Talk to me about a Ninetendo Switch!

[Troublesometooth]

Was tempted to buy for my 5 year old for Xmas but didn’t as he hasn’t asked for one and doesn’t really know what it is. Decided to wait till he is a bit older.

However I’ve seen them on offer now and am tempted to buy one for myself/the family but let him use it. He has just started being interested in Pokemon and using Pokémon Go on my phone so he would use it for that, and as a family we could do Mario Kart etc.

Is there any value in me having it as an adult? Would I use it? I like puzzle type games and have neared about Animal Crossing but don’t really know what it is!

We got one for Christmas for kids to share. They love it that much they have went halves with own money to buy another so they have one each.

So far they are loving mario cart and mario Odyssey. I am enjoying some of the old school games.

Some of these need, some makes life easier
Memory card
Screen protector
Carry case
Extra controller
Docking station to easily charge controller

I got one as a Xmas present (35 and no kids here!) I haven’t been off it since I set it up
I’m currently playing Luigi mansion and absolutely loving it!

@mummyof2boys30

We got one for Christmas for kids to share. They love it that much they have went halves with own money to buy another so they have one each.

So far they are loving mario cart and mario Odyssey. I am enjoying some of the old school games.

Some of these need, some makes life easier
Memory card
Screen protector
Carry case
Extra controller
Docking station to easily charge controller

Thank you!

Did you go for the normal one or the lite? I’m thinking normal so we can play together as a family, but it looks quite bulky for a 5 year old to use alone?

@Luuby86

I got one as a Xmas present (35 and no kids here!) I haven’t been off it since I set it up I’m currently playing Luigi mansion and absolutely loving it!

Thanks! I haven’t gamed in years but I’m very tempted!

I have to fight the DC for it to play animal crossing. Thought I didn’t like games. Turns out I do!
We also have Splatoon which is great as it’s a fighting/ fortnite sort of game but with paint, not guns.
DS plays Zelda. DH plays all sorts of stuff.

Love mine. Slightly addicted to Animal Crossing If into Pokémon games, then they're definitely worthwhile.

My 5 yr old hasnt put it down surprisingly.. i didnt think he was old enough and would manage the controls but he picked it up so fast.. lego undercover has been brilliant.. he loves it and we all been playing .. just ordered mario odyssey that looks brill too

My five year old plays on his big sisters and loves it, as a family we play Mario party, mario kart and super smash and 3d world with four players (always carnage). He can play independently all the Mario (various games) and he has just got into pokemon and is playing one of the games. He likes animal crossing but his sister won't let him on the island so he has to play on my character. I think we will get a family one next Christmas unless you can share an especially good deal 😉 I think Nintendo is great for kids and there are lots of nostalgia games for grown ups too! I find animal crossing really relaxing but slightly addictive.

We got one last year in order for the children to play together. By March they refused to play together 🤦‍♀️ I have the app on my phone and can switch it off when the arguments start 😀 but I found the Switch had the better games for younger children and definitely 2nd a second controller. We just have a cheap wired Controller rather than official 2nd set (about £50 cheaper!)

The Mario games and Lego games (DC, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter) are a massive hit here. Plus we have Just Dance for exercise when we were isolating!

I got it for myself (single adult, no kids) a few months. My copycat of a brother (uni student) has persuaded my father to get one for him as christmas present.
I have animal crossing & pokemon for me - but both child friendly. Mario cart and just dance are really good family games for kids to do together and against grown ups.
I got zelda breath of the wild for my dad as I don't like that sort of thing, but he comes over quite a lot. I'm actually addicted, you don't have to be good at fighting to play it, you can just explore a brilliant world, collecting and making and doing puzzles.
I also have a ring fit (which is why I officially got the switch in the first place), its great for fitness, gimicky but its a gamified work out.

I wouldn't get the switch lite if you have a tv. There are some games that just look better on TV (zelda) and others hard to play on the small screen - multiplayer mario. Getting the normal switch gives you options, the switch lite limits you.

Ds (9) has one. He plays pokemon. He got Mario Olympics for Christmas which we've all played together and howled at.

DMIL doing the boxing on it was brilliant

We got it for our dc for Christmas (almost 5 yr old ds was asking for one) and it is great. We play Mario kart as a family and he will play lego City undercover and Mario World. I highly recommend it as fun for grown ups too!

We bought a screen protector, carry case as well as an extra controller and driving wheels they slot into!

Just dance has been a favourite here! Even DH had a crack at it!

They already had a PS4 between the 3 of them, but the switch is more child friendly and interactive.

The ring fit will be used by me in the new year.

Definitely a family console, with lots of options to add on.

Definitely not a switch lite as the full one will dock on the TV and means you can play four player on Mario Cart! You will need an extra set of controllers though.

If you like puzzles then look at Professor Layton. We also have 51 worldwide games which has things like cards, checkers and loads of two player games which is great for casual play.

Love mine! I got bored waiting to get a ps5 and there were no games for PS4 out/scheduled that did anything for me so bought myself a switch. Animal crossing is gentle, intelligent, generous in terms of content and a real happy place. There’s a lively thread here on mumsnet gaming on this game. Zelda is worth the price of the console in itself (and the next in the franchise is due out this year -eeek!). I’d say Nintendo native games are amazing, but ports often overpriced. But I’d also say 5 is a little young though if it’s for your son. The really good games may be too complex /adrenaline boosting for that age. I share mine with my 8 year old ds and he can get riled up when he loses.

We got one for DS two years ago when he was 6. He really likes Pokémon Sword, Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart.

There are disagreements with his sibling over Mario Party because it takes forever and they can't handle losing.

The screen does scratch quite easily as it's plastic, and the charger port is not USB C so be sure to only use the original charger. We had to have the charger port replaced because the pins got all bent and it wouldn't charge at all.

The worst switch-related experience we had was when we got DS Luigi's Mansion (you have to use a vacuum to hoover up ghosts) and he went back to school and told everyone that he'd spent his time playing the sucking game with Daddy.

We've got Animal Crossing too, and we all love it but tend to go through phases of playing it lots and then not at all. I really want to buy Zelda next.

We bought one for DD(8) for Christmas and she loves it, it's really good for the whole family, we have all had a go at MarioKart which may have resulted in some name calling (not me I swear!)

The games are still quite expensive second hand but I got some bargains on the e-shop on Christmas day.

I forgot to say that we love the switch and it's really great. I think I love it more than the kids do.

BUY IT!! BUY IT NOW!

We have three in our house. DC have one each and I have one. We got DS1 his for his 6th birthday. DS2 got his on his 5th birthday (because it was lockdown and he wasn't getting a party). I got the Oled this year for Christmas after creative differences with the DC on Animal Crossing.

There are lots of great games for young kids. Mine love Minecraft and Among us at the moment. I love Animal Crossing and the Pokemon games

Pokemon Let's Go is like pokemon go and you can sync it with your account on Pokemon go to unlock the Pokemon you've already collected. Mario Kart, Smash Bros and Mario party are good for family tournaments. We also have sonic and Mario Olympics which is like the old WiFi sports if you had it! We just got a bowling game cheap on it recently too.

We haven’t had our value in it - they are not fussed with it even though we have 6/7 popular games …..

*wii sports

We’ve got a Wii that is used quite often! I dug it out of the loft in lockdown.

I dithered and it’s now back up to normal price!

It’s my birthday in a few weeks so thinking I will buy one then!

I got my DS(8) one for Christmas and I'm obsessed. It's such a good family activity too, we spend ages playing the mini games on Mario party or watching each other play Pokémon on the TV. Ordered animal crossing for myself - can't wait for it to arrive!

I love mine (get the standard one rather than the lite as you can't connect the lite to the TV so you won't be able to play games as a family)

Some of my favourite games;
Big fan of Just Dance series
Mario Kart
Professor Layton
Ring Fit
Splatoon

Plus theres a game coming out next year called Storyteller which looks really good.

Would recommend it

NS is great for an entry level console with portability, plus a docking station to connect to the tv for family games,
Best games: Splatoon/ Pokémon/minecraft/ fifa
Family games: Risk/ monopoly (brilliantly interactive board game versions)

Drawbacks: there are drawbacks on limited range of games & graphics. Hard to connect and play with friends across the platform.

For you money Xbox S and you can access a greater variety of old school games with Games pass/ graphics are next level.