Nintendo Switch

My son wants a Nintendo Swirch for his birthday and I plan on getting him one but i know nothing about them . Has any of you guys bought one ? Do I need to buy a lot of extra stuff with it? Cases etc.

Thanks

I got my kids one for Christmas. If you have more than one kid you may want to buy a second controller. Besides that most of the games can be purchased online. I think this is typically the best option as my kids are known to scratch the old CDs.

What you want:

- Screen protector. Plastic screen= lots of scratches, so a screen protector is mandatory.

- The cheapest case you can get.

You basically need a micro SD card for a switch.

And a second controller.

That is about all you need.

Thanks

Get this if you want to use other controllers.

The Switch itself doesn’t come with any games. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are two very highly rated games-Legend of Zelda would be my recommendation if your son has any interest. There are a bunch of good games on the eShop as well.

You probably want a microSD card, but one can be added later.

A glass screen protector is a must in my opinion. It keeps the plastic screen from getting scratched and improves the feel tremendously. Bonus: you can get one for under 10 bucks.

A case is useful.

Headphones if he doesn’t have them , more for your sake so you don’t have to listen, haha!

If you get a multiplayer game like Mario Kart, then another controller would be in order. A wireless Pro controller is the nicest, since he can also just use it rather than the included “Joy-Cons.”

One of the best protection case available:

Glass screen protector:
https://www.amazon.com/Switchmate-Tempered-Screen-Protector-Nintendo/dp/B072HJD8KQ

Are you getting it for a game or are you getting it because its a game console? What game does he want?

I used to have to recite the times tables before I got my gameboy to play over the weekend. I'm good at the times tables now. ;)

How old is your son? Are you for sure getting the switch? If not there's a lot of other cool options you can pick! The PSP is my favorite (prefer it over the newer one even) because its so easy to load up with emulators and download games. The DS was nice too, really easy to load that with free games.

Just some suggestions in case you want to save some money for your flashlights, and want to get your kid into 'working' for his games. My parents wouldn't get me a game so I had to figure out how to play it on the computer.

How old is your son? Honesty, I think he is asking too much. He should have to earn that kind of money, not get it gifted. I’d get him something more “I didn’t work for this” priced, along with opportunities to do chores or other tasks for decent money. In his defense, I am talking excellent pay, like $30/hr to trim bushes in the yard.

I wouldn't do hourly. He may take a bit longer. ;)

I'm a bit jealous of the kids now that get stuff given to them so easily. I don't think its a character building thing, but when you don't feel like its deserved, its valued less. I've heard of kids that break their iPads to get a new one, but I doubt that happens very often except in the very wealthy and I don't think OP's son is like that either.

If comparing the two extremes, I would rather have had the one where I got nothing and had to learn to get it on my own. Thanks to the wonderful people who made emulators like No$GMB and REW. :)

If it takes time to get to it, he won't break it as easily since he had to earn it.

Oh, yea, no judgement on the OP’s son. I just believe that once a person (kid or otherwise) gets used to a lifestyle beyond their work-ethic they are screwed. They need to look at that $350 Nintendo Switch price and say, damn $350 is 12 hours of bush trimming! Do I want it that bad?

Like many said before, the essentials are

- screen protector, since the screen is plastic

  • second pair of joy-cons (the switch’s default 2-part controller) or other compatible controller of preference so you can do some mario-karting with your son

don’t know about the memory card, maybe with use I’ll feel the need for one when I get it, so I leave this one for the one who already own one

this is actually pretty cool, I was thinking of getting a switch for myself for Christmas, and with this I’d be able to use the xbox one controllers I already have and like for my pc gaming. saves up buying switch-only controllers

We got a switch. Well, bought my wife a switch for her birthday/mothers day (was a day apart this year). We havent needed anything extra, but will be getting a screen protector eventually.

All we have is Mario Odyssey, but havent needed an SD card yet. They are cheap enough now that we can cross that road when it comes. Have a bunch already unused anyway.

Already have a bunch invested into the Wii U, so kind of sucks, but the Wii U controller is not compatible with the Switch. Will get the Switch equivalent when we (I) get around to getting Zelda BOTW for that. But I have that on the Wii U now, so may be a while…

Not much help I guess… But I would say a glass screen protector is a must for a kid. The rest, figure out as you need it.
If you intend to get multiplayer games, then a second set of joy cons, or another controller is a must

I think $30 is rather high, 12 hours for a game console? I'd love it! At a fair price for work, I think it would make him rethink if he wanted a switch. Its a lot of economics at that point but I think it instills a valuable lesson.

When I was young I always operated from a place of scarcity. I still do somewhat but flashlights are my hobby now, and they're not too expensive!

Switch emulation is coming along nicely too. I emulated my gamecube since the graphics are a bit outdated when they're not upscaled, I remember them looking better as a kid.

$30 for yard work at a pace of his choosing is rather high. But the goal wouldn’t be to emulate the real world accurately, but just to create a mental connection between hours-worked and dollars-earned. Like you say, it instills a valuable lesson. And he can always opt out. As a parent, whatever he chooses would be very interesting to see.

The best case scenario would be that he realizes it’s a great paying gig and works at a pace that would make an employer proud. The worst case would be he hears the offer and immediately starts manipulation tactics to get what he wants for free.

Apparently used they go for $150 but the games are still expensive. There is a jailbreak for it though.

My parents used to buy me a console and tell me that you don't need games you have the console. Hilarious now that I look back on it.