Resident Evil 7 on Switch Makes No Guarantee on Saved Data
Resident Evil 7 will soon be on the Switch in Japan via a cloud version, but Capcom says that [...]
Resident Evil 7 will soon be on the Switch in Japan via a cloud version, but Capcom says that players' saved data remaining intact and usable isn't a guarantee.
Like other games that are played through a cloud service, Resident Evil 7 won't actually be on players' Switches. With that logic in mind, Capcom said in the product page for my cloud version of the Resident Evil game that the saved data will be stored server-side as opposed to on your console. Players must purchase a "ticket" to play the game for a designated amount of time that's currently set at 180 days, and once that timeframe is over, Capcom said that there's no guarantee that saved data will be retained.
That part makes sense since your 180-day subscription has expired, but Capcom also added that even during the time that your "ticket" is valid, there's no guarantee that saved data will be preserved. Below is the text from Capcom's product page for Resident Evil 7 on the Switch (via Google Translate) that talks about players' saved data and how the "ticket" system works.
"The save data of 'BIOHAZARD 7 Resident Evil cloud version' is saved on the server side, and if the 'validity period' of the 'voucher' ends, data retention is not guaranteed," the product details read. "Also, even during the valid term of the 'Usage Ticket,' we will not guarantee surely that your save data is stored without defects and that it will be read out."
This means that there will hopefully be no issues with any saved data in Japan since there's no guarantee that it'll hold up till players' next time they play Resident Evil 7 via the cloud. It's unclear if there'll be any sort of compensation or subscription extension should something like that happen though.
The Switch version of Resident Evil 7 was a surprise announcement made not too long ago, so saved data preservation or not, Switch owners are probably just happy to have the acclaimed horror came on the console. It's only available for players in Japan at the moment, and the 180-day "ticket" is available for 2,000 yen which equals out to roughly $20. The cloud version of the game also comes with DLC including Banned Footage Vol 1 & 2, End of Zoe, and Not a Hero, so it's much like buying the gold edition of the game.
There's no word yet of a worldwide release outside of Japan.