Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, the smartphone entry in the long-running Nintendo franchise, has been updated with a pair of new augmented reality features. The first, AR Camera, lets you place characters and furniture from the game in the real world and photograph them. Meanwhile, the AR Cabin feature lets players decorate a virtual cabin, fill it with characters, and then view it in augmented reality from their smartphone.
Along with the new AR modes, Nintendo states that the update means more areas of each campsite can have furniture and items placed within them. Unfortunately, the new features have increased the game’s system requirements, and previous versions of the game are now unusable after the update. A support post notes that iPhone users now require iOS version 11 at a minimum (or ideally iOS 13 and above) rather than iOS 9, which was the previous requirement. Android users, meanwhile, now need to be running Android 5 or above on a 64-bit device with at least 1.5GB of RAM. That’s up from the previous requirement of Android version 4.4 and 1.5GB of RAM.
According to the same support document, “Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp cannot be downloaded or played on devices that are no longer supported.” The change has left some players furious. The replies to the official Pocket Camp Twitter account are littered with complaints from players who can no longer access the game after the update. A particular problem appears to be the requirement for a 64-bit Android device, with some players reporting that they’re unable to run the game on their 64-bit hardware because of a 32-bit operating system. “In certain cases, some devices may not be supported even when they meet the conditions listed,” a support post about the update from last month read.
Nintendo says that save data can be transferred to a new device if players have already linked their Nintendo Accounts with their game. When setting up a new device, you’ll need to select the “Link Nintendo Account” option when starting the game for the first time, which will let you import the existing save data. Note that Leaf Tickets, an in-game currency that can be purchased with real money, cannot be transferred between Android and iOS devices.
Coinciding with the update, Nintendo is offering a free month of the “Furniture & Fashion Plan,” which offers benefits like expanded storage for items and the chance to get exclusive furniture and clothing. The subscription normally costs $7.99 (£7.99 / €8.99) a month. On the flip side, if you’re one of those players who no longer has a device that can play the game, Nintendo advises that you’ll need to cancel any in-game subscriptions to prevent future charges.
—
Photo Credit: Sharaf Maksumov / Shutterstock.com