A new set of announcements as part of a Q&A from Nintendo have revealed plans for save data management and new features for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, due out this month. The questions answered revealed a few key elements of the game, like the ability for players to have more than one island, as well as what options there are to move save data between consoles.
The new game will only let players have a single active save file at any one time, which means only one island per person. This new info also clarifies that any New Horizons save is hard-locked to a given console, so no moving a state over to another Switch console once it’s in place. The developers have also clarified previously that the game will not be using cloud saves, so there’s no backup in place in case of disasters. So if your Switch console is lost or stolen, you may be out of luck when it comes to recovering your data for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
With all of the news coming out about this game, there has been plenty to like about the new game, but it’s clear that some oversights like these will lead to some angry fans at some point.
Nintendo is working on solutions to deal with these problems though, as they plan to implement a save transfer system at some point in 2020, although no exact details of when that will be or how the new system will work. We do know that it will likely be locked behind the Nintendo Switch Online paywall, so that’s a bummer.
Here is the new information, handily translated by Siliconera:
“Is there a way to create multiple islands?
- Even if you’re using multiple copies of the same software, you are only able to create one island per console. If you wish to build up another island, you’ll need a different console.
- As the island save data is saved directly on the Nintendo Switch console, even if you use both the physical and digital versions of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there will only be one island.
Is there a way to transfer save data onto another console?
- We are currently considering a function to move user and save data to other consoles that is uniquely for the software. The function is planned to be implemented within the year.
What if I lose my save data?
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons does not support Nintendo Switch Online’s Save Data Cloud Backup feature. However, we’re currently considering a function for Nintendo Switch Online members to backup save data, uniquely for the software, in case one’s Nintendo Switch console itself malfunctions or is lost. The function is planned to be implemented within the year.”
Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes to the Switch on March 20.