Pokemon Sword and Shield Confirm Big Missing Feature

Nintendo and Game Freak have confirmed that Pokemon Sword and Shield will be missing a big feature: cloud saves. As you may know, last year's entries -- Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee -- were also missing this feature, much to the dismay of some fans. However, despite some backlash over the missing feature, Game Freak has opted to once again not add it. News of its absence in Sword and Shield comes way of the games' eShop listings. It's unclear why the feature is once again missing, but it's probably out of fear of save manipulation.

“The vast majority of Nintendo Switch games will support Save Data Cloud backup," said Nintendo last year while explaining why Splatoon 2 didn't have the feature. "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.”

Of course, it's easy to imagine how players could manipulate cloud saves with Pokemon Sword and Shield to their advantage. However, at the same time, we are talking about a minority of players here, not the majority. And the majority shouldn't be refused a feature just because of a few bad apples.

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are set to release on November 15 via the Nintendo Switch. For more news, rumors, leaks, media, and information on the titles, be sure to peep all of our previous and extensive coverage of them by clicking right here.

"Begin your adventure as a Pokémon Trainer by choosing one of three new partner Pokemon: Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble," reads an official pitch of the game. "Then embark on a journey in the new Galar region, where you’ll challenge the troublemakers of Team Yell, while unraveling the mystery behind the Legendary Pokemon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area, a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. Team up with three other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battle in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pokemon known as Dynamax Pokemon. "

Thanks, Nintendo Everything.