Is This New Animal Crossing: New Horizons Feature Too Little, Too Late?

An old favorite made new for the Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows players to escape to an island of their very own, one they can design, construct, and mold to their every wish. Players can customize their character, fish, dig for fossils, plant flowers, chat with their neighbors, and the newest game even allows for swimming and collecting sea creatures.

Yet since its premiere in March 2020, fans have had a few big problems with the game for the fans. One of the biggest issues is that New Horizons players are limited to only one island per Switch. So households with multiple Animal Crossing players have to share, and this fact didn't sit well with some. Fights over who will be the primary player, who dug up all the fossils before anyone else, and who chopped down the fruit trees became just a few of the disputes between family members, especially those with children. One Reddit user even warned against letting younger siblings play the game before they could, after realizing that many of the major decisions would be out of their hands.

Nintendo has attempted to help ease the tension of island sharing with the announcement of its newest update. Starting on Nov. 19, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players will be able to transfer their save data onto a different Switch, including their customized island and all of the items they've collected with an Entire Island Transfer. "The island, all progress and customizations, your animal neighbors, the island resident representative, and any other residents that have been created on the island will be transferred," the announcement from Nintendo support read.

There is also the option for a single-player transfer, which will allow one resident to move their home and all of their items in storage to a new island. However, this transfer does not allow for an island representative to move to a new island, so all of the hard work and time the secondary player has put into the original island is lost to them, and they will have to start from scratch.

Reactions to the new update are mixed, with some very excited fans saying they were eager to purchase a new Switch just for that reason, and others who pointed out that this feature should have been there from the start. This held especially true for one user whose island had already been deleted. Some fans expressed their disappointment that having two islands on one Switch is still not an available option.

The next major Animal Crossing: New Horizons update will also include winter holiday events, more reactions and hairstyle options, and the ability to upgrade the player's storage.