Saving games on the Nintendo Switch can be lost at any time: there is no backup

Users and analysts of the gaming market, in general, rate Nintendo 's new game console positively. Yes, there are drawbacks, but there are also many advantages. In addition, gamers are attracted by the novelty of the device - no one has yet done this type of hybrids. But as it turned out, the Nintendo Switch has one major drawback, which is unlikely to appeal to the owners of the device. Saves of games and the process of passing the game, recorded in the device's memory, are not backed up.

In other words, if something happens to the prefix, then all progress will be lost. And well, if we were talking about a couple of hours of play (but this is also offensive). But you can lose all the data for all games, with a few dozen, if not thousands, hours of play. Game data is stored only in the device’s memory; a memory card cannot be set as a place to store information on games. There is no “cloud” system for saving game data either, so if the device memory is formatted, all information is lost.

And the console, as it turned out, sometimes turns into a "brick" by itself. This happened to one of the owners of the new device, who received the Switch only a few weeks ago. So, the console is inserted into the dock and ... we get an error message. After the “soft” reboot, the same message remained. Turning off and turning on the console did not help. In general, in the hands of the gamer was "brick". It is clear that the console was under warranty, and the service center was obliged to replace it, in case of serious damage. But the main thing here is not that, but that the data in the case of the exchange will be lost.
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As it turned out, technical support works fine - no problems arose with it. The questions were ordinary, like "Did you turn on / off the console?". After the tech support could not advise anything, it remained only to send the console to the service center. The injured gamer immediately asked what would happen to his files, preserved during the game.

After a few days, Agnello (the name of the owner of the device) played 55 hours in "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild". In addition, a lot of time has been spent in other games, including Super Bomberman R, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment and Blaster Master Zero. To the question: “Will my data be saved?” The tech support employee honestly answered: “I don’t know.” Despite a somewhat strange answer, the owner of the failed console sent the package with her that evening. The support, among other things, said that if the prefix could not be fixed, it would be changed to a new device.

A couple of days later, a response was received from the service center: “During the check, it was discovered that the Nintendo Switch system you sent for repair received damages that make it impossible to read the information stored in the system. As a result, the saves, settings, and communication with Nintendo Accounts of this system could not be obtained. ”


Interestingly, the Nintendo Switch does not have any cloud file storage, as mentioned above, that Sony and Microsoft have been offered for many years, nor the ability to save their data to a USB drive or SD card, which the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3D have.


The new prefix came a week later, with a document explaining all the operations carried out by Nintendo employees. As soon as the SD card was inserted, the device preformed the formatting of the media, so the games stored there had to be downloaded again (there was no need to pay for them a second time).

Thus, by experience it turned out that if something happens to the prefix, that everything that was passed earlier will have to be redone. Perhaps in the autumn the situation will change - then the company promises to put into operation a new paid online service. But until then, gamers, owners of the Nintendo Switch, are hostages of the situation. In fact, it remains only to hope that nothing will happen to the prefix.

Among the other drawbacks of the new system is the absence of a more or less advanced social component. Instead of searching for a friend by name, the system uses a 12-digit numeric code that is assigned to each user when registering with the system. In addition, only one set-top box can be linked to one Nintendo account. And, of course, it is worth mentioning again a small number of games for the Nintendo Switch at the start. If the system becomes popular, the Nintendo Switch ecosystem will actively develop. But for now, game publishers are eyeing the new product, deciding whether the game is worth the candle.