Nintendo has released more information regardings its beloved game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and boy it is a doozie. Except for one tiny teenie thing. Gameindustry.biz noted that if you lose your saved file, you're pretty much screwed.
Here is the Youtube clip straight from Nintendo regarding news about the game and it's development!
What's the problem
The problem lies in the restriction Nintendo is putting on saves. As stated as the FAQ at the end of the New Horizons video notes that cloud saves will not be available right away. Instead, it will come later on during the game's lifetime, moreover so it would be only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
Now that's a premium pill to swallow since big names like Sony, Microsoft, Google, and even Steam support free cloud saves. Oh, one last thing, and this is according to the fine print that those saves are not freely accessible to Nintendo Switch Online holders--instead the cloud save can only be used in the case of lost or damaged system and can only be really used ONCE.
What's the deeper issue
Nintendo's serious cloud issues are really the case. Last year Nintendo introduced its Switch Lite, and the audience loved it except for one small thing. Again it's all about the cloud issues and problems that came with it. The Switch lite is really a better mobile device compared to the Switch but can't be played on the big screens like TVs. So this is for an entirely different audience entirely.
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Cross saves are bad
Switch to Switch cross saves are really bad that it's almost impossible to do so. You can't play in one Switch device and then play in another to pick up where you left off. Instead, you have to pick one device to play with.
The only way out here really is to play games that aren't as dependent on saved progress because as stated above that cloud saves as well as for them being open and accessible to its users is not a thing Nintendo really does, bummer.
Why are they even doing this
It's mainly because it's a move from Nintendo to counter piracy and encourages gamers to own the device instead of sharing their devices. As stated on their official website regarding piracy: "Nintendo does not currently offer or authorize for sale any product that allows the play of game files. So it is like a company that wants to be good but be good and get the rich, quick scheme, which puts Nintendo way apart from other companies in a very uncomfortable distance.
Nintendo's medieval save policy is just really a very different experience since gamers have enjoyed cloud saves for over a decade already. It makes people feel that the company is practicing outdated models for the business and will impact the company's future.
