Nintendo has confirmed the way system transfers will work when moving from Nintendo Switch to Nintendo Switch 2: A copy of data, like saves, will remain on the source system — with the exception of Animal Crossing: New Horizons data.
The company shared the information with Polygon during an interview last week.
“So I should clarify that when you do the system transfer, everything like save data will remain on the Nintendo Switch and once it moves to the Nintendo Switch 2 as well,” Programming Management Group Senior Director Takuhiro Dohta said. “But the [Animal Crossing] island will be an actual move. So it will leave Nintendo Switch and move over to Nintendo Switch 2.”
Leaving a copy of existing data on the Nintendo Switch is a departure from previous incarnations of this feature: Switch-to-Switch transfers, Nintendo-3DS-to-Nintendo-3DS transfers, and Wii-to-Wii-U transfers all erase data from the original console.
When it comes to Animal Crossing: New Horizons save data transfers on the Nintendo Switch, players currently have two options: either uploading save data to the cloud and then re-downloading it or using the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island Transfer Tool application. However, the former solution requires users to contact Nintendo to download the data, so it’s generally only used in the case of a lost or broken system.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons save data transfers to the Nintendo Switch 2 will be more straightforward, carried out directly through the system transfer function. So don’t worry! Your island will be completely safe if you want to continue playing on the Switch 2. You just won’t be able to keep a copy of it on your original Switch.
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Written by Daniel Dell-Cornejo
Daniel is an editor at Nintendo Wire. Always with his head in the clouds, he is never apart from his creative thoughts – a blessing for an aspiring fiction writer. As a journalist and lifelong gamer, he aims to provide readers with the very best in Nintendo coverage.
