Nintendo UK: “Save data stored with Save Data Cloud cannot be kept outside of the duration of your Nintendo Switch Online membership.”
Nintendo: “If a Nintendo Switch Online membership expires, users won’t be able to access their Save Data Cloud backups. However, Nintendo will allow users who resubscribe within 180 days to access their previous Save Data Cloud backups,”
So, if a person’s online subscription expires, that player will lose access to the cloud. However, Nintendo’s above statement says that it will hold onto the save data for 180 days, or six months. While the idea of those saves being lost, even if its six months later, may still be annoying to some, it is important to keep in mind that Sony does the same thing for an even heftier price per annual subscription. You need a PS Plus subscription for cloud saving, and the price for a year’s subscription is $59.99, according to the PlayStation website. Still, Microsoft’s Xbox One has all the consoles beat: you don’t need to pay to access cloud saves if you’re an Xbox player.
Overall, Nintendo Switch Online is proving to be a decent service. It is by far the cheapest in price when compared to PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold. You get access to classic NES titles, such as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, with more to come. It will be interesting to see where the service is a year down the road.
