

Nintendo Working On Solution For Transferring Game State Between Switch And Switch Lite

by Donald Theriault - July 10, 2019, 5:40 am PDT
Total comments: 8 Source: CNET

Aside from the cloud saves.

There are some hoops to jump through to have games on multiple Switch consoles, but Nintendo is aiming for a more elegant solution.

In an interview with CNET, Doug Bowser was asked about the portability of games for the system, specifically about taking a game on the road.

"I could see myself wanting to take the smaller Switch on trips while leaving the household Switch behind. But then, how would I transfer games between systems? Nintendo hasn't made it easy to do that, but there might be a solution coming. "Yes, you will have the ability to transfer between devices, your gameplay experiences. More to come on there, but that is the intention," Bowser told me.

Currently, it is possible to sign into Nintendo accounts on multiple Switches and redownload games, and accounts with Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions can use cloud saves to move most games over to a second system.



AdrockJuly 10, 2019

Nice to see Nintendo is loosening the grips this kind of thing.

Semi-related: “Household Switch” sounds derogatory.

Whether or not I buy one of these is going to depend on how well they handle this. I almost exclusively play my Switch in handheld mode, but I'd like to retain the option of playing through the TV when I have friends over and such.

jglonekJuly 10, 2019

It'll be interesting how they handle this since not all games support cloud saving - including Animal Crossing.

I actually wish the National Dex thing didn't suck all the air out of the room because we really need to get that no AC cloud save thing addressed.

SorenJuly 10, 2019

I would have hoped this is something that already had a solution, not something you'll "announce further down the line".

There's kind of already a solution, but ideally they could make it better. You can already download games on multiple Switches if you log into your account on both, and there are cloud saves for most games. It'd be nice if they smoothed some of the edges there, and found a way to make it work with games don't support cloud saves.

nickmitchJuly 10, 2019

Don't the cloud saves require Switch Online? I'm sure they'll need to work out a free option.

Ian SaneJuly 10, 2019

This seems like one of those things where it's only a complicated solution because Nintendo is involved.  Universal cloud saves is an obvious solution, in other words it is supported at the system level not on a game-by-game basis.  If the person is offline then connect the two Switches and if they're both logged in to the same account then you have a "transfer save" function.  This should not be hard if a little forethought was put into how the system stores game saves in the first place.

You could do this in the past with memory cards so in theory you should be able to take the same concept and apply it here only without a physical card as the middleman.  DLC can complicate it but if the file system was designed in an even slightly intelligent way the save data, DLC/patches, and game executable (if a digital purchase) would all be stored separately so you only can transfer the save data.  At the very least requiring both systems to be logged in to the same account should provide the security needed to ensure people don't exploit the transfer to pirate DLC.

Cool Uncle VinceJuly 10, 2019

How easy is it to be a multi-system, one family situation?

USE CASE: I have a digital copy of Super Mario Maker 2.  My son wants to play Super Mario Maker, I want to play something else.  Can I play a different digital game on my account on my Switch, and he play Mario Maker (also on my account) on the 2nd Switch, simultaneously?

I'd been imagining this wasn't possible, so I'd been considering buying physical to prevent trouble.

Got a news tip? Send it in!