Fans only have weeks to wait before the Nintendo Switch’s next major release is available to buy, that being Pokemon Sword and Shield.
And while giant Pikachu and long Meowths might have dominated the headlines of late, we’re still learning more about the game.
The new Pokemon game has been backed to be another massive seller for Nintendo, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bump Switch sales too.
And with less than a month to go before Sword and Shield arrive on Nintendo Switch, we’re also finding out about some of the things it won’t have.
And it appears fans will have to start their adventures in the Galar region without Cloud Save support.
The feature is part of the official Nintendo Online Membership but isn’t included with all titles.
And it appears that like Splatoon 2 and Let’s Go Pikachu, Pokemon Sword and Shield will be the latest game launching without the feature.
This is based on several listing found on the Nintendo eShop, although we haven’t been able to find it on the UK version yet.
So there’s always a chance that Nintendo will provide an update for fans on the situation of cloud save before the game’s release on November 15.
If it is confirmed that Pokemon Sword and Shield are skipping Cloud Save support then we have a good idea why.
When this issue cropped up with past games, Nintendo revealed it was down to concerning regarding exploiting the system.
And there’s no doubt that a small group would have the knowhow and time to pull something like this off.
A statement from Nintendo last year explains: “The vast majority of Nintendo Switch games will support Save Data Cloud backup. However, in certain games this feature would make it possible to, for example, regain items that had been traded to other players, or revert to a higher online multiplayer ranking that had been lost.
“To ensure fair play, Save Data Cloud backup may not be enabled for such games.
“To ensure that Save Data Cloud backups cannot be used to unfairly affect online multiplayer rankings, the feature will not be enabled in Splatoon 2.”
This week has also seen news regarding other features that are being skipped in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee proved popular entries into the Pocket Monster franchise when they launched in 2018.
And they also provided the first link between a Nintendo console game and the Pokemon Go Mobile game. Transfers were made possible between the two titles, although it meant a lot of faffing around.
And with the release of Sword and Shield just around the corners, fans have been wondering what might be coming next. The bad news for POGO fans is that it doesn’t look like any big crossover connections between the two games is in the works.
It won’t be utterly barren of choices as the launch of Pokemon Home will make it possible to store Pocket Monsters in one place.
“Now Trainers can bring all their Pokémon together with Pokémon HOME, a new cloud service app that lets players continue their Pokémon adventures beyond a single platform.
“Pokémon HOME connects with Pokémon Bank as well as Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games, and also Pokémon GO,” the official press release confirms.
“With Pokémon HOME, Trainers can manage their collection of Pokémon across many of their games.
“Plus, they can trade with friends or with anyone around the world directly using Pokémon HOME via mobile device. A potential future addition will even allow multiple players in a single location to trade all at once.
“Pokémon HOME is expected to launch in early 2020 on iOS and Android devices as well as Nintendo Switch.”
The lack of Pokemon Go support was revealed in a recent Eurogamer interview with Sword and Shield producers Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori.