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Original poster

Nintendo switch as a joint present

31 replies

Bemyclementine · 09/10/2023 22:43

Good idea or disastrous? 2 x ds, no consoles at all, all their friends have PlayStation and/or xbox, plus switch.....not sure if I want to give in to it yet but if I do it will have to be shared.

OP posts:
Whatthetrolley · 09/10/2023 22:47

I did, as a family present. In the hope they'd play happily together, that happened very rarely and hardly ever now!!! But it was good whilst it lasted and once in a blue moon family Mario karts appears! They're 11 and 13 now, were 8 and 10 when it was bought.

Original poster
Bemyclementine · 09/10/2023 22:53

Oh dear!! They can squabble, a lot. I just thought they'd rather have 1 than none. Maybe not fir this yesterday then!

OP posts:
FussyPud · 09/10/2023 22:55

Sharing a switch can only really be done if they’re not squabbling types.

Mine are autistic and squabbly, so there are multiple switches in the house.

Original poster
Bemyclementine · 09/10/2023 23:09

That was my worry. Oh well, no switch it is. I can't afford one each.

OP posts:
Solanki · 10/10/2023 02:04

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

StrawCherry · 10/10/2023 04:31

My dc share a switch.
They do fight over it sometimes but we have a few multiplayer games they really enjoy together.
Luigi's mansion 3 is a favorite as one person is Luigi and another can be gooigi. It can be played with one joy con each.
Mario party and Mario Kart are also good.

There are some good free multiplayers on the Nintendo store too.

SaracensMavericks · 10/10/2023 04:34

I'd say a shared switch is a great option. My DC loved theirs as a "starter" console - we got it when they were 9, 11 and 13. As a pp says, if they're fighting over whose turn it is they can play a multiplayer game.

PipersDream · 10/10/2023 05:40

Mine have shared one since DH first bought it. They have argued a few times, but they learnt pretty quickly that I turned it off for 24 hours if they did. You can use the switch parental control app from your phone to e.g. give one child one hour and then it turns off automatically. You can then allow another hour for the next child. It also keeps track of how long who has been playing so they can see they've each had the same amount of time 🙄

Mumdiva99 · 10/10/2023 05:59

Surely it's a great lesson in learning to share. If they want a console - one or none seems reasonable.

As other's have said.....there are lots of multilayer games you can get for them to play together, as well as them taking turns on one player games.

Whoknowswhatanymore · 10/10/2023 06:05

Have you looked at purchasing second hand? You could probably buy two second hand ones for the price of a new one and solve any squabbling issues.

sparkedsparkle · 10/10/2023 06:07

My two have their own tablets but they share the family Xbox, be headset and a switch between them. (We originally had the switch lite which they both took it in turns but then another year for Xmas they got the switch that you can connect to the tv) this is a game changer where all the family can get involved as we bought an extra pair of controllers too.

Mammyloveswine · 10/10/2023 06:14

My two have asked for a ps5 for Christmas and have been told it's a sharing present! I don't like the thought of them sitting in their room singularly playing video games for hours but in the living room playing fifa against each other I don't mind!

How old are yours? As that'll make a difference too!

RosaGallica · 10/10/2023 06:33

Our two share one. We don’t have the funds to waste on buying one each and it helps limits screen time. They share reasonably well once we put the rules in place and sometimes play together. Perfectly doable.

GloomySkies · 10/10/2023 06:35

My two share a switch. It's a more sociable console than the other ones, loads of multiplayer games.

fgsstopbs · 10/10/2023 06:36

Mine would argue like cat and dog if sharing a console.

QueenOfDuisburg · 10/10/2023 06:39

My three share a Switch. As it turns out, two of them have zero interest so the one who likes it gets it to himself.

If there is a rare moment they all want to play they have an hour each. As a pp says, you can time this using the app you can put on your phone. I set this rule up from day 1 so they've always known the score and it's worked for us.

EfficientlyDecluttering · 10/10/2023 06:48

Mine (now 19 and 17) have always shared consoles, they aren't huge gamers though. We started with a Wii, then an XBoxOne, both in the living room. They got a shared Switch when they first came out, we did end up with a second one when the oldest DC wanted to take the original one to uni last year. I agree that secondhand is a good option, our second one came from Game, reconditioned.

thevegetablesoup · 10/10/2023 06:59

We did this, exact same situation, best gift we ever got them. They still
Play on it now all the time years later, together and individually.

TheOutlaws · 10/10/2023 07:04

@Bemyclementine

Get two second-hand switches from Vinted. They’re usually good as new and MUCH cheaper. (I’ve done this).

gamerchick · 10/10/2023 07:05

Why a switch if their friends have xboxs or PlayStation's?

Personally I'm in the camp it's not fair to make kids share a thing like that. Switches are fragile, really not sure why they're marketed so heavily at kids tbh. Not fun if they're the squabbling type.

TheIsleOfTheLost · 10/10/2023 07:32

It would be war inducing to try and get my kids to share one! Can't believe there are so many kids that share nicely on this thread. Depending on the age of your kids, anything like Zelda, Pokemon or other world building games are really something they need to play on their own. My eldest has asked to play with friends when they come round, but it always ends up with him hogging the controls anyway. I would go down the second hand or refurbished route and get two if both your kids are old enough to want one.

Theblackdogagain · 10/10/2023 07:36

Twins here
They have a switch and a ps4 to share, plus laptops and a phone each (teenagers so all appropriate for age).
Ps4 and switch kept in living room so we can see what they are playing (mainly fortnight or fifa). Only the switch comes on holiday and it gets shared or joint games are played.
Fortnight can be played on most devices as well as Minecraft I belive if they want to play with friends

Unexpecteddrivinginstructor · 10/10/2023 07:46

Ours share although only one plays a lot. Most children will have some sort of homework to do so it is fairly easy to say of Billy you play on the switch for an hour while Sam does his homework then Sam gets an hour while I listen to you read. The one who plays more in the house knows he is onto a good thing so rarely moans if one of the others ask to play because he knows we would just get stricter with his gaming time.

StrawCherry · 10/10/2023 07:47

Just to note also, the animal crossing game only lets you have one account per console and cartridge. If that's a game your dc are interested in, it's not very shareable.

Throughabushbackwards · 10/10/2023 09:50

It can work. We did a 'family' switch and bough each DC a wireless controller of their own, so they have at least one part of it that they can possess completely.