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Original poster

Nintendo switch - is it good?

34 replies

Givemestrengthorgin · 13/07/2019 07:47

My DS is about to turn 6 and always gets a bit of money accumulated from family. We want to buy him something decent with it. He's got a bike, doesn't need any more toys and we are thinking of getting him a Nintendo switch. Hes getting to an age where I guess he would enjoy it and be able to play a lot of the (age appropriate) games. But they are pricey. Those who have one, would you recommend it? Anything to look out for when buying one? Thanks.

OP posts:
LemonSqueezy0 · 13/07/2019 07:52

Yes! We love ours. It's so handy that you can play on the screen or handheld.

Look out for a bundle, so you can get one or 2 games, eg Mario odyssey chucked in for a good price. Also, sign up for the online store emails, as they often have sales and discounts on games and we've picked up a few that way.

Kpo58 · 13/07/2019 08:01

They are releasing a new version which is handhold only, so won't connect to the TV or have detachable controllers that can be lost.

EarringsandLipstick · 13/07/2019 08:06

Two of mine got a NS to share at Christmas (aged 9 & 7)

I took a lot of persuading as am fairly strict on screens & we've no other devices.

It's great actually. You can use an app to apply settings on how long you can play etc. Mine basically play FIFA all the time & it actually is great linked to TV, really realistic.

I'd definitely recommend it. Only thing we've found hard is getting other games, there's not a lot of choice compared to eg PlayStation

MoreSchnitzelPlease · 13/07/2019 09:17

I would wait until the Switch Lite is released next year. I think the RRP will be around £200, which is much more reasonable.

BigBairyHollocks · 13/07/2019 09:20

Ffs wrote a big post and lost it!Very short answer is yes my 8yo has one and loves it. I think it’s great too.

Celeriacacaca · 13/07/2019 09:21

DS is a Switch aficionado and says the original is much much better than the new one coming out. He had a preview of it recently.

Corneliusmurphy · 13/07/2019 09:24

We like ours, Pokemon, Mario kart and odyssey seem to be the favourites. i would however recommend a screen protector and also a case if you’re planning to take it out of the house.

Original poster
Givemestrengthorgin · 13/07/2019 18:26

Thanks everyone, sounds like it might be a winner!

OP posts:
ButtonMooooon · 13/07/2019 18:55

DS8 has a Switch and loves it. If we are not going anywhere on a weekend we will quite often play games together on it. I also like the fact he can take it in the back of the car on long journeys are we nearly there yet

serenadoundy · 13/07/2019 18:59

The new version isn't really a switch, the whole point of 'switch' is that you can go between hand held and TV.

The original will always be better as it's more versatile, which is the point.

BlackCatSleeping · 13/07/2019 19:07

My kids love theirs (we have two). If they can’t find the controllers, there’s a button they press to locate them. It’s pretty good. My kids often do connect theirs up to the TV.

BlackCatSleeping · 13/07/2019 19:09

Ps. I wasn’t bragging about having two. It was a bloody expensive Christmas last year and they share the two switches between the four of them.

CrowleysBentley · 13/07/2019 19:17

My son bought one a week or so ago, and I have been playing Zelda breath of the wild, at every opportunity since. Luckily he's on nights this week so I get to play it every evening Grin I think I might have to get myself one. I will be keeping an eye out for any good deals on Amazon prime day, on Monday.

imjustanerd · 13/07/2019 19:20

Yep my ds has one, he absolutely loves it, I think it's pretty good too, the graphics are amazing.

stainedglassbarceiling · 13/07/2019 19:23

@EarringsandLipstick which app is that, please?

ZeldaPrincessOfHyrule · 13/07/2019 19:27

Yes! It's brilliant! And the app is great too, definitely get that as it's fab for monitoring and limiting screen time while they're learning to do that themselves.

Terrarium · 13/07/2019 19:40

Oh, which app, please? We gave a switch and this would be great!

ButtonMooooon · 13/07/2019 22:06

In case the poster about the app doesn't reply this is the one I use, it's called Nintendo Switch Parental Controls

Nintendo switch - is it good?
ALemonyPea · 13/07/2019 22:10

DS2 has a switch, it's a great game console. There is a big variety of games, a lot are child friendly as opposed to other consoles where most games are geared at teenagers/adults.

There are loads of family games as well that can be enjoyed for hours.

ElizaPancakes · 13/07/2019 22:39

We have one, I also bought extra controller doodads (sorry I can't remember the name!) because there's 5 of us.

I would get it with MarioKart included if you can, it's nice to play it altogether on the tv but then the little one can play on his own as well.

DON'T get Splatoon; it's a good game but it's online only now so you're tied in to having to pay for it. That part of it annoys me, but seems to only be Splatoon and one other game that I forget the name of at the moment.

BrexitBirgit · 13/07/2019 22:55

I'm about to order one for my kids (11+14) can you recommend any games we could also enjoy as a family? They love Pokémon (buying that to start them off) and Minecraft most, and DD also plays steam game "don't starve" quite obsessively. Apart from that we're not a very plugged in family, but enjoy the odd session on our near antique Wii, mostly competitive 'sports' games.

Terrarium · 13/07/2019 23:22

ButtonMooooon Thank yooooou!

Gertie75 · 14/07/2019 00:10

I love mine, I spend hours on it, unfortunately I have to share it with my 4 & 6 year olds!

It's really handy being able to have it on the TV or handheld, I spend my evenings playing games and half watching whatever dh has on the telly.

I pay a yearly subscription for online and play Splatoon 2 or Overcooked, it's not much, about £18 for the year, you can get YouTube on it too.

There are hundreds of games, the top titles are expensive but check the shopping section on it and they all have offers on at some point and are half price, you download them so have them instantly, there are loads under £10 on there too.

Dd's love Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart, Zelda, Rayman Legends and Splatoon, it all depends what they're into, some of the games have Demos so you can try before you buy.

MazDazzle · 14/07/2019 00:16

We have 3 kids, aged 11, 8 & 3. They got it for Christmas and never use it! It’s the only games console we have in the house, but it just sits gathering dust. I keep buying them new games in the hope it will entice them, but they’re not interested.

I’ve tried using it myself, but find it a bit fiddly and imagine it would be easy to lose or break bits of it. We accidentally knocked it when it was in the docking station and broke the charging port.

We bought the Labo kit recently and they’ve enjoyed making things from there, otherwise it’s been a complete waste of money!

Housewife2010 · 14/07/2019 00:30

Personally I wouldn't encourage a six year old to have one. I'd leave it a couple of years.

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