Nintendo’s save game backup policy is anti-consumer

Nintendo dropped Switch Firmware 10.0.0 yesterday. It adds a whole slew of cool new features, like button mapping and the ability to move game data from the internal storage to a MicroSD. Which is certainly handy given the console’s very limited internal storage. But most games will automatically default to the card anyway if its present. What we still can’t do is move save data to the SD. Nintendo still has not enabled this most basic feature. Why?

Now, pretty much every gaming platform today offers a cloud service. It’s incredibly convenient to have your progress automatically uploaded, giving you peace of mind with no real action on your part. In the case of Xbox Live and Steam, that service is even free. While Sony does make you pay an annual fee for their cloud, they still allow offline backups to any external USB drive. In fact, every single platform does. Well, except one.

When it comes to Nintendo, they’re not quite so… generous. Their cloud is a premium service as part of their Switch Online subscription. It’s the only way you can backup your saves, and you have to maintain that subscription to retrieve them. Effectively holding them hostage unless you pay their annual fee. That is, quite possibly, one of the biggest pieces of BS to come out of the gaming industry. And as you know, there’s certainly a lot in the pile to choose from.

So what’s their excuse? Well, the main one that keeps coming up in discussions is jail breaking. Save files can be hacked to inject code into the Switch, allowing it to run unsigned software such as pirated games. Nintendo has countered that by limiting access to the console’s storage. So they can’t possibly give you access to your saves in case you might do something naughty.

I can respect that to a degree. Piracy has long been a big problem on Nintendo platforms after all. But if that’s the case, and it’s impossible to maintain security while giving access to save data, then what’s the logic behind locked backups behind a paywall? It’s not like Nintendo couldn’t afford it. Even GOG gives their users free cloud storage as a courtesy service, even on the Switch, and they’re a much smaller company.

The other excuse that’s often echoed by the company is that people will manipulate saves to cheat. Which is why some games can’t be backed up at all, not even to the cloud. Yes, this could conceivably be a problem in competitive online titles. But that begs the question, why isn’t this a problem on other platforms? I’ve been a PC gamer for over 20 years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever come across a single title that didn’t support save backups, for any reason. The same goes for PlayStation titles, and I’ve been using the PS Plus cloud since before it was mandatory for online play.

To be frank, it all boils down to money. Nintendo locking saves behind a paywall, without even giving users the option to make offline backups, has no excuses. They’re just being anti-consumer. Now there is an argument to be made that I’m getting my feathers in a fluff over nothing. Switch Online is only $20 for the year, which is a lot cheaper than competing services. But that’s besides the point. They’re the only gaming company that’s doing this. So either make the cloud free, or let me use my damn USB.