Like most modern day consoles, the Nintendo Switch just keeps getting better and better with every new firmware update that it receives. The latest update (4.0.0) has gone live and brings with it two features that no console should be without in this day in age: the ability to capture gameplay footage and the transfer of user data.
However, as expected with a device from this company, these new features come with some caveats.
Video capture
This feature is exactly what many users would expect; they can capture footage of Nintendo Switch games at home or while on the go.
With just the press of the Capture button, the Switch can record up to 30 seconds of gameplay footage and store it in the Album. From there, users can then edit the footage and share it among friends on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc). Unfortunately, only a handful of Switch games support the feature. And as many might guess, they are first party titles. These include Splatoon 2, Arms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe.
The last game, however, does not currently support the feature because it hasn't been updated on its end; Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's current build is still at version 1.2.1 while the update is designed to work with version 1.3.0. Nintendo plans to update more Switch games to support this feature in the near future.
For now, it remains unclear how far the feature will expand across the Switch's library.
Data transfer
The second feature--and an undoubtedly more important one--is the ability to transfer user data from one Switch unit to another. Users can transfer not only save data but also their profiles to a new Switch console with ease.
But like the first feature, this one also comes with it's own shortcomings. Once transferred to the new console, the original data will be erased from the source console in the process, making the transition a permanent one.
"Once the process is complete, the user information, the associated save data, and the software purchased with the user account that is transferred will no longer be available on the source console," reads an excerpt from Nintendo's detailed information on the feature.
This new feature also lacks support for external memory devices; something that will most likely infuriate some Nintendo Switch owners who require options for backing up their user data. Nintendo could also add this further down the console's life cycle but that remains to be seen. Hopefully, the company proves consideration to the Switch's growing user base.
