Harvest Moon: Pocket Ranch

Console: Mobile
Japan Release: January 2010
N.America Release: Cancelled
European Release: Unknown

Pocket Ranch is a mini-farm social game for mobile devices. The game is produced by LiveWare and is available for several mobile services in Japan (Mixi, Gree, and Mobage). The English version of game is on the PlayPhone Social service.

This version of the game has you running a small farm. You can grow crops, trees, and raise animals. You can also register your farm with other social gaming friends and you can help take care of their farms. The game has random weather and special festivals. It also runs in real-time; you can plant crops in the morning and then check your farm later in the afternoon to see if they can be harvested. Some game items can be purchased with in-game currency and there are others that require real money to buy.

The English version of game was in BETA testing on the iPhone and iTouch devices from March 2011 until October 31, 2011. After that, the beta was shut down, the Twitter and Facebook account was deleted, and the official website (http://m.playphone.com/HarvestMoon) was pulled off of the PlayPhone servers without any official word as to the game's status.

Pocket Ranch is still active in Japan, where it has been played by over 3.6 million farmers. The Japan version does have a real-money compontent for potions, extra fields, and whatnot, but can be played for free.