In the three weeks since I began playing Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, I have accumulated a frankly staggering amount of screenshots and clips. And when I say “frankly staggering,” I don’t mean a measly 100 or so. Oh no. As of today, my Tomodachi Life gallery consists of around 700 of my proudest and most depraved images and videos–and I don’t intend to stop documenting my time at Anime Island anytime soon.
Yet despite Tomodachi Life being ripe with share-worthy moments and meme fodder, Nintendo has opted to block players from sharing their pictures and videos to smart devices. Why? According to Nintendo, it’s because, “While these [humorous, surprising, or unpredictable] moments are often fun for players, we recognize that out-of-context scenes may be misunderstood or may not reflect the spirit in which the game is intended to be enjoyed.” In other words, the company knows we’re all a bunch of lil’ freaks.
With most Switch titles, sharing an image or video is as easy as finding it in your gallery, selecting “Upload to Smart Device,” and then sending it to your Switch online account. Once that’s done, you can then download it directly onto your phone. However, if you try this with an image from Tomodachi Life, you’ll be met with a message that says, “Can’t upload screenshots or video from this software.” Here’s how you can get around that:
There are two methods you can use to directly access your Tomodachi Life content. Both require a computer, but one is a bit simpler than the other, so let’s start with that one.
The first method requires you to go to your System Settings and then scroll down to Data Management. Select that, then scroll down to “Manage Screenshots and Videos.” From there, scroll down to “Copy to PC over USB.” After you select that option, you’ll be prompted to directly connect your Switch to your PC via USB. Once you’ve plugged your console in, you should see “Nintendo Switch 2” pop up in your PC’s “Devices and drives” section. Click on that, then Album, then Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Behold, all your lovely (and depraved) screenshots and videos are now waiting for you.
The second method is a bit more tedious, but if you don’t feel like directly plugging your Switch into your PC, you can head back to that “Manage Screenshots and Videos” menu and select “System Memory” instead. After that, select the option to “Copy All Screenshots and Videos to microSD Express Card.” You’ll then need to remove your console’s microSD card and insert it into microSD to USB or SD adapter. Once you insert the card into your PC, it should pop up in your PC’s “Devices and drives” section.
Though it’s a bit annoying that you can’t directly upload Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream screenshots and videos to your phone or the Nintendo app, these methods aren’t too time-consuming and definitely look better than using your phone to record or take a photo of your Switch screen.