Mass Effect 3 can't import cloud saves on Xbox 360

Electronic Arts has noted that importing Mass Effect 2 saved games from cloud storage on the Xbox 360 into Mass Effect 3 isn't working.

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Cloud saving can be a helpful convenience for Xbox Live Gold members that take advantage of it. However, Mass Effect fans are advised not to use the feature. Electronic Arts notes that Xbox 360 gamers who intend to import Commander Shepard into Mass Effect 3 via a completed save file from Mass Effect 2 had best do so directly from the hard drive of the console on which they completed the series' second chapter. Apparently, trying to import a Mass Effect 2 end-game save via Xbox 360 cloud storage won't work.

"We are currently aware of an issue that may prevent Xbox 360 users from importing their completed Mass Effect 2 save game files into Mass Effect 3," begins the official post on the Electronic Arts website. The announcement explains that the importation of Mass Effect 2 end-game saves into Mass Effect 3 via Xbox 360 cloud storage isn't supported. The publisher notes that similar incompatibility issues arise when Mass Effect 2 save files are imported "to a console other than the one where they originated."

The easiest way to make sure your own personal Shepard makes a safe transition is to get the original save file back onto the hard drive of the console on which you initially played through Mass Effect 2.

If you've moved your Mass Effect 2 save file to another console via Xbox 360 cloud storage, you'll need to migrate it back to the original console (via the cloud). If you still want to move the saved-game file to another Xbox 360, you should be able to do so using "a memory card, Xbox 360 formatted USB stick, or the Official Xbox 360 HDD transfer cable."

Things get a bit less hopeful if you've moved your Mass Effect 2 save to the cloud, and are no longer in possession of the Xbox 360 on which you originally created the save. Electronic Arts offers this advice to those unfortunate souls who might be prone to exploring other workarounds:

"While it's possible that one might be able to reload a non-original save game near the end of Mass Effect 2 to "re-finish" the game to populate a new endgame save, we unfortunately cannot guarantee that this will work with certainty. Lastly, you may also experience importing issues if you've downloaded or used custom Mass Effect 2 saves, or have edited your own save using a community-created program."

"We understand this may be a great setback to those impacted who have been following the Mass Effect franchise over the years. We thank you for your patience," the announcement sympathetically concludes. As polite and forthcoming as the announcement is, it's worth noting that EA isn't guaranteeing any solutions to the cloud storage import problem, at this time.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 5, 2012 12:15 PM

    Jeff Mattas posted a new article, Mass Effect 3 can't import cloud saves on Xbox 360.

    Electronic Arts has noted that importing Mass Effect 2 saved games from cloud storage on the Xbox 360 into Mass Effect 3 isn't working.

    • reply
      March 5, 2012 12:53 PM

      What if I move my cloud save back to the original hard drive but a different system? I no longer have the original xbox thanks to RROD that ME1 and 2 were played on, and I have infact moved my save files to the cloud. I will be very displeased if they do not have a day 1 patch that fixes this issue. If I cannot import my character and all of the choices I have made of the 140 hours plus I've spent with ME1 and 2 then I have no desire to buy ME3 at this point.

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        March 5, 2012 1:36 PM

        Should work if you move them back I would guess. I've ran into weird issues with some games and Cloud Storage that go away when I move the saves back to the local HDD.

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      March 5, 2012 12:57 PM

      This seems like a very confusing issue. Apparently this only applies to cloud saves for Mass Effect 2, and if you've moved your saves to another console through other means ("a memory card, transfer cable or Xbox 360 formatted USB stick" says the official site) then you're fine. But it sounds really flaky and you just have to give it a shot and see what sticks.

      I have my ME2 saves on a USB stick and they've never touched the cloud, so it seems like I'm fine. But this whole thing has cast doubt on whether it will actually work or not. Not a great thing to have on the day before launch.

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      March 5, 2012 1:24 PM

      The correct thing to do is fix their error instead of writing a press release about their incompetence.

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        March 5, 2012 1:48 PM

        This may come as a surprise to you, but the people who write press releases are not the same people who are capable of fixing the bug. It's a good thing to let people know about this so they know to move the save to the HDD before starting ME3

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          March 5, 2012 2:33 PM

          [deleted]

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          March 5, 2012 3:48 PM

          [deleted]

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            March 5, 2012 5:59 PM

            All developers strive to create bug-free software; but it's impossible to do 100%. This seems like a big enough issue to let people know so they know what to expect tomorrow. I'm sure the dev team is working on it, so dubiousbrick's comment was dumb!

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      March 5, 2012 2:57 PM

      FYI: From my review play I can say that moving saves via the transfer cable works fine. I'm on a new Xbox. However, the facial data for my Shepard did not import so I had to reconstruct.

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        March 5, 2012 3:08 PM

        Thank you! Had been searching all over the interwebs for this. <3

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        March 5, 2012 3:10 PM

        What seriously? That really was the only thing I wanted to get from my old save. Shepherd looks wrong without the exact face I expect.

        :[

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          March 5, 2012 8:16 PM

          Do you still have ME2? If you do, load up your ME2 save and take a photo with your digital camera or smartphone of your Sheperd in the Squad Menu. At the top or bottom of the screen you'll see a long string of numbers and letters that you can use to reconstruct his or her face. Better yet, you can use the code to play other classes while retaining the same look, even if you have to start from scratch.

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      March 5, 2012 8:11 PM

      I KNEW IT!!! This is the same BS that happened with Mass Effect 2...if you had a save from ME1 and you wanted to import it to ME2 but no longer had it on the hard drive of the original console you played ME1 on, you were SOL. I lost one of my ME1 Shepards because of this problem, and while I'm a big fan of the new cloud saving feature, but better instincts prompted me to NOT port my ME2 saves to the cloud just in case the same problem arose again. Looks like I was right.

      What shocks me is how foolish EA and Bioware were in waiting UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE to announce this potential problem considering how badly it went the first time. Thanks a lot, guys.

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      March 5, 2012 8:45 PM

      ValveBox would never let this happen.

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