Pocket Camp’s Closure Is a Victory for Video Game Preservation

Bad news for fans ofAnimal Crossing. After seven years of good and loyal service, the mobile game Pocket Camp will unfortunately be bowing out very soon. This sudden and unexpected closure was made official by email to the players concerned, as well as via the game’s official social accounts. It will take effect on November 28. In the era of 100% online titles and other service games loaded with microtransactions, nothing is timeless. Many prefer to forget the ephemeral nature of the servers to focus on the pleasure of the game while it lasts, but this end is nonetheless inevitable… Unless the developers are ready to make the necessary efforts: and Nintendo does not intend to stop there.

Twitter-tweet”>

We have an important announcement for everyone playing the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp app. Please see the following page for details as well.https://t.co/JGacPgXFyo pic.twitter.com/RHZt5u7SPU

— Pocket_camp (@Pocket_Camp) August 22, 2024

Aware of the global success of its mobile version ofAnimal Crossingthe Kyoto firm is not going to let Pocket Camp to be forgotten. Some loyal players went wild on social media following the announcement of the closure, but they probably read between the lines and missed the most important detail. Indeed, Nintendo’s statement also comes with some excellent news. The title’s follow-up is coming to an end and the online features are set to disappear, but Animal Crossing : Pocket Camp will be offered a definitive version to survive the test of time.

A simple rework to preserve players’ efforts

Don’t worry: the hundreds of hours spent farming fortune cookies to obtain the most perfect furniture won’t go up in smoke. On November 28, the spin-off ofAnimal Crossing will cease to exist as it is today, namely a service game with social features. Events and updates will continue until this deadline, after which The game will return in a near-identical offline version.

“Aside from data transfer, the basic gameplay and controls will be the same as Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. However, this app will allow the player to use the included features with a one-time purchase. There will be no microtransactions or subscription services.” can be read on the Nintendo website. Concretely, players will be able to extend the experience by purchasing a full version of the title where all content will be accessible at no extra cost, with the exception of online features (such as visiting other campers). Further information and a release date will be shared next October.

Decorative items and other upgrades will now be available for free, which will certainly make the most active players of the last seven years grind their teeth. Nevertheless, Nintendo should be congratulated for this initiative, which could have let its game disappear as has already happened in the past (yes, we’re talking about you Dragalia Lost : European players didn’t even have the chance to know you!).

This alternative version ofAnimal Crossing : Pocket Camp proves that he is possible to preserve games services after their closureif they are popular enough and can work in stand-alone offline versions. We can only hope that this model will apply to more and more titles in the future, whether they are Nintendo productions or not. Will studios be willing to invest time and money to participate in a global video game preservation effort? Nothing is less certain, but hope keeps us alive.

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