Nintendo switch birthday present - help!

[Choice4567]

My DD is turning 12 soon, and has decided she'd like a Nintendo switch. She has one at her Dads and I know they do play it a lot there.

But we are not a gaming family here! We have no consoles of any kind, and I didn't growing up either - I have zero gaming knowledge

What does a switch do?! What should I be looking for?!

I was hopeful of having a £200 budget but i suppose I could ask grandparents to contribute as part of their present

It's just a small handheld console you can also play through your TV

Argos have them as does John Lewis

Don't buy the lite one

Buy the OLED one

Once you've bought the switch It's a good idea to buy Nintendo switch online so you can download games or separately buy some game cards..

Look out for bundles as well. We got one at Christmas with mario kart and switch sports included.

Mind you if she's already got one at her dads then she might be ok with the Lite

Keep in mind the switch 2 has just been announced (release date tbc but expected later this year) would she want to "bank" her present until it's released and get an upgrade then? (Although it will probably be closer to £400 than £200) Or get a preowned one then when the resale price drops?

Bought DD one for Xmas off eBay, £100 with 1 game, charger and case. Have a look on CEX, you can buy secondhand with 24m warranty.

Good tips, thanks. Nintendo switch online subscription makes sense

Is the OLED £50 better? £250 is already a stretch!

I've used the OLED and standard switch, and I don't think the OLED is worth the extra money. Just don't get the lite.

They've announced a new one coming out at some point so might be better to wait?
Either as the ones you'll buy now will get cheaper or to get to get the up to date one for games etc.

Switch 2 release date hasn't been announced but it's definitely after April and likely July so that's a while to wait. They're not discontinuing the Switch either.

Switch Lite is physically smaller, and doesn't connect to the TV. It runs all the same games as the normal Switch.
Normal Switch is bigger and comes with a docking station you hook to the TV, you can pull the controllers off the sides of the Switch and use them to play on the TV screen as an alternative to using it handheld.
The Switch OLED is a normal Switch with a bigger and better builtin screen.

Age 12 I'd very much recommend the Switch Lite; comes in a range of colours.

Remember there's not only the cost of the Switch but also the cost of games. These range from a couple of £ up to £70. They can be purchased as eShop downloads (which are attached to one person's Nintendo Account and can't be shared or resold) or as physical cartridges (shareable, tradeable, losable...).

You can buy the physical carts second-hand at CEX, ebay etc, as well as new. Retailers other than Nintendo will be cheaper than Nintendo.

Don't buy random games, they're as different as books and your daughter will know what she wants to play.

Hope that helps a bit.

Given you aren’t a gaming family and she has one at her dad’s a switch lite might be appropriate as it seems like something she will be doing by herself. If you think you would like to play some games with her by hooking it up to the tv then the normal switch is a better option.

The standard one is fine

Nintendo switch 2 is available to pre order at Currys. It's out in June.