To those who have a second island...

[Chungus]

Did you find a cheap(er) way to get it, since you have to buy a whole other Switch AND a new copy of the game to do so? I want to get a second island since I have so many villagers I adore, but I can't have in my current island due to villager and theme restrictions.

 

[sunnibunniva]

I think it's possible to swap between two saves on a hacked switch if you're into that

 

[Khaelis]

Outside of modifying a Nintendo Switch with custom firmware, it'll get expensive to own two legitimate islands. I personally would not recommend modifying your console as some of them require you to purposely damage the console, or otherwise puts you at a huge risk of having your console 'bricked' by Nintendo if you use it online in any capacity.

 

[Seven_]

I did have to buy another switch but not another copy of the game... You can use the same account on both switches unless you plan on switching stuff between the islands. The only way to get it cheaper would to buy a switch off of someone, but because of covid19 and supply being more limited, no one is really selling them lower.

 

[Emmsey]

I had another switch not by design but due to Nintendo's delay in transferring save data across from consoles.

 

[Aurita]

Yeah I had to use a second switch and used my bf’s profile (which has Nintendo online) to be able to trade between my islands and with others so it wasn’t cheap for sure. Wasn’t comfortable with hacking my switch >_<

 

[Chungus]

I did have to buy another switch but not another copy of the game... You can use the same account on both switches unless you plan on switching stuff between the islands.

If I were to use the same account and just download the digital copy of Animal Crossing from there, would it download the save data, too? I don't want to have the same island on both Switches and then have to delete one.

Yeah I had to use a second switch and used my bf’s profile (which has Nintendo online) to be able to trade between my islands and with others so it wasn’t cheap for sure.

Why couldn't you use your own profile?

 

[Aurita]

If I were to use the same account and just download the digital copy of Animal Crossing from there, would it download the save data, too? I don't want to have the same island on both Switches and then have to delete one.



Why couldn't you use your own profile?

My profile can’t interact with my own profile for online services haha and I hate the co-op/local multiplayer. Plus for bug off/fishing tourneys, my bf plays on his profile so we can get more points

 

[Debeers]

I think you cannot play games on two switches using same profile at the same time unless one is offline. It has some restrictions on digital copies playing on two consoles too (primary vs secondary). So we decided to just buy physical copies to avoid the confusion.

 

[Chungus]

I think you cannot play games on two switches using same profile at the same time unless one is offline. It has some restrictions on digital copies playing on two consoles too (primary vs secondary). So we decided to just buy physical copies to avoid the confusion.

What's the distinction between primary vs. secondary? Is there an official guide or statement from Nintendo on how to share digital copies between two Switches?

 

[Debeers]

What I remembered is that any account on primary can play, but secondary only the main account can play. And if primary account plays, secondary will pause what is currently playing. Nintendo support has some FAQs you can searches up. I am about to have a meeting so maybe post the link later.

Post automatically merged: Aug 18, 2020

When you have two switches registered under the same profile, you will have one designated as primary, the other secondary.

 

[saucySheep]

I think you can just buy a new switch, and if you have the ACNH game card then you can just put it in the new switch, or if you have a digital copy purchased on your Nintendo account then you can simply download it again on your new switch since you already bought it. You will have 2 separate save files if you do either of these things. Save 60 bucks this way too lol

 

[tajikey]

I initially had two systems with 1 digital copy of the game. My daughter was able to play on our first Switch, while I played on my new one at the same time (two different profiles). Downside is that we couldn't visit each other's island, local or wireless, so I decided to get a second copy of the game and add her to my Nintendo Online account.

 

[Selky]

I did not. I did buy a lite for my second vs two regular switch consoles. So that made it semi cheaper. I still purchased two digital games and made separate accounts because I wanted to be able to play them at the same time or trade between them etc.

I think I saw someone mention in a previous post that they were able to use credits at a game store from trading in old consoles/games which amounted to enough to get another console. So, if there's something like that for you and you may have extra stuff you don't want...you could try doing that. You could also do that for just regular stuff you may not need anymore.

 

[Debeers]

What's the distinction between primary vs. secondary? Is there an official guide or statement from Nintendo on how to share digital copies between two Switches?

Here’s the link explaining primary and secondary on Nintendo. Hope it does not confuse you

What Are the Differences Between a Primary and Non-Primary Nintendo Switch Console? | Nintendo Support

en-americas-support.nintendo.com

 

[Chungus]

Here’s the link explaining primary and secondary on Nintendo. Hope it does not confuse you

What Are the Differences Between a Primary and Non-Primary Nintendo Switch Console? | Nintendo Support

en-americas-support.nintendo.com

Thanks so much for the link! I must admit, I am confused by the following statements (taken from the link):

• While using a non-primary console, you must have an active Internet connection to play downloadable content.
• While using a non-primary console, downloadable content can only be started by the user that purchased the content.

Does this mean I can't play ACNH on my second Switch unless I'm connected to the Internet?

 

[Aurita]

Thanks so much for the link! I must admit, I am confused by the following statements (taken from the link):

• While using a non-primary console, you must have an active Internet connection to play downloadable content.
• While using a non-primary console, downloadable content can only be started by the user that purchased the content.

Does this mean I can't play ACNH on my second Switch unless I'm connected to the Internet?

yep, the secondary account needs to be connected to the internet to be able to access the game. You need to reauthenticate every 3 hours

 

[Chungus]

yep, the secondary account needs to be connected to the internet to be able to access the game. You need to reauthenticate every 3 hours

Oh my dear god, that's horrendous. Why? What's the point of this? Even when I'm accessing offline features, I need an internet connection? Is it just me, or is this bogus?

 

[Aurita]

Oh my dear god, that's horrendous. Why? What's the point of this? Even when I'm accessing offline features, I need an internet connection? Is it just me, or is this bogus?

just to launch the game you need to have internet ): it’s super bogus and so antiquated

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

I got a lite and a second copy for myself but I had multiple reasons to do so (my play style differs a ton from those who I share an island with, I’m a commuter, I wanted to go with a Southern Hemisphere island, etc) and I spent months mulling over the decision.