If we’re talking about actual need, the answer is zero. The Nintendo Switch does not feature on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
But how many OP should buy depends on how much they’re willing to spend. One is enough for family games and taking turns. If everyone wants their own to play head-to-head multiplayer, yeah you’ll have to shell out for multiple consoles.
We got a switch when it first came out, that was the only switch we had as a family for a while. It was shared just like any other console. Games like Mario Kart are just as playable on one switch as they are on prior platforms, if you buy more controllers.
Eventually, as the kids got older, we got them switch lites so they could play games on their own. Physical cartridges are definitely sharable, the only catch is that (of course) you can only play one copy at a time and some games have an online/group play component that you can’t experience with one cartridge. So, for instance, Animal Crossing has one island per switch, so if you have two switches in the household you could swap the cart back and forth and both switches can play the game by swapping the cartridge, but characters from one can’t visit the other unless both games are running at the same time. We have bought an embarrassing number of Animal Crossing carts.
Digital copies are tied to a Nintendo account. You can only have one “primary” switch attached to the account. That Switch will be able to run the games on the account without phoning home first. If that account is logged into other switches, they do get access to the games, but only if the non-primary switch has internet access to validate that the game is not being played by any other switch on the account. (I ran into this issue whe I wanted to play the BOTW DLC on a second switch on airplanes; I ultimately had to create a second account to buy it a second time on that switch to prevent it from phoning home).
Digital copies also download the entire game into storage, while physical copies have the game in cartridge ROM and much less is stored locally. Getting a Digital copy of a large game might fill up most of your storage. This is why I still prefer cartridges, especially now that my kids are older and don’t lose them anymore.
How is it affordable? It’s not, we eat a lot of ramen.
Once an account is set up on a switch your kids will not need to remember password to access it. From what I recall the only time you might have to recall the password is to add funds to the account to buy games on the shop.
There is a companion parental control app that allows you limit screen time or access hours and filter games by age rating. You’ll still have full access to the console through a quick passcode.
You only really need an account to get DLC, but I suppose it’s necessary these days. If you only have one switch for the family than you can make that account yourself. The kids would not have to have their own online accounts until they want to pay for their own content. (As I recall, Nintendo requires additional verification steps for accounts for under 13s, anyway. I think they require a $1 fee just to “prove” an adult approves the account.).
And one thing I forgot is that if there are DLC/digital copies active on a primary switch, all accounts can use it. So you can install those and anyone can play. Then, if they ever get their own devices and let you log in and download all that content, they will be able to use it, subject to phone-home provisions. Unless they buy their own copies on their own accounts – then they will be able to use the DLC without phoning home.
Do you play the same games together often? In that case unless it is a couch co-op game (some are) you would need a second switch with the same game.
You can have multiple profiles on a switch and can share games between profiles on that switch. If it’s physical you can just play that game on any switch on any profile (just whoever has the cartridge). If it’s digital, if you buy it on the primary profile of a certain switch (make sure you do this) then all the other profiles on that switch can play that game too. If you want to share digital games between different switches it’s more complicated, but it requires cloud syncing and some other shenanigans I couldn’t explain.
They are all portable but you might be talking about the switch light which doesn’t have removable controllers. If you have a tv one for everyone, the you either need the controllers from the other switches or extra controllers (joy con style or normal controller style) to play together. Some games can be a lot of fun to play on the tv together. Check how many people a game can play.
I appreciate that you listed off various ways to share games all in one place. Many guides I have seen handle the methods piecemeal, and I thought they overlapped morw.
There is no “TV version”. The switch docks to a docking station to make it output to a TV. You just need a docking station and controllers to make a single Switch into a shared screen experience in the living room. Anyone’s Switch can use the dock.
Physical games are sharable, but only one device can use that game at a time, because they’re physical cartridges.
Personally, I’d go with a Steam Deck over a Switch, unless your family specifically is looking to play Switch games that are exclusive to it (which technically with emulation the Steam Deck can also play, but that’s not legal unless you own a switch and the game). The nice thing about Steam games is that Steam’s Families feature lets you share the entire game library digitally to 5 family members, so unless they want to play the same game at once, you only buy games once and they can all play them. There are also some games that let you own one copy and let multiple people play multiplayer at once on it, too.
Plus, games on Steam are cheaper than Switch games and the Steam Deck is only a bit more money upfront than a Switch is, especially on sale, which I expect it to be on sale for Black Friday coming up.
Finally, Steam games also can be played on a PC. Any PC. The Steam Deck is just an easy to use, skinned UI PC. As such, when the Steam Deck becomes obsolete, you don’t have a bunch of games that are now locked to an obsolete platform. There are PC games that are decades old that still play on PCs today (although sometimes a bit of fiddling is required for REALLY old ones).
Edit:
FYI the regular switch and OLED can dock. The switch lite cannot.
You can put multiple accounts on the same device. My wife and I share one switch.
We used to have one per person, but I don’t play as much and we hardly play at the same time so I sold my other switch.
Physical games are sharable but it also means you can only play one device per cartridge at one time. So with games with only 1 save slot, you should get more physical cartridges.
Digital games are locked to the account that bought it. Anyone can play it, but if it has one save slot, then that will be the biggest issue.
If you have multiple profiles set up on one switch, before you start a game it will ask you which profile is playing. Any save info for that gaming session will be tied to that profile. Anyone with a Switch can use the physical media with the caveat that only one person can be playing it at a time. Now if you buy the games online, you won’t need the physical media, but the game is tied to the account. As for cost, well it can get expensive and my family usually reserved the large purchases for things like birthdays or christmas. If I had a nickel for every dollar I have spent on gaming systems over the years, I would be able to retire. :)
I guess ultimately it depends on what kind of games your family likes
As you mention, party games you only need one. If your family’s into single player or portables then each person needs one
How is it affordable? Well, it isn’t really. Although I guess a switch probably retails for about half the cost of a PS5
It’s funny though, if you compare it to other consoles, I think people are far less likely to buy an Xbox or Playstation for each family member. And yet, people would do that for the gameboy and DS without batting an eye. The switch is trying to be everything, for better or worse.
When we got ours, we were pretty content having just one and then playing party games or taking turns on single player games. Sooner or later though, we had to get another so we could play pokemon together. Which is a shame because my interest in pokemon seems to have suddenly fallen off a cliff and now my switch is collecting dust
Oh yeah, and if you want any online services, you’ll want to look up what those cost. I don’t know if they offer a family discount for multiple accounts
I’ve found codes for the family pass on legit key selling sites for around the same price as an individual key, so it’s worth checking before you buy 👍
Isn’t it the same as with every other entertainment system? I grew up with a big brother and a little sister. We only had one PS1, later one X360. We could either play in co-op, or take turns. Sometimes my father would also play on the console, and we’d do something else in the meantime.
What’s different about the Switch? It’s an entertainment system. You insert the game, you play. I don’t have one, but I’m pretty sure it allows for different accounts to be created and each have their own save file, so there’s no need to buy multiple consoles/multiple copies of the same game. You can either play on the go, or hook it to the TV and play with the bigger screen. You are not forced to play party games just because you have a bigger screen, and you are not forced to treat it like a “personal device” just because you are playing on the smaller screen (I also despise the idea of “personal device” for kids: learning to share games is a very important lesson for kids).
Yeah you can have accounts on it but a little different to usual. You launch a game from the home screen then decide who is launching it. For the most part it’s then separate games - however Animal Crossing has one main game then the other accounts on the device simply access the same island like playing multiplayer - but in turns. It’s fucking weird.
Animal Crossing is a special case (and one that made a lot of people angry back when the game released).
One console is tied to one “island”, which means all accounts on the same switch play in the same town. Each has got their own house and inventory, and can contribute to the island in some ways…
But only the main account, who started the save, is “resident representative”, which means they’re the only one who can build or relocate stuff, and who can start community projects needed for the island to progress.
So yeah, all other players have an inferior experience. Which is a bit of a baffling design for a family game such as this.
Helldivers 2 is an awesome game for this as it’s very cooperative and is also a shooter. Though you do need either a pc or a ps5 for it so I’m not sure if you can play it.
In case you’re looking for something that may fit your criteria…
Warzone 2100 is an amazing game. It’s what gets me to replay the game every so often. An RTS, though I think RTT (Real Time Tactics) would be more accurate here. Choice of units matters (for ex: a main force of anti tank and anti infantry units, an auxiliary force of artillery units, another force of air support… Using these tactically is the key to victory). A special commander unit exists that increases your forces effectiveness and determines the course or movement/attack. When managed right, units obtain ranks, increasing their effectiveness and survivability. These units can be recycled to reclaim their ranks and generate better units with those ranks. You can slow down the game (and practically pause it), speed it up as well.
There’s two types of missions in it: the main map, which expands multiple times. As you progress through the missions, the map expands, you unlock new technology (buildings, units, etc), you get to use the base to defend against enemy attacks multiple times.
The other type of mission consists of using your base to send out units to surrounding zones (to reclaim technology, for ex). These surrounding zones are separate maps connected to the base on the main map.
There are 3 campaigns in it. I highly recommend Warzone2100. Oh, and it’s open source these days, and available on multiple platforms.
I’ve already seen Mindustry mentioned, but also an amazing game. It is less RTS and more resource management / tower defense. Also free and available on multiple platforms.
A multi-era multi-conflict first person shooter, with campaigns from the 18th century all the way through to the modern era. Singleplayer, and with tons of weapons, vehicles, and factions to choose from.
Basically, a game much too big and ambitious to ever be made.
Another z-shooter like Tribes Vengeance. A different company got the rights to the franchise and tried to make a more realistic physics engine approach in the sequel, Tribes Ascend, but it was not as fun imo. The use of the grappler specifically to slingshot yourself up to fast speeds and to change direction without losing speed were key to the enjoyment and strategy in Vengeance that Ascend never managed to replicate.
Also, I love the shooter moba genre. I loved Monday Night Combat and the sequel, Super MNC. It’s a shame those games never took off. I’ve been really enjoying Deadlock so far and can’t wait to see how it turns out. But more games in that genre would be welcome.
A dark souls kind of slow paced combat game, but built for co-op. Except I don’t have any friends who are on the same skill level and schedule.
More broadly, I really want more games that you can play co-op in where the players are vastly different skill levels, but it’s still fun. I don’t know how to solve this.
I can imagine like a game where one person is playing dark souls and the other is playing candy crush, and they interact somehow. Like making matches in one give estus in the other, and killing bosses gives stuff.
Basically I want to play games with my frienda that don’t play the same games, somehow.
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