Just got Switch 2 - but major concerns before updating

[TubeBar2]

PS4 was easy keep everything, play both consoles. Nintendo made a mess of this (or at least complex to figure it out).

I have a hackable Switch, I can buy and dump games. Not losing that. I keep it legit. I have another one I use offline for modded, I rarely have time to do these days.

All I want to do is this:

1. Copy (not move) all my profiles, save data and games library over to Switch 2.

2. I have multiple eshop accounts (US, JPN, Ger, UK) so gets even more iffy. They are purchased games, have logins etc.

Is this possible? If so how?

I've watched to many YouTube they are all just "quick transfers, old Switch gets deleted".

Sure can do a NAND back up and restore but...sure that will be a ban or conflict.

Any help is appreciated.

Yea I virtual cards set up, CaithSith2 did that w/ me as he got a Switch2 before I did.

 

[InsaneNutter]

If you do the system transfer (when initially setting the console up) this will copy your profiles, saves and games to the to the Switch 2. It does not format the OG Switch though, your profiles and games remain on it.

Any game that can use cloud saves the save data will still be usable on both Switch consoles (if you have Switch online), save games you can't backup to the cloud such as Pokemon will only exist on the Switch 2. You can transfer these manually between both consoles, both consoles have to be connected to the internet to do a save transfer however.

Same with loading digital games and DLC, these will only work on the Switch 2, however you can load the virtual game card on the OG Switch again, this will eject it from the Switch 2 however, this ensures you can only use it on one Switch at a time. Both the OG Switch and Switch 2 have to be connected to the internet to do this.

Your games dont get deleted from the OG Switch, however only a placeholder is transferred to the Switch 2, you have to let the Switch 2 download the game and any updates in my experience.

Overall its a bit tedious compared to the Xbox where you can have a home console that can totally work offline, however still sign in to any other Xbox and play. If you load a virtual game card to the OG Switch, you can't re load it on the Switch 2 without access to the OG Switch and the internet. This has caught me out in the past.

You need to pay for Switch online to sync cloud saves between the consoles, even then some games can't sync between consoles like the Pokemon games, on the Xbox this is a standard feature that requires no subscription and works for every game.

 

[TubeBar2]

Oh so I can use my old SD Card just do the system transfer? My concern is I have a few accounts (all linked) like one ofr Japanese games, UK etc. my main account is in the US. I just don't want to lose all my stuff and still use my old Switch.