Nintendo Switch advice please.

[KenDodd]

Plan on buy one for my children at Christmas. Three children age 11, 12 and 14. I want games they can all play together and know nothing about games consoles, we've never had one before. Where best to buy, what to buy and which games would people recommend?
Thanks in advance.

Mario party is also fun, Mario kart as well. Can't go wrong with any Mario game really.

Heave-Ho would be a really fun game for them all to play together. You can only buy it on the Switch store once you have the console, but I really recommend it.

They might enjoy Diablo 3 too.

And yes Pokemon games are single-player but great fun - you can probably pick up Pokemon Let's Go for a bit cheaper now too.

Was mistaken, you can play with a single joy con on supersmash bro. That might not be a bad one to get op

It's a great choice. I got one for my DS when they first came out and he still has it at uni. When he visits friends to play he brings his controller with him. Your kids friends may have them as well.

I'd wait until Black Friday to buy. That's usually when electronics are the cheapest. The games are expensive no matter when you get them. Amazon usually has a good selection.

We play Mario Kart as a family.

Should I go for this then?

www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/gaming/gaming-consoles/nintendo-switch-neon-red-mario-kart-8-deluxe-bundle-10181037-pdt.html

www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/computer-accessories/game-controllers-and-joysticks/nintendo-switch-joy-con-wireless-controllers-neon-green-neon-pink-10189555-pdt.html

Games are 2 for £60 in Tesco atm. Can you still double up nectar points? We got £100 of nectar points against switch last year. Get a case for it too - doesn't need to be expensive.

Ds was just 9 last year & loves it. Just got a wireless remote but think they'll love it-if anyone else gives them money they can club together for games. Ds has just got a wireless control & Santa May get him another so he can play with his sis

Yes that looks perfect for what you need.

@KenDodd that looks like a great set - hope they enjoy :)

Thank you all. It's been really helpful.

As others have said, you need the switch console (comes with one set of joycons) plus an extra set of joycons to enable everyone to play.

Last year I got a switch, plus Mariokart and the (then new) Pokemon game for £300. I know the switch this year has had a battery overhaul, so there won’t be much of a saving, but then the Mariokart game isn’t brand new so shouldn’t attract a premium...

Long winded way of saying you might find a better deal, but might not!

It can be worth looking at Very if you are a new customer, they often have a £30 off code.

My dc (and I) have loved the switch. Mariokart is amazing. I loved pokemon, but was a fan way back when! It’s not really a 2 player, though - you play to advance one person’s storyline, and the second player is literally a support role.

Just dance has been a surprise hit.

The Lego games have a good amount of gameplay - we have Lego Harry Potter and Lego city undercover. They can be two player (and need cooperation).

Carnival games has a shed load of mini fairground type games which are quite fun to play, but I’d wait to find it reduced (think I paid about £10 for it)

Zelda breath of the wild is absolutely stunning, but definitely single player and quite complex.

If you do go ahead and get one, then it’s fairly easy to pick up games in sales to keep interest up - not the main headline games, but there is a sale in the Nintendo Eshop regularly, and I’ve picked up all sorts, from really cheap (Astro bears - fun 4 player game which set me back all of 89p!) to classic board games like monopoly and risk (not the most exiting, admittedly, but fun to play in a new way) and classic games like Tetris.

You don’t have to have extra joycons as the additional controllers, you can pick up compatible controllers for much cheaper. DS1 has a pro controller, and ds2 has a cheap copy which works just as well.
Super smash bros is great for all ages, dd(5) can join in and hold her own against her brothers. If you look in shops like CEX or Game they sell second hand controllers.

CEX and Game also sell second hand games which can save you quite a bit of money.

You can get secondhand Switch games in CEX and Game to lower your costs a bit.

Oops snap ^

I've been reading the thread as I'm buying one for my DS this year. Just wanted to let others know that the Tesco 2 for £60 deal finished last week

@Isitme13 thanks for the eshop tip - looks great!

Sorry I thought the Tesco offer was still on - hopefully there will be a Black Friday match

Good to know the copy pro controller works well. May get that for Christmas for ds-I'm not bothered but know he'd be delighted for all 4 of us to play together

If you have any nectar - double up ends tomorrow but I just got mario for £20 worth nectar points 🙌🏻

(At sainos)

I had exactly the same question as you last week as I was buying one for my DS but know nothing about these things. Having spoken to lots of people I was looking for a bundle deal with Mario Kart as that was the most recommended game. But I ended up buying the Currys deal with Pokemon sword for £279 then adding Mario Kart separately on for another £40 so £319 in total for the console and 2 games - the Mario Kart package is £299 so by buying the Pokemon one it meant I only paid another £20 to get an extra game.

Anyone think it's worth waiting to buy one, do you think the price might come down a bit? Or should I just buy one today?

I think with it being so close to Black Friday, it might be worth waiting.

I know some places have started early deals, but others haven’t yet.

Unless you have a good amount of nectar points to use in the double up which ends today, which could give you a really great deal.

One thing to watch out for if you do wait for deals is that the main switch was updated this year - the new console has better battery life - and so it may be the older ones which get more heavily discounted.

That said, I haven’t had any issues at all with the battery life - we mainly use the console docked, but when we have taken it away with us, we get a good couple of hours playing before it even starts to run low, which is more than enough for us. So even if it is the older ones which get discounted, I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out, depending on how you/your dc are likely to use it.

I think an older one would be fine. I imagine it would be plugged in, in front of the TV in the livingroom (is that how they work?) anyway.

Yes, they can just be plugged into the tv.

In the box, you get:

The switch plus a set of joycons
The main docking station for the switch console
Mains adapter and cables

The beauty (and it really is quite something) of the switch is that you can literally go from playing handheld, to putting the console into the dock, and seamlessly change from one mode into playing in the tv (or conversely, be playing on the tv, then pick up the console out of the dock and seamlessly move to playing handheld)

Ours is generally docked at home, so used played on the tv. I have taken it away for eg weekends away, and you can just take the console and the mains cable, so easy to pack up. When I’ve played it handheld, when away, I hav easily got 2-3 hours gameplay, and it is of course possible to carry on playing using the mains cable too, just not as convenient!

My younger two dc have also been quite happy to play using the console as a small tv, if eg their older sister is watching something on tv - they just pick up the switch out of the dock, and away they go. It’s still possible to play multiplayer games (although the screen is quite small, obviously!) this way. It really is so versatile.

Has anyone heard where any Black Friday Switch deals might be?

Is Amazon likely to be the beat place to go? Will it be on sale for less than £279?!

Have s look at camelcamelcamel for Amazon price history. You can often see dips in July and November.

Breath of the wild is beautiful and a fantastic game but it's one player only.