Multi switch family

August 18, 2024 11:43 AM

We have a Switch since previously, and haven't touched it in over a year because of the difficulty of sharing an island in Animal Crossing. We are going to get another bloody Switch to solve this issue. I don't have the spoons to google the questions inside.

First up, they haven't fixed a way for multiple family memebers to play AC, right?

Do we need another gamechip or can we take turns with the one we have?

Is there a way to share digital download games between the consoles? Like appstory-family or similar?

What else do I need to think about? For example re. multiplayer together and so on.

posted by J.R. Hartley to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Best answer: Multiple family members can play ACNH on one Switch, but it is still true that only one person is the “island representative” and so some parts of gameplay are allowed only by that one person.

You can take turns with only one game card, but that means no visits to each other’s island for trading or sightseeing. This may not matter to you, but it’s worth a mention.

There is a way to share digital downloads of a game, but it’s a little complicated and you can’t play both downloads at the same time.
posted by Night_owl at 12:11 PM on August 18

You might also think about whether you want to get a Switch Lite ($, 5.5" LCD, 32GB, no TV or tabletop modes, better for people with small hands), Switch ($$, 6.2" LCD, 32GB), or Switch OLED ($$$, 7" OLED, 64GB, better internal speakers).
posted by box at 12:48 PM on August 18

Sharing things on a single Switch is very irritating, and they haven't changed anything about how AC works. There is no simple family plan or anything like that. Physical games are definitely better for sharing because of that.

Also, in case you didn't know there will probably be some sort of "Switch 2" released next April/May, but the details are not yet known. I would expect prices of original switches to go down around then, and industry sources expect the new model to be backward compatible. Personally I don't think it makes much sense to buy a Switch OLED right now (and a Lite makes more sense especially for kids).
posted by JZig at 12:51 PM on August 18 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: This is interesting and helpful so far, thanks! Does the OLED fit in the regular dock or would I have to have both docks connected to TV? I didn't realise it was a larger form factor. I will probably buy second-hand if I do this.
posted by J.R. Hartley at 1:02 PM on August 18

Best answer: We have a regular + OLED (bought used from a local gaming shop, A++ would recommend over dealing with online purchase of a used unit). The regular and OLED docks are cross-compatible, so you only need one per TV. We set up the OLED dock as our "default" on the main TV because the form factor difference makes the OLED unit a slightly closer fit in the regular Switch dock and I am wary of YoungstersInWaiting pressing it in roughly, but this is mostly paranoia on my part.
posted by LadyInWaiting at 1:12 PM on August 18

prob worth noting the Switch OLED and the regular Switch are no different in physical size - the OLED has less screen bezel than the regular one to accommodate the larger screen. (the Lite is very different, though.)
posted by mrg at 9:29 AM on August 19

Response by poster: Any last input on for example the practical how-to of if we should use the same userid to sign up for the nintendo account etc or do we need to be individuals? Other things like that?
posted by J.R. Hartley at 2:25 PM on August 21