How many Nintendo Switches do I need for a family of gamers? (midwest.social)

submitted 6 days ago by MNByChoice@midwest.social to c/games@lemmy.world

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I don't understand the Nintendo Switch. How many do I need for a family of gamers?

They are a personal device like a gameboy.
There is a TV version for party games.
The games may or may not be shareable, even with the physical games.
Assume the ideal usage is during screen time on a weekend.

I have been avoiding buying one as I don't understand them. Thinking of getting them soon.

I assume one OLED for the family and then a portable per person, then one copy of each game per device.

How is this affordable?

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[-] randombullet@programming.dev 3 points 6 days ago

You can put multiple accounts on the same device. My wife and I share one switch.

We used to have one per person, but I don't play as much and we hardly play at the same time so I sold my other switch.

Physical games are sharable but it also means you can only play one device per cartridge at one time. So with games with only 1 save slot, you should get more physical cartridges.

Digital games are locked to the account that bought it. Anyone can play it, but if it has one save slot, then that will be the biggest issue.

[-] MNByChoice@midwest.social 2 points 6 days ago

Thank you. It had seemed physical games are also locked to an account, but I am learning that is not how it works.

[-] FigMcLargeHuge@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

If you have multiple profiles set up on one switch, before you start a game it will ask you which profile is playing. Any save info for that gaming session will be tied to that profile. Anyone with a Switch can use the physical media with the caveat that only one person can be playing it at a time. Now if you buy the games online, you won't need the physical media, but the game is tied to the account. As for cost, well it can get expensive and my family usually reserved the large purchases for things like birthdays or christmas. If I had a nickel for every dollar I have spent on gaming systems over the years, I would be able to retire. :)