Fresh off of an extensive Nintendo Direct that revealed how a number of in-game features will work, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is nearly ready to welcome residents to the island. While fans are excited, one issue has caused some confusion.
The first mainline Animal Crossing game in 8 years is garnering a lot of attention as it looks to deliver that cozy, slice-of-life style gameplay that fans enjoy curling up with. DIY furniture with customizable patterns, terraforming the island, and welcoming new villagers to the island are all part of the charm of the series.
However, the point of contention regarding AC: New Horizons concerns save data. In the original Nintendo Direct, Nintendo stated that the game will not feature cloud save data features (likely to prevent in-game clock manipulation), and that lost save data would only be retrievable once under special circumstances for Nintendo Switch Online members.
The Direct was then re-uploaded with a change to the fine print. The wording has been changed to "more details on save data recovery functionality will be shared at a future date." The change only muddies the water further on the issue, though does seem to be a reaction to the initial response from fans.
Even from official sources, the message is mixed. Nintendo of America's Animal Crossing: New Horizons website includes similar language to the Direct, stating that save data recovery will be available in the event of system failure, loss, or theft sometime in the future. It also states that the game does not support save file transfer from one Switch to another.
However, Nintendo UK's website for the game includes information about the ability to transfer save file data. The UK site claims that "a function specific to Animal Crossing: New Horizons to move users and save data to another console is planned for later this year." While fans may be lamenting the one island per Switch feature as limiting, this contradictory save data information on sister Nintendo sites is a more serious issue causing more confusion for players for whom loss or transfer of save data might be important.
Players worried about save data issues will have to wait patiently until Nintendo can offer a clear word on what it will be doing regarding recovery and transfer of data. Until then, exercising caution is probably the best strategy. The game looks as though it will be well supported going forward, so news on the save data issue should come quickly.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be available on March 20th on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Daan Koopman/Twitter
