Nintendo Switch Game Saves are Stored on the Console, Can't Be Transferred

[bluegate]

But it uses cartridges.
Why not put the savegame on those like they have done for decades?

Because cartridge saves have a battery life. I guess if you only live for the present, it's not a problem. I, however, like to return to games years later. Then again, it's not like the console makers give a damn about preserving their games.

You're thinking of the cartridges used during the NES, SNES and N64 days, these modern cartridges most likely use SSD to hold data, something which does not need electricity to keep its state, same as the cards you slot into your camera or phone.

 

[deadish]

Nice ... 32 GiB - 6.1GiB (OS software) = 25.9GiB for your save games (and patches?)

It's plenty. Who needs more than 64K amirite?

 

[verdant monkai]

I don't want to sound over dramatic but at this point I just hope Nintendo shrivel up and die as a hardware manufacturer. I just want to play zelda on anything but nintendo's home console/handheld abortion.

 

[Czann]

Nintendo, ten years later, still didn't get these newfangled things like online, storage, HD graphics...

 

[Nazulu]

I don't want to sound over dramatic but at this point I just hope Nintendo shrivel up and die as a hardware manufacturer. I just want to play zelda on anything but nintendo's home console/handheld abortion.

Same here. Even a lot of people who still like Nintendo are sick of their gimmicks and stupid control idea's. Can't lie though, Breath of the Wild is pretty good (played at friends).

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

...it's weird what I occasionally pull out of articles like this.

For instance, I just learned that the 32 GB of memory in the Switch is strictly internal, and not it's own card. Meaning that you don't have to replace a memory card, you just add another one.

 

[chefzeff]

Thanks pirates :^)

Same reason you dont have a browser.

You think Nintendo isnt aware that all exploits happen via either web browsers or save tampering?

 

[Poetic Nova]

The console better gets a major revision and a good Metroid game, otherwise it'll be yet another Ninty system I'll pass on.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Nintendo isn't about just dropping the ball, they are all about stomping it flat.

Its more like Nitnendo is the kid who purposely kicks the ball into the mean old man's backyard. And the backyard has a rabid dog. And the old man sits on a rocking chair in his backyard with a loaded shotgun.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I'd give it a day before someone figures out and releases a how to video on making the saves go to the SD card or finds a way to back them up somewhere else.

...and that's not the point at all.

You guys notice how all the bad news comes out at the very end. No VC, no browser, no multimedia apps and no transferable saves are bad enough but the joycon sync issues and now the system gets scratched over time putting it in the dock (the 3DS scratching thing all over again) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1349599

I have a feeling that all this hype is about to come crashing down. Nintendo went cheap and released a console that is inferior to the Wii U in every way except processing power. It's featureless in comparison, has connectivity issues, lost the second screen (and thus backward compatibility) and Nintendo couldn't even be bothered to put something soft on the front side of the dock. There is a reason the Wii U is the same price as the Switch, it's a better console (IMO). Hey though, the PS4 was featureless at launch compared to the PS3 too.

Another case of the dock scratching the screen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUZ-Icqhemw

 

[verdant monkai]

Same here. Even a lot of people who still like Nintendo are sick of their gimmicks and stupid control idea's. Can't lie though, Breath of the Wild is pretty good (played at friends).

I'll always love pokemon and Zelda, and i agree that ironically its nintendo thats holding them back. For example no one cares if you can simulate ice cubes in a controller.

I know giving a company a monopoly is a bad idea but I wish they would just start porting their stuff to Sony and pc.

 

[Guffe]

Gah.

Between this and still using Friend Codes, Nintendo are sure determined to torpedo their own console.

Well to be honest, the friend codes are one of at least 5 alternatives to give out friendrequests
1. Friendcode
2. Player you're playing with at the moment
3. Players you have recently played with (no idea how far/short time back that is)
4. When the other Switch is closeby (so the wireless lan thing)
5. Old friends from the WiiU/Wii era when you log in on your Nintendo ID account.

So yeah, the friend code is a thing, but there are alternatives.

On Topic:
Not sure what to think... How bad a thing is this?
To me it sounds like... well... if the console breaks, all my savefiles are gone?
Better not just break the damn thing then, and hope that it won't commit seppuku of some sort.
Then again this is IGN who reports in, wouldn't be the first time they give false info on the Swith. I have read 3 or 4 statements they have given which have later been debunked, both on the good and the bad.

 

[sagitel]

Gah.

Between this and still using Friend Codes, Nintendo are sure determined to torpedo their own console.

Well to be honest, the friend codes are one of at least 5 alternatives to give out friendrequests
1. Friendcode
2. Player you're playing with at the moment
3. Players you have recently played with (no idea how far/short time back that is)
4. When the other Switch is closeby (so the wireless lan thing)
5. Old friends from the WiiU/Wii era when you log in on your Nintendo ID account.

So yeah, the friend code is a thing, but there are alternatives.

On Topic:
Not sure what to think... How bad a thing is this?
To me it sounds like... well... if the console breaks, all my savefiles are gone?
Better not just break the damn thing then, and hope that it won't commit seppuku of some sort.
Then again this is IGN who reports in, wouldn't be the first time they give false info on the Swith. I have read 3 or 4 statements they have given which have later been debunked, both on the good and the bad.

or you know, using usernames?

 

[Naldan]

Thanks pirates :^)

Same reason you dont have a browser.

You think Nintendo isnt aware that all exploits happen via either web browsers or save tampering?

lol Guys, there are people who really still take this as an argument. Like those video-game-violence-goonies.

Just for clarification's sake: Even if Nintendo really had that point of view, it doesn't make the pirates responsible for that. Every other manufacturer succeeds in coping with this or preventing it outright. And it simply makes the console way less attractive to potential customers if the competition offers these options. Period.

 

[Guffe]

Gah.

Between this and still using Friend Codes, Nintendo are sure determined to torpedo their own console.

Well to be honest, the friend codes are one of at least 5 alternatives to give out friendrequests
1. Friendcode
2. Player you're playing with at the moment
3. Players you have recently played with (no idea how far/short time back that is)
4. When the other Switch is closeby (so the wireless lan thing)
5. Old friends from the WiiU/Wii era when you log in on your Nintendo ID account.

So yeah, the friend code is a thing, but there are alternatives.

On Topic:
Not sure what to think... How bad a thing is this?
To me it sounds like... well... if the console breaks, all my savefiles are gone?
Better not just break the damn thing then, and hope that it won't commit seppuku of some sort.
Then again this is IGN who reports in, wouldn't be the first time they give false info on the Swith. I have read 3 or 4 statements they have given which have later been debunked, both on the good and the bad.

or you know, using usernames?

That would be an alternative too.
But having played MarioKart and Splat00n on the WiiU, as a European I would have a vey hard time adding all the Japanese players since I don't use the same marks as they do.
In my opinion, adding a 12 number digit is just as easy as adding xXSup3rUltr4K1llXx, but that might just be me (that last part was sarcasm, that's a shit username).

 

[Callate]

This seems like the kind of thing that would be relatively easy to "patch out" in an update, if they could be bothered to do so. Or perhaps they hope to make cloud saves an inducement to go with their fee-based online system.

Just speculation on my part, though.

 

[shrekfan246]

...it's weird what I occasionally pull out of articles like this.

For instance, I just learned that the 32 GB of memory in the Switch is strictly internal, and not it's own card. Meaning that you don't have to replace a memory card, you just add another one.

Having not really followed the news about the Switch, I just learned that Nintendo is apparently still incapable of releasing a console with more than 32 GB of storage space.

32 GB was pathetic twelve years ago when the Xbox 360 came out.

Many games today are either in or approaching the 50+ GB range.

 

[Supernova1138]

Many games today are either in or approaching the 50+ GB range.

That probably isn't a concern for the Switch, it simply isn't powerful enough to run current AAA games with high resolution textures and all the bells and whistles. You're not going to see the latest 50GB installment of Battlefield, Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto on the Switch. In practice, most games are likely to be closer to 7th gen size eg. 8GB. 32GB is still pathetically small and you're probably going to have to rely on SD cards if you want to have more than two digital games installed at any given time, but I doubt there is going to be a Switch game that outright won't fit into that tiny space.

In any case, the Switch really isn't a console, its lack of storage and processing power make that quite clear. The Switch is Nintendo's new handheld that just happens to have a TV dock packed in with it. Nintendo is effectively done with the home console market.

 

[shrekfan246]

Many games today are either in or approaching the 50+ GB range.

That probably isn't a concern for the Switch, it simply isn't powerful enough to run current AAA games with high resolution textures and all the bells and whistles. You're not going to see the latest 50GB installment of Battlefield, Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto on the Switch. In practice, most games are likely to be closer to 7th gen size eg. 8GB. 32GB is still pathetically small and you're probably going to have to rely on SD cards if you want to have more than two digital games installed at any given time,

While this is true and a consideration that most people who invest in Nintendo consoles are likely aware of, it's still worth pointing out. Even some of the higher-budget indie titles are in the 5-10 GB range these days. I think it's pretty fair to say that isn't an adequate amount of storage space regardless of whatever market the console is targeting. The PS Vita was nearly universally criticized for its lack of storage space and the high cost associated with the proprietary additional space, and I don't think any game on the Vita took up 13 GB (the size of Zelda) until God of War HD came out (which included both God of War and God of War II).

but I doubt there is going to be a Switch game that outright won't fit into that tiny space.

I have some bad news for you. [http://www.nintendolife.com/games/nintendo-switch/dragon_quest_heroes_ibii] (Yes, it is technically two games, but I don't believe you're able to get the games separately and this is on launch for the system.)