You Don't Have To Transfer Your System Data To The Switch 2 Right Away

Forbes

a day ago

Now that the Switch 2 is finally out, I've been playing around with mine and realized that you don't have to transfer your system data across from your old Switch.
This is because on startup, for the first time, you can skip the system transfer and go to adding your accounts.
Once added, you can share games from your old Switch via the new virtual card setup, so long as they are in close proximity.
Moreover, the initial setup to enable this virtual card share only needs to be done once, and then you can re-download whatever games you want.
For me, this is far more useful, as I have increased the storage capacity on my old Switch by quite a bit and have hundreds of games stored on it.
Even with the Switch 2's increased base storage, I will still need to get a hefty MicroSD Express card at some point. The latter is an issue right now, as the max storage of these new cards is somewhat limited and wouldn't be able to handle all my old Switch games and the new and upcoming Switch 2 games.
This separation allows me to use the Switch 2's storage space exclusively for dedicated Switch 2 games, which, for the time being, is my preferred option.
I do get why Nintendo encourages you to do the system transfer at startup, though, as they obviously want you to transition to their new hardware. I would have no real issue with this if the available MicroSD Express cards had enough storage capacity.
Realistically, I will need a 2TB MicroSD Express card for my Switch 2 at some point, but at present, the biggest one I can find on the Japanese market is 256 GB. So I may be waiting a while.
All that aside, even without the system transfer, using my Switch 2 has been smooth and straightforward. It's a nice piece of kit, and I even like the new and updated Pro controller a lot, too.
To be honest, the original Switch Pro controller was my favorite of the last generation of consoles. The general form factor, size, and quality of inputs were just right, and this new Pro controller for the Switch 2 even improves on that, but I digress.
In any case, I still plan on using my regular Switch for a good while yet, and while I will likely transition over entirely to my Switch 2 at some point, I am glad I don't have to do that right away.
As you would expect, there's a pretty thorough thread over on Reddit about the whole thing, with some people obviously pointing out the capacity issue. We all seem to have amassed a very large library of classic Switch games over the years.
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