Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp’s final hurrah is a showcase of the unfair treatment given to the series' current console equivalent,New Horizons. It’s safe to say theAnimal Crossingfranchise is quickly becoming one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, with bothNew HorizonsandPocket Campseeing huge success on their respective devices.Pocket Campitself has proven to be one of the most successful apps to come out of Nintendo’s mobile games venture, and the company is seemingly willing to celebrate that success as the title’s online services come to an end.
Theannouncement ofPocket Camp Completeis fantastic news for fans of the title. There’s a clear recognition from Nintendo of the impact that the game has made, and an obvious attempt is being made to preserve as much ofPocket Campas possible, which is a courtesy not all mobile games are given the privilege of. Despite this,Pocket Camp Complete’s announcement only serves as a reminder of the shortcomings ofNew Horizons, and the lessons that must be taken from both games to ensure better post-launch support is given to futureAnimal Crossingtitles.
Nintendo Abandoned New Horizons Far Too Soon
Potential For The Title Was Squandered Less Than Two Years After Release
Nintendo’s sudden abandonment ofNew Horizonsis truly baffling, especially when considering the game’s success and the early support the developers provided. FollowingNew Horizons’s initial success at launch,Nintendo made clear attempts to build on the success with consistent updates over the first 18 monthsto maintain player interest. With new events, a rotation of new seasonal items, and added features like diving and the introduction of dream islands, Nintendo took advantage ofAnimal Crossing’s potential as a near-endless social simulator to give players something to look forward to.
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With this level of success behind it,the end ofNew Horizonssupport was all the more surprising. The last update, released in November 2021, didadd a lot to the base game. Alongside paid DLC that took inspiration from the 3DS spin-offHappy Home Designer,Animal Crossingfans had plenty of content to delve into. However, that content couldn’t last forever, leaving players who had been with the game since launch with little left to discover and causing the seemingly endless nature ofAnimal Crossing’s gameplay to suddenly feel finite.
After the end of its support,New Horizonsis still missing some classic features like more expansions for Tom Nook’s store and a variety of fruits, furniture sets, and more.
The issue with this abandonment is how it squanders the near-limitless potentialNew Horizonshad yet to utilize. The immense popularity of the game, quickly becoming theAnimal Crossingfranchise’s best-selling entry to date, could have served as a great response to the growing trend in the industry of continually updated games.Consistent support would not only have maintained interest from existing players but also enticed potential new playerswith the sheer amount of content on offer, proven by the sizable final update that showed the lengthsNew Horizonscould have gone to if given the opportunity.
Pocket Camp Shows How New Horizons Should Have Been Treated
New Horizons’s unfair fate is made all the more painful when compared toPocket Camp’s more successful post-launch history. Despite the app’s release all the way back in 2017,Pocket Camphas seen numerous updates and events for players to participate in from the game’s launch all the way up to the service closure at the end of November this year,surpassingNew Horizons’s lifespan by more than 5 years.Pocket Camp’s support far exceeds anythingNew Horizonsreceived thanks to a recognition of interest in the title and a commitment to maintaining said interest.
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This all culminates with the announcement ofPocket Camp Complete, due for release this December.Pocket Camp Complete’s compilation of a stellar 7-year run, alongsidea slew of new events, features, and fortune cookies, shows a sense of appreciation from the developers toAnimal Crossingfans for their dedication to the game. Even at its very end,Pocket Campis a showcase of the long but ultimately fulfilling journey thatAnimal Crossingplayers were able to go on, whereasNew Horizons’s sudden cutoff feels more like a cliffhanger than an ending.
How The Next Animal Crossing Could Receive Better Support
There Are Lessons To Take From Both Pocket Camp And New Horizons
The contrast in approaches betweenPocket CampandNew Horizonsproves a change is sorely needed when it comes to future entries in theAnimal Crossingfranchise. The appeal ofAnimal Crossingcomes from its seemingly endless playtime, but that gameplay can become repetitive without new content to keep players engaged.A constant commitment to futureAnimal Crossinggames beyond the initial release is keyto ensuring players stick around, withPocket Campbeing proof of the literal years of content that can be found in each title if given the opportunity.
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Future installments could also benefit from a more concrete endpoint to their support in the style ofPocket Camp.New Horizons’s fairly unceremonious ending can easily leave players feeling unfulfilled and with an itching feeling that there could have been more to their adventure than what was given.Pocket Camp Completeresolves this issue by giving clarification to players of everything that the game has to offer, leaving players far more sure and fulfilled that they’ve seen everything on offer.
Whatever the case, there’s no denying that the final states of bothPocket CampandNew Horizonsare in stark contrast with one another. While both games offer hours worth of content,Animal Crossing: Pocket Campsucceeds far more in maintaining momentum, whereasNew Horizonsstruggled to keep up. Seeing the treatment of both titles, it can be hard not to feel likeNew Horizonswas deserving of so much more.
