Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Was Redone From Scratch At Least Once During Development

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is finally coming out for iOS and Android devices later next month (that is unless you decided to become a temporary Australian). If the wait for an Animal Crossing on mobile felt long for you, well, that's because the project was scrapped once before and started again from scratch.

In a new report from Wall Street Journal (which you'll need a subscription or some light Googling to access), sources close to the app development said that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp had to start over at least once during its development. Work on the app was also slowed down by the need to plan a full slate of limited-time events.

Nintendo reportedly learned about the importance of such timed events after the release of Fire Emblem Heroes, which didn't have any limited-time events at launch. Something the sources say resulted in a loss of traffic. As a result, Animal Crossing on mobile was delayed despite having been announced last year.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is Nintendo's latest mobile game offering following Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes. Pocket Camp is basically a miniaturized version of the popular daily life sim, but at a campsite instead of town. Players can build up their camp with accessories and buildings, while improving relationships with the local inhabitants. Nintendo monetizes aspects of Pocket Camp with the building construction elements in the game. You can speed up the construction of a building using the in-game currency which you can either earn, or buy with real money.

Nintendo and DeNA mobile are already planning the next line of mobile games, including one based off of Nintendo RPGs like "The Legend of Zelda."

Meanwhile, the official launch for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is slated for late November.