Nintendo DS

[hannahbanana2007]

I am thinking of getting my nearly 8 year old son a Nintendo DS for Christmas but am so confused by the different options. We had originally been thinking of getting him a Nintendo switch but we just can't afford it right now and I need really to keep Christmas costs down. So thought the DS would be a good alternative as you can pick up a lot of deals/second hand consoles plus load of cheap second hand games available. If I go for 2DS then that is the cheapest but am not sure if it is now obsolete? But the 3DS even second hand is quite pricey. My (tech obsessed) OH is convinced that getting a 2DS is crap as the 3DS must be better and is more up to date. Anyone got either and have any recommendations or tips?

2DS still gets plenty of use here, however the games are getting a bit harder to find in the shops. Still really easy to get hold of online, but DS liked being abel to go into Game with his pocket money and look through the preowned section.

CEX still seem to stock them, but our closest one is quite a trek.

Nintendo switch and Zelda breath of the wild game is worth saving for BTW

We have the 2DS XL, it’s a great little bit of kit - we went for that over the 3D version as heard that most end up turning the 3D off so it was pointless. we chose the DS over the switch as it was much more reasonably priced (as were the games) for a first console. We weren’t sure how much he would like it & didn’t want to spend £££. DS has had it 2 years & still loves playing on it it. He mostly plays Lego games which are great. You can still pick them up from Amazon/Smyths/game.

However..... had we known back then that Nintendo would stop making games for it so soon after we bought it, I would have gone for the switch instead. There is a far greater choice of games for that.

My 3 dds have a 3ds each which they love playing (have had them several years). They switch the 3d bit off though as hurts their eyes. I had asked people before about switches and apparently you need WiFi to play the games although I'm not sure? You can still play ds without WiFi.

Don't buy a DS! They are rubbish anyway and outdated now.

It has to be a switch really. As a pp said, it is worth saving for. It can be handheld and plugged into a TV to make it like a console. He will love it.

I bought my son a 2ds xl, played with twice.

He got a switch a year later and it's still going strong. Go for the switch.

our local game doesn`t sell ds games anymore.

Haven't read the replies, so I'm not sure if I'm repeating things. We purposefully bought ds a 2ds as I'd read lots of reviews that said the 3ds function gave children headaches and that the hinges on the 3ds broke easily when dropped. My ds enjoys playing on his but he is also aware that he can't get lots of the newly released games as they are being made specifically for the switch.

My two DSs (9 and 6) LOVE their 2DS XLs. Mainly for the pokemon games. We particularly like them for car journies (we do a lot of driving to visit family) as they don't need Wi-Fi.

We are getting them a Switch for Christmas.

Some really helpful info! After seeing all the replies I have decided to get a cheap second hand 2DS this year with a view to hopefully getting him a switch maybe next Christmas to advance onto (at which point his younger brother can inherit the 2DS). We just can't afford a switch right now (even if there was a good deal on it eg Black Friday) and even second hand they are still quite pricey. This way he can try Nintendo games and get used to them before getting the better console

I got
My 2 age 7&9 the 3DS last xmas they love it and play together
Around £80'on eBay with a few games

thats sensible op. he`ll love the switch as an upgrade then and be able to look after it! ds has had his since the first xmas they came out. its seen A LOT of action!!