Is Pocket Camp Too Money-Hungry?

[your local goomy]

The question is simple. Is Pocket Camp too microtransaction-heavy? Personally, I'm going to say yes. I'm an OG Pocket Camp player who had been playing since the very beginning, and while updates have certainly made the game a lot more enjoyable, I've also noticed that quite a lot of stuff is now locked behind a paywall---in the form of the "premium" currency, Leaf Tickets. Of course, Pocket Camp has always done this, but I've noticed it get a lot worse in the past few years.

Now, I should admit that I've spent money on the game before. In fact, growing up in a lower-middle class family, I remember getting Google Play gift cards for things such as my birthday, Christmas, good grades, etc. While I would always tell my parents that I was using them to buy music (when Android actually had its own music app instead of YouTube Music), I'd go straight to Pocket Camp and spend ALL OF IT on Leaf Tickets. And just as quickly as I spent the entire gift card balance on tickets, I blew them off buying a bunch of crap. So, this isn't coming from some goody-two-shoes who's never spent a cent on the game. This is coming from someone who would willingly spend money on the game.

I remember when the "premium" collections were first released, and while I wasn't active on TBT at the time, a friend of mine was, and we read some threads debating whether these were beneficial or not. And, as someone who's a sucker for in-game fashion, I went ahead and saved up Leaf Tickets for them. Or, if it was me from a few years ago, I bought the Leaf Tickets for them. Of course, I wasn't thrilled, but I figured that it was just some temporary thing, and that it would get better.

In my opinion, it didn't. I wasn't a super active player, I logged in about three times a week or so. And, as I kept logging in, I saw that things were getting worse. Things that would've initially cost Bells were now going for Leaf Tickets. This was around the time I stopped actively buying Leaf Tickets, as I was now using my own money instead of random gift cards, so I found it pretty hard to keep up with my high-level friends, who more than likely still spent money on the game.

However, the breaking point, if you will, for me was Pocket Camp Club. When I opened the app the morning the first notifications of it rolled out, I played for about five minutes before deleting the app altogether. To me, at least, Pocket Camp had just become pay-to-win. Of course you can't really "win" Pocket Camp, but dang, it makes the game a lot easier. I didn't want to give ANOTHER subscription fee to Nintendo or the like. I'm fairly certain that it soured my whole relationship with AC itself, as I stopped playing NL soon after that, too.

Around May or so, a friend of mine from college started to play Pocket Camp, so I decided to come back to play it with her. I haven't spent anything on the game since, and I enjoy it a decent amount, but I'll never enjoy it as much as I did in the past. I think the transition to nearly everything costing Leaf Tickets and the subscription service just ruined it for me. I understand why they're doing it: Animal Crossing is a successful franchise and Nintendo has to make money, and I'd much prefer microtransactions to ads, but for me, it all seems highly unnecessary, especially Pocket Camp Club. And it's not just because I can't afford PCC. I could easily afford the Happy Helper Plan, but I have no desire to. In my opinion, I already give Nintendo way too much money via Switch Online.

So, my answer to this question is yes, Pocket Camp is too money-hungry. I'm curious to hear your opinion. Of course, no hard feelings if you spend money on the game or are subscribed to PCC. We're all allowed to spend our money how we'd like and I'm not here to persuade you that PC is too money-hungry. I just want to hear different opinions!

 

[Insulaire]

This is a free to play mobile game, which means it only makes money by enticing users to make in-app purchases. So, yes, it is, always has been, and always will be “money-hungry,” but that’s also what pays for the constant updates of the app

 

[LambdaDelta]

I mean on one hand, the amount of stuff in the game that demands leaf tickets from you alongside how fast they pump them all out is kind of really skeevy. far more so then plenty of other similar games I've dealt with

but on the other hand, unlike those other games, absolutely nothing in pocket camp is a necessity in any notably possible way. like you could technically skip out on pulling at all for an rpg gacha system, but doing so essentially also means crippling your gameplay options, of which lategame content may actually expect you to have a decent variety of options you may not have if you skipped pulling for more stuffs. while pocket camp's entire shtick is design aesthetics that offer no "gameplay" advantage in any possible way

so I guess, yeah, it's one of the scummier mobages I've seen by far, when it comes to trying to siphon money from players. though it's somewhat balanced out by there being generally* no gameplay advantage to spending


*this ignores the subscription plans, which do very arguably offer gameplay advantages

 

[Insulaire]

That’s not strictly true— you can use leaf tickets to speed up crafting (even beyond the benefits of a monthly plan) or replace items when crafting or get more HHA sessions, which progresses you along in the game and in some cases boosts friendship levels with campers. So there is some level of gameplay affected by optional purchases

 

[LambdaDelta]

I mean, I guess, but it's all superficial to begin with

like there's no "progression" in the traditional gameplay sense.... which works very much in the vein of animal crossing as a whole, so props there

that said, I also completely forgot about being able to bribe cyrus/labelle(?, idr who you call for clothings off the top of my head)

 

[your local goomy]

I mean, I guess, but it's all superficial to begin with

like there's no "progression" in the traditional gameplay sense.... which works very much in the vein of animal crossing as a whole, so props there

that said, I also completely forgot about being able to bribe cyrus/labelle(?, idr who you call for clothings off the top of my head)

I believe that Mabel is clothes and Labelle is accessories.

 

[LambdaDelta]

and here I was counting accessories in with clothes

 

[Etown20]

I enjoy the game and have been subscribed to the $3 plan for the past year. I feel like that aspect is decently priced, though I would have rather just bought the game for a one-time fee than have a subscription fee.

I still voted yes because the special fortune cookies are loot boxes, which are one of the worst types of microtransactions. The lottery system of the special fortune cookies is designed to make people overspend to get the items they want.

 

[coldpotato]

Absolutely. It is so money hungry that even though I play it daily and it has done so much to relax me for almost a year now, I never recommend it to anyone because I know how much of a turnoff it can be. I had a period of time where I first started the game and I didn't know much about it and I got sucked into paying idk.. maybe $100-250 total on it? Totally embarrassing because I spent most of that on leaf tickets for fortune cookies which are random and do not guarantee you to get what you want. In fact, at times I had 5+ of certain items I paid real money for that I didn't want and could do nothing with except maybe use them in the HHA rooms. Maybe if they let you trade in your duplicates for something you want it would be more enjoyable and not feel like a slap in the face, but of course, they'd miss out on ripping people off of their money.

Starting this year I told myself I would never spend any more money on leaf tickets again and I enjoy the game a lot more because I don't feel like I'm getting ripped off. I also have the $3 monthly plan which I think is incredibly reasonable given what it gives you. It's actually shocking to me they priced that so cheaply when it seems that sometimes for one item you have to pay that amount, or more.
I appreciate all they do to keep people entertained with the game with updates. I love so many of the items they release, and the events (although repetitive) definitely relax me and give me something wholesome to focus on when I'd otherwise be having anxiety. So I appreciate all of that about the game but also acknowledge how completely money hungry they are with this app, and am still pretty disappointed about it.

 

[justina]

I voted yes. I played the day it came out and played up until the subscription plans came out. I imagine people have spent far far more on this game than the cost of NH. I would of been more ok with it if leaf tickets were only used to speed up the game (make crafting faster, for the fish bait and honey etc). I started having a problem when most of the new items were leaf ticket only and all of the fortune cookies. Same reason why I stopped playing Mario Kart Tour. I’m ok with a small subscription plan or for speeding up the game. But I refuse to give into these mobile games and micro transactions/loot boxes.

 

[Louise_]

I have played this game when it first come out I agree with everyone it does want lots of money from you I will never spend money on a free to play game

 

[Serabee]

Compared to other Animal Crossing games? Yes.

Compared to other phone games? Heck no.

I have other games I can't play for more than a few minutes before I'm stuck and need money to keep going. PC actually gives a lot of free content, and a fair amount of ways to earn leaf tickets on your own. You CAN spend money... but mostly just to get stuff faster/easier. I've spent a bit on them, but I never felt like I couldn't play the game without buying them. It was always, "I like this game. I like it enough to spend some money to improve my experience." TBH, I kind of like the different ways you can spend money as well. It gives you options and, if you choose to spend money, you can spend it to get EXACTLY what you want. I mean, any free-to-play mobile game will have microtransactions, obviously. But I feel like the options in PC are some of the better ones I've seen (I've lost count of how many mobile games I've tried since getting my new phone, most of them I deleted within a day because I didn't like how they were set up) and I feel like, as far as mobile games go, it has really good bang for your buck, and a lot of free content to enjoy before you decide to spend money.

 

[kayleee]

Yes, I think the game is money-hungry - but at the same time, I'm not opposed to paying for it because it's something I enjoy. When the game first came out I played it a lot and spent a decent amount of money on it. Then I stopped playing it for a year, and just recently started playing again with one of the subscription options. I guess overall I don't feel negatively about spending money to play PC because I genuinely enjoy the game, and I only ever spend what I am able to spend/what I am comfortable spending, so the money aspect hasn't soured my feelings toward it. But to answer the question, yes, it is a very micro-transaction driven game (as I feel most mobile games are).

 

[BluebearL]

Yes, especially with micro-transactions. They are a trap that I find a lot of people fall into and I think it is a form of exploitation. I am not so opposed to the payable aspects of the game that I won't play it, I still very much enjoy the game and find it reasonably easy to ignore. It could be worse in the sense that it could lock significant content behind paywalls, so I am glad it is not doing that.

 

[TofuIdol]

I voted yes to the poll since with it being a free-to-play mobile game sadly it falls instantly into being very money hungry. It might not be compared to lots of other free phone games out on the market, but the fortune cookies are very much the money sucker. Something that in my opinion is a big trap, that I agree makes people at times spend more than they should for just some cute little item.

 

[Dunquixote]

I understand the fortunate cookies and even the subscriptions costing money since it is like a gacha game but some of the event items costing so many leaf tickets and the backdrops, I think it is a bit much. Of course I am continuing to play this game because I am having fun. These things don’t make me want to put it down. However if they decide to make more things cost leaf tickets than there already are, maybe i’ll put it down then. i have been getting clothes cookies and timmy and tommy cookies only and a lot more lately at the cookie stand. they used to sometimes give me two cookies that cost leaf tickets for bells. and i used to have a lot of islands with fortune cookies as rewards, now i have none :/

 

[Croconaw]

Yes, however I think all companies are money-hungry to some extent. I’ve stopped playing Pocket Camp. I couldn’t really get into it like the main series games.

 

[Hat']

I mean, is water wet? That game was made to make money and they never even pretended it wasn't. This is why I got bored of it so fast, the amazing looking furniture are locked behind micro-transactions. I also think the prices are quite high.

 

[Shipper-Girl-27]

Oh DEFINITELY yes! I was just saying that while the game is playable and 100% free for the most part, certain items are definitely locked behind a pay wall. Like the OP, I don’t pay for anything unless I have gift cards or something.

 

[a potato]

I mean, I’ve never bought LT and I’ve been fine since day 1. It’s no different from any other free to play game.