10 Reasons Nintendo Switch Online Is A Crushing Disappointment

8. Not All Games Support Cloud Save Backup

The lack of cloud save support has been a major sticking point for even the Switch's most staunch defenders: if you lose your Switch or it breaks, your 300-hour Breath of the Wild save is toast and there's nothing you can do about it.

18 months after the console's release, Nintendo has finally provided cloud saves as part of its new online service, and while it is indeed stuck behind a paywall, it is at least available for those who desire it.

Unfortunately, though, cloud saves aren't supported for every Switch title, and there are some alarmingly popular games that won't allow players to back up their data. Most egregiously, Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, Splatoon 2, Fortnite, and FIFA 19 offer no cloud support, reportedly due to Nintendo's concerns over players manipulating saves in order to cheat.

Considering that Sony and Microsoft have offered full cloud support for years, it's a laughably flimsy excuse and extremely disappointing. It's especially frustrating as most online-heavy Switch games store player stats client-side, meaning there's no way to retain your hard-earned career data in the event something happens to your Switch.

And if this isn't bad enough, Nintendo will also delete your cloud saves if your subscription lapses, compared to Sony and Microsoft, who retain cloud saves for six months and forever respectively.