:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65793160/IMG_1110.0.jpg)
Last week, Nintendo announced a paid subscription service in the game and things were looking bleak. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp had started turning into a game where most of the new content, like clothes and characters, were locked behind premium currency. But then Nintendo announced two subscription services — one of which is paying $7.99 a month to get storage space and five loot boxes.
Despite that, a new update is filled some promising features which have revitalized my friends list. Players that haven’t been online for weeks have logged in and are playing consistently again.
The latest update to the game has actually fixed some of the game’s biggest issues. When the Gulliver’s Ship feature updated last month, players were not happy. It started as a place where you can recycle extra furniture in exchange for some pretty good rewards. Then it transformed, forcing you to use rare materials in exchange for items nobody wants.
The latest update made it so you can send off anything — extra furnishings, craft materials, or the rare stuff, if you want to do that — in exchange for good rewards like Fortune Cookies, the game’s loot boxes. Since you can send off pretty much anything now, Gulliver’s Ship is worth visiting, even if you don’t necessarily want the shirt it gives you.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19410785/IMG_1108.jpg)
All players were also given a one-month trial of the Happy Helper subscription plan, and as much as it pains me to admit it, it’s pretty good. The villager of my choosing (I picked Carmen), follows me around and when I’m not playing, she completes tasks for me. And she’s not just completing the tasks that are available to me, she’s doing a separate set of errands that I don’t have access to, meaning that if I actually help out my villagers, I’m getting double the rewards.
I don’t know if I’m going to consistently pay $2.99 per month for this feature, especially with Animal Crossing: New Horizons releasing in only a few months, but I can totally understand why any of the folks on my Pocket Camp friends list might opt in for the AI helper.
The “Cookie and Depot” plan remains heinous, however. Paying $7.99 for five loot boxes is terrible. Lots of items in the game require the premium currency, Leaf Tickets, to obtain. There’s still a lot of bad mobile game money sinks in this game, but if Nintendo is listening to players and fixing things that we hate, I’ll give them credit where it’s due.
