Buying a Switch

[Stompythedinosaur]

I think we are decided to get a Switch for each of our dds age 10 and 8 for Xmas. Is there any way of getting a discount on a Switch?

Also, can anyone recommend the best games to start with? Games seem quite expensive so we'll probably not get lots to start with.

Are you getting the switch or the switch lite ? You can pick up some pretty decent bargains for either on eBay .

I prefer the switch to the switch lite. There will probably be black Friday offers but the price doesn't drop much.
I got extra controllers (from John Lewis, I think).
I got mario kart with the steering wheels (from amazon).
There are often games reduced once you set it up and go into the online store so you don't need loads to start with.

We've been debating between the switch and switch lite, but think we'll go with the switch.

Thanks for the tip about ebay, I'd never considered looking there.

Mariokart looks good - do you have to have the steering wheels? Thanks for the tip re reduced games in the online store.

If you are buying them one each, then it’s worth looking at bundles with games, and getting a different bundle for each of them, to increase the amount of games.

It is worth noting, though, that if they are going to want to play games together (eg visit each other islands in animal crossing), with each of them playing on ‘their’ switch, you will need two copies of any game they want to do that on.

Some games are expensive, but you can pick up some good deals on others, either in the Nintendo eshop (so downloaded games, not games cards) or occasionally with the games cards too. Some games are not as expensive but are still good games - the Lego games have loads of playability, and are fun to do (Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Lego City), and we have an Asterix game that is good and was discounted, as well as eg Mario And Rabbids. It depends on what type of game your dds will be interested in.

Agree that the Switch is better than Switch Lite; especially if you want the option of hooking it up to a TV.
Games - will depend on what your DD are into. We have (& DD 7 plays) Animal Crossing; Pokemon; Legend of Zelda; & Hyrule Warriors.

The prices of Nintendo products don’t usually drop so likely the best you’ll get is a bundle deal with games included for a little cheaper than purchasing separately. Black Friday is usually good for the best bundles.
Alternatively you could look at purchasing a preowned console and games, but make sure you do it from a reputable store (like Game or CEX) and these consoles have been fully tested and come with a warranty included. They’re often like new, and preowned games are basically the same as buying new but without a plastic wrapping round the box!
Mario games are good, like Mario Kart, Mario Party and Mario Odyssey. Zelda Breath of the Wild is a big open-world game if your DC like something more complex and adventure-based, and Super Smash Bros is a great cartoon fighting game for them to play together.

You don’t need steering wheels for Mario Kart, they can be fun but a little gimmicky and you can play just as well without.

We bought our DD’s a joint switch a couple of years ago. We found, like many others, the price doesn’t really reduce on them. I would also say be wary of people selling second hand ones, when we bought ours scamming was absolutely rife - I do wonder if because of the shortage of microchips etc this year if the scammers might see an opportunity again.

We bought MarioKart and Just dance for ours, we did buy the steering wheels etc but tbh I just got cheaper versions of those from ebay. DD1 also saved her pocket money and bought Animal Crossing.

Hello, we had my dd8 one ready for Xmas from Very. It came with a game as a set. Cant remember the price now. But you have the option to spread the payment out over a few months if needed.

I used my tesco points for a big discount.

We got DS a switch last year (he's 9 now). Most played games have been Mario Odyssey, Mario Galaxy etc Anniversary edition, Luigis Mansion, Mario Party,Mario Kart, Super Mario Maker (can you see a theme here?) and Legends of Zelda.

We've also bought a few online games which get played loads - Pocket Mini Golf, Boomerang Foo, What the Golf are favourites.

We got our DS a switch for his 8th birthday. Now nearly 10 and he's really in to his gaming. Switch is the only console that can only be connected via WiFi. This impacts the ping and FPS etc which are really important for gamers apparently. I wish we had got him an Xbox or PlayStation now as these can be connected with an Ethernet cable. We get about 30mbps over WiFi it's it's ok most of the time. If you get less than that, I'd go for a different console. Especially if both are going to be using WiFi at the same time.

Thanks for all the advice. I am consigned to getting them one each (and aware it is going to cost a fortune!).

It is frustrating that the games can't be shared, but it is helpful to know.

Both my dds have quite low threshholds for scary stuff. I think they will like Animal Crossing, maybe Mario Kart. They don't like games with with big chance of being killed as it is too stressful, and they don't like killing others either.

Thanks for the info re connecting via the WiFi, I hadn't thought about it. They already have access to an xbox (their df's) which they use for minecraft (on creative or peaceful settings only - they just like the building bits). We had a brief foray into the Sims, but after an incident where a Sim got set in fire they have declined to go on ever since.

The price of the existing Switch could drop when the Switch OLED comes out in October if you’re not bothered about OLED.

Switch is currently £259 on Amazon, with no extras/games included. I'm aware this is because the OLED version is on its way, but I nabbed one for Christmas anyway, as CamelCamelCamel says this is the lowest price in a year.

Thank you, £259 is a good price (I am mainly seeing them at £279).

I didn't know there is a new Switch coming out. Is there any reason not to get the older (cheaper) ones? They arent going to stop making games for them or anything?

It is a lot of money and I'd like them to get a good few years of use.

For some games, you don't need to buy one game each - you can have separate profiles which allows each person to play their own game. The only one I know this doesn't work well on is Animal Crossing - for that they will need their own copy.

Re: game sharing, the only time you need 2 copies of the game is if your dds will want to play the game together at the same time.

You can share games, both physical card copies or downloaded, but only one switch can be playing the game at any time. For lots of games, this will not be a major problem - eg, with Mario kart, then they can play multiplayer using one switch and one copy of the game.

The only time it is an issue is when both dds want to be playing the same game on different consoles. In Animal crossing, they could have one game card and share it - each creating their own profiles and islands on their own console, or they could each have their own profile on one console and share an island. The snag comes if they want to visit each other’s islands - you will need 2 copies of the game, as they will both have to be playing at the same time to do this. If they would be happy each having their own island and playing separately, or both sharing one island using 2 profiles on one console, then you will be fine with just one copy.

FWIW, we have a switch (shared family console) and a switch lite (my personal device), and animal crossing is the only game we have 2 copies of. Everything else we share in the usual way (both cards and downloads) as it’s easy enough to not be playing the same game at the same time, and if wanting to play multiplayer (in Mario kart, or Mario party, or the Lego games) it’s easier to play it on one console as multiplayer than across the two consoles linked anyway.

Just dance has gone down very well with our girls. I wouldn't buy two copies of it tho, just buy the cradle thing it sits in and connect to the big TV.

The Untitled Goose Game has been the biggest family hit, Xmas day was hilarious playing that with old uncles, and parents.

Minecraft is a massive hit as is animal crossing, playing both with friends from school, and sneaking into my profile to play with whatever world I've set up.

We've all enjoyed mario kart but been disappointed in other mario themed games like Mario party, it felt like not enough went into it for the money and it was just riding off the success of the mario characters, rather than any actual effort being put into making something fun and in depth to play.

This is possibly not allowed on here so please feel free to delete if not, but I have a brand new switch 1.1 I'm selling, it was an unwanted gift if it helps