Disney Dreamlight Valley entered early access in September 2022. With it came a good game in the same vein as Stardew Valley, but with the added lure of characters from a plethora of Disney films it has found a place on many gamers' hard drives. Its gameplay loop is fun and the goals do well to provide a motivation to return tike after time. The future could be bright, but there's a significant hurdle that it has to overcome if it wants to truly capture the market that it's clearly shooting for.
Disney Dreamlight Valley began that period of early access at a cost, and will officially launch as a free-to-play game, if all goes well, this year. That has been confusing, as fans can already find content on digital storefronts at a set price, as well as the deluxe and ultimate editions alongside a free trial for PS Plus subscribers. As such, the promise of DLC is only more matters. Nintendo has a similar product with Animal Crossing, but as that franchise will likely feature on the next home console, it could learn some important lessons from Disney Dreamlight Valley's obvious growing pains.
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Animal Crossing is a unique franchise. It's one that has evolved and improved with each new iteration, and New Horizons is one of the best games on a Nintendo Switch that is littered with excellent experiences. Taking villagers to their own island and giving them more freedom to enjoy seamless customization, the potential for endless creativity is a recipe for hours of entertainment.
Nintendo has a tendency to rely on what has worked in the past, rarely introducing new IP in favor of nurturing what has existed for decades. To that end, it would make sense to avoid engaging fully in the genre of live service titles and costly DLC add-ons. Instead, it could keep to convention by asking players to pay up front, having them rest easy knowing that updates will be free of charge. Making those inclusions paid means that fans could have higher expectations, whereas when they're free it's just nice to see a game supported.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is able to garner a sizable audience simply by virtue of its IP alone. Having the Disney toy box to unpack and use for a life simulator game can bring in people who weren't previously invested in the gaming medium, and making it free-to-play (or at least start) is a good way to slowly get people accustomed to the gameplay loop before they decide if they are willing to put any money into the product. It's clever, but has the potential to be unfriendly for consumers since the price of DLC and cosmetics is dependent on something out of the players' control. Sure enough, that is what happened with the recent WALL-E DLC pack, which many found overpriced - especially in a game where they already paid for early access.
The free-to-play model is enticing, and can do well to bring many gamers to a product. Still, while Animal Crossing's business model may seem outdated since live services and free-to-play games seem to be all the rage, the series would do well to stay as it is. If it isn't broken, there's no need to fix, change, or evolve a thing, and the masses of people who bought Animal Crossing: New Horizons - many of which are still hopping back to their islands regularly - show that fans will pay for quality. Nintendo has built a positive rapport with gamers, and to jeopardize this by using a model similar to that of Disney Dreamlight Valley could prove to be a costly mistake.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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