -- tactical role-playing game Fire Emblem Heroes as Nintendo's fourth mobile release so far.
A rumor surfaced in May of this year -- before Pocket Camp was announced -- suggesting that Nintendo's fourth mobile game would be based on Animal Crossing, and then a fifth would be based on The Legend of Zelda. Half of that rumor has already come to pass, so it's looking like the Zelda game may be next.
UPDATED Nov. 21 at 12:40 p.m. ET with the news of Pocket Camp's release.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
