To think 2 is not enough?

[RunningonCaffeine]

Our two kids (6 and 8) are having a Nintendo switch (to share) for Christmas. It’s their main present but they are having other things as well. DH and I have different views about how many games we should buy to go with the switch. DH thinks two is plenty but I want to get them more! I would have probably gone for at least 4 or 5 on the basis that it’s Christmas and they’ll probably be playing it quite a bit over the holidays. DH thinks 2 is plenty for now and they can build up more over time. I’m worried it won’t be as exciting if they only have a couple of games and get bored of them quickly.

I should say this is representative of our general views towards Christmas presents. DH is a little more on the sensible (miserly?) side and I am a little more generous (frivolous?!) The money itself isn’t an issue but DH never wants to go wild at Christmas and I don’t know whether he’s being too much of a Scrooge or whether I have the tendency to perhaps go a little over the top, maybe it’s a little of both.

I'd go with 3 or 4

Hard to say without knowing what you can afford.

A Switch and four games would work out to (at least?) a couple of hundred quid spent on each child, plus you've got them other bits and pieces as well, so yes, it's a lot of money - but if you can afford it, not really a problem. Particularly given it's a present for both of them. I would say the Switch between them and two games each, perhaps?

Or, if they get presents/money from other relatives, maybe you could do what DH proposes and get the Switch and two games, and then suggest other people get games for them, or give them vouchers so you can take them out after Christmas to choose a game each?

I would stick with two. Why encourage children to spend the entire holiday playing computer games anyway? What if they get bored with 5? Would you buy them 10 next year? Slippery slope.
I had an interesting experience with my friend's kids a few years ago. Their dad is like you and had a mountain of gifts for them to open. My friend's three year old said after 20 minutes "Mummy, I don't want to open any more presents. May I please go and play now?"

I'd buy 3.

I think two games will be enough to start with. Make one of them something with open-ended engrossing gameplay like Minecraft (which is also not that expensive) and one something more accessible/fun like Mario or Mario Kart.

Don't underestimate how many hours of gameplay it will take a 6 or 8 year old to get through a game like that. They won't have exhausted them in a couple of weeks.

Perhaps look at getting a bundle of mini games (e.g., Nintendo Switch Sports?) if you're worried there won't be enough variety.

Looking on Argos (other places sell the Switch, of course) you can get the Switch bundled with either Sport or Mario Kart for the same price as just the console, so maybe you could get that plus two other games? That should be absolutely loads to be going on with!

Two is plenty to start with. You can get extra games for birthdays when they know what they want.
Super Mario Odyssey and Just Dance would be a good start. They can use a controller each and play together.

^^ Advice from my gamer DS13, who also got a Switch for Christmas when he was 8. We finally upgraded to an Xbox last year.

If a grandparent or anyone is looking for gift ideas would they like to choose a game for them?

2 seems miserly to me especially if it's all being shared between the siblings.

I’d get 2 to start with and let them spend any Christmas money on other games they can choose themselves.

I'd get 2 but then give them each a home made voucher for another one each that they can choose. My DC love looking at games and then researching them/looking at reviews.

Buy a few older ones on eBay. They’ll get a few games and you won’t have to spend £40 a game.

Agree with your DH, 2 is plenty ro start with.

Get two, as above, I'd go with Minecraft and Mario Kart - and then set some money aside for games down the line. Then they'll go back to school and there will be a particular game which is 'in' among their friends and that they might want to feel part of their school tribe.

I would be getting a switch each and 2 games each (different ones though, so they could share if they wanted).

I'd start off with 2 games and see how much they like the Switch. I'd buy a few more games later on if they seem to love it and use it loads. But I'd not want to spend loads of money something if they weren't going to show that much interest in it/ got bored of it.

People have budgets.

A switch each? Give over. It's a shared present, the op was clear about that.

Do you get a trial to Nintendo Switch Online? You could check thayout because I think it gives you access to a free games library.

Get a second set of controllers instead and a family game we played a lot of overcooked 2 last year and monopoly plus you can customise them make it more individual

I did the same, i bought 2 games for them to share. They used Xmas money to buy 2 more games. I'm glad I didn't buy the 4 I wanted, as they weren't into some of them. Mario and donkey Kong were their favourites.

If they were getting a switch each I'd suggest getting a few more because then there's a better chance of the game they want to play being available. However as they are sharing a switch, knowing sibling arguments as I do, the more games they have the more likely they are to disagree on what to play! I think 3 would be a good compromise between you and your husband. And as others have said, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc can get them extra games or joycons/controllers.

I'm a huge gamer and have like 500 switch games so if you need help choosing which console to get (ordinary switch, oled or lite) or any game recommendations, age appropriate of course, please either ask me here or look at my previous replies (I don't have many) and literally this time last year I talked someone through the same sort of question. Hope this helps.

She can be as clear as she wants. She asked for opinions, I gave mine.

And?

I think 2 is plenty. I think the pp Minecraft and Mario kart suggestion is sensible. You could also go for the steering wheel extra which makes it a bit more fun and maybe an extra controller pack so you can all play. Ime Mario kart is a great whole family game. Similarly fortnite is free so there's a good chance they'll get that and never really play anything else. We bought quite a lot of games for ours and like all their class mates, they only really play Minecraft, fornite and Mario Kart.

Honestly, I think 2 is plenty to start with. The novelty will keep them going over Christmas, then they can choose their own going forward. I never try to choose games for my gamer as what I think he’d enjoy vs what he actually enjoys, are often wildly different.

And...she asked for opinions on the number of games not the number of switches?