One of the best features subscribing to Nintendo's Switch Online Service will unlock is save data cloud backups. It releases your save games from the confines of the Switch's system memory, and with it gives you an easy way to retrieve them if your Switch dies. However, it turns out not all Switch games can use this cloud backup feature.

On the face of it, this looks like an oversight on the part of Nintendo. Surely all save games should be allowed to be backed up in the cloud, right? Not so, says Nintendo, and it has a very good reason as to why.

As Game Informer reports, Nintendo explained that certain games can't use save backups because it would enable cheating. If a game allows items to be traded between players, or has online multiplayer ranking, reverting to a cloud backup of a save game could result in traded items being regained or rankings being reset.

Games that do not support the feature will have the warning "This game does not support Save Data Cloud backup" on the game information page for each title. So far, we know that Splatoon 2, Pokemon Let's Go Eevee & Pikachu, Dark Souls Remastered, Dead Cells, FIFA 19, and NBA 2K19 do not include support for save data cloud backups.

Although I understand Nintendo's reasoning here, it seems as though they have taken the lazy solution to the problem. A better solution for players would have been to implement automatic cloud backup updates. Whenever you play, the save backup is automatically replaced with your current state in these games, so no cheating can happen.

Nintendo isn't very good at online features and has always dragged its feet embracing them. Now that they are, it seems a little half-hearted at best. Maybe by the time the Switch 2 appears we'll have systems in place on a par with other consoles.