What causes game corruption?

[misschips46]

I'm seeing posts from people saying their game has corrupted?
Does that mean at any time your game can just break and lose everything?!

((((

 

[dizzy bone]

I think one of the big things is to remember to save and close properly. Like waiting until the home screen comes up before you power off, not when the train icon is loading etc. I'm not quite sure what makes a game corrupt but it seems to happen randomly to a lot of members. One of my friends IRL just got her game corrupted because she left it on overnight and when she woke up it froze and then corrupted. I haven't had a game corrupt yet (I use digital) but mannn when it does... that'll be when I put down animal crossing for a long long time and resume with my life haha. But for now, I'm good.

 

[Yukari Yakumo]

It means that your saved data has been damaged and your town is basically gone, forcing you to start from scratch.
It usually happens if you do interrupt the save process; removing the game card, pushing the power button, and losing power are the main culprits

 

[misschips46]

I would be soooo gutted

 

[sn0wxyuki]

losing power? as in play until all battery gone??

 

[cheezu]

It usually happens when you interrupt the game while it's saving by exiting to the home screen, shutting it off - yes, it can also happen if your battery dies while you're saving.
Other ways that may corrupt it - removing SD card without shutting off the system, removing SD card/cartridge while the game is booted or is saving.
But honestly, there's always this minimal chance that your data may get damaged even if you do everything properly. It's scary but that's technology for you.

 

[PrayingMantis10]

Thank you for the answers. I was getting neurotic about it.