Nintendo have quietly re-uploaded their Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Direct, changing the statement they had made on save data recovery.
The original Nintendo Direct is now private, with a new video in its place- as noted by it being uploaded on February 21st- the day after the original Nintendo Direct video.
Eagle-Eyed fans (such as ACWorldBlog on Twitter) noticed that the details on the save data recovery had changed. At 25:33, the same information is narrated- that the game will not use the Nintendo Switch Online service’s save data back-up, and that there will be a service for data recovery in the case of lost or damaged consoles.
Originally, the text at the bottom of the screen (around 25:42) noted this was limited to one time. However, the text now reads “More details on save data recovery functionality will be shared at a future date.”
The game not utilizing the save data recovery of the Nintendo Switch Online service is already baffling- assuming there are no technical issues, or it being an attempt to prevent players from resetting an unfavorable day.
This was previously reinforced by Resetti the mole. When players attempted to reset the console’s clock, he would leap out and warn players not to (revealing that the data had still been saved in some cases).
Resetti was eventually “retired” when younger children found him too scary. Though in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, someone with a very similar accent can rescue players if they get lost, bringing them back home.
For Nintendo to update the video with no announcement is also strange. If this update was due to the original news being unpopular, or a new way the system would be utilized, why would Nintendo not make a formal statement to show they are fixing the problem?
We will keep you informed as we learn more.
UPDATE: The official UK website for the game notes the following:
– “This game does not support the Save Data Cloud functionality of Nintendo Switch Online. However, the ability to recover Animal Crossing: New Horizons save data from the server in the event of console failure, loss or theft will be available to Nintendo Switch Online members later this year.
– This game does not currently support the ability to transfer your save file from one Nintendo Switch console to another. However, a function specific to Animal Crossing: New Horizons to move users and save data to another console is planned for later this year.”
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is launching for Nintendo Switch on March 20th, 2020.
Image: Animal Crossing Fandom Wiki
