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.

Hope this helps!

Just buy one switch and maybe a few extra controllers, and plug it into the living room tv. You’re making this way more complicated than it needs to be

Yes, they can be a personal device like a game boy, but they can also be a shared device.

The regular Nintendo Switch (and I think the OLED one) can be played handheld or docked (aka. plugged into the TV). I’d recommend this version.

The Nintendo Switch Lite cannot be plugged into the TV, and is also harder to play multiplayer with other people in the same room. So avoid the “Lite”.

The controllers on the regular Nintendo Switch are removable. This means that you can buy a console and have two controllers for some games. Some games require more buttons, so each player would need a pair, but some simpler games like Mario Kart or Mario Party can be played with just one half (aka. Joy-Con).

The games are generally sharable between consoles and within consoles.

Between consoles: The cartridges will work no matter how many consoles you swap it between. Only the console with the game inserted will be able to play the game. However, the saved games (progression in a game) are usually saved to a console, not the cartridge.

(The same holds true for digital games only if the account that bought the game is connected to a console. Accounts can be connected to multiple consoles. An account can only be logged in to one console at a time, so ALL digitally-owned games on that account are locked to one console at a time…but if they aren’t logged in, then the another console can log in and play the digital games. So no multiplayer, but taking turns playing the digital game on different consoles. Saves might be shared here, though)

Within consoles: Almost every game allows each profile on the console to have their own saved game. So you could buy one Pokemon game, and up to 8 people can have save files for that game. Depending on the game, they may not be able to play simultaneously (e.g. trading), but they can all have their own save files with their own progression.

So, what you suggested is overkill. Here’s my advice:

If you want family game time, you just need…

• One OLED Switch (connects to TV)
• Buy games physically if you foresee anyone wanting their own console in the future, or digitally if not
• Check if the games you’re buying can be played with a single Joy-Con. If so, the console comes with 2. If a player needs 2 Joy-Cons each, you have 1 controller with the console. Buy enough Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers (which are equivalent to a pair of Joy-Cons, but can’t be “split”) so that you have enough for all your players.
• This console can still be played handheld whenever someone wants solo game time or when someone else wants the TV.

This will allow everyone to play single-screen multiplayer games on your TV together. Note that most games allow up to 4 players at once. More is rare.

Or, if you’ve got older kids who want their own individual games that they’ll play independently at the same time, it gets more complicated. But here’s what I’d suggest.

• Get at least one dockable (non-Lite) Switch in the family. This Switch “gets” access to the TV, but may also have to “share” for family multiplayer time.
• Get Switch Lites for anyone who REALLY needs to be playing something else independently when the TV/“main” Switch is in use
• Get physical games: Any kid can play it in any console, and as long as they’re on the console that has their profile, they can continue their saved game. You DON’T need multiple copies of any game except in very rare scenarios.

Having extra consoles is rarely necessary to play games together. The only time they’d need It is if they’re playing games online together and the game doesn’t offer split-screen. Maybe Fortnite? But then they can take turns, unless you really want to buy separate consoles, lol

Please ask any follow up questions you have. I’d be glad to help clarify anything! Typing this up was surprisingly fun, lol

I assume one OLED for the family and then a portable per person

Stop. Don’t buy anything yet.

What do you mean “one portable”? Do you mean a non-OLED Switch? Do you mean a Switch Lite? Do you mean a pair of Joy-Cons? Do you mean a single Joy-Con?

My family has 3 Switches. I bought a launch system, my wife bought another of that type, gave it to our kid, then bought an OLED for herself.

So, you don’t need more Switches than the number of people (unless you’re planning to host Animal Crossing treasure islands, which, you’re probably not).

We had a Switch Lite, but it was redundant since we each had a regular/OLED, so we sold it.

Why not just start with one and go from there? Get the OLED if you’re planning to primarily play handheld, or if faster loading times are super important to you.

Since it sounds like you are just getting into this, it may be helpful to know that Nintendo has confirmed that there will be a 2nd version of the device and it is likely to have full backwards compatibility (meaning it will play all of the games from version 1).

The release dates for this device are likely to be announced soon.

So if you can wait, you could either get the newest version or you could get the current version for a big discount.

Buy one for the living room, oled or standard. Then, if requests / frustrations about playing asynchronously piles up. Consider buying another for the most invested of all. Take physical copies also. They’re easier to share.

If you want extra controllers I recommend the 8-bit-do controllers. They are cheaper than Nintendo. The ones I have work on switch, Xbox, pc, android, iOS, etc. they also sell a dongle to work on many more consoles. (I use the dongle on Linux and allows me to play wireless).

I already agree with most of the comments here, just wanted to add info about 3rd party controllers.

Sharing one device should be fine. What games are you trying to play?

One but buy extra controllers so 4 people can play Mario Kart, etc together.

Edit: btw I had the same confusion over the switch which caused me not to buy it for years. Last year someone visiting with their child expressed the same confusion.

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 hope I answers some of your questions.

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

So I guess all that to say: your mileage may vary

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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.

I have one and my kids share it with me, but considering a second. They support profiles. My son plays it on the couch while my daughter watches her shows, and then they’ll put it on the tv and play Mario kart together.

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.