I don’t understand the Nintendo Switch. How many do I need for a family of gamers?
They are a personal device like a gameboy.
There is a TV version for party games.
The games may or may not be shareable, even with the physical games.
Assume the ideal usage is during screen time on a weekend.
I have been avoiding buying one as I don’t understand them. Thinking of getting them soon.
I assume one OLED for the family and then a portable per person, then one copy of each game per device.
How is this affordable?
The awnser is Zero. A steam deck can play any Switch game and isn’t made by Nintendo.
I hate Nintendo as much as the next guy, but this isn’t answering the OP’s question in a reasonable way.
From the post I am assuming they don’t want something fiddly like emulators for a “current” system that keep getting taken down and you have to hunt for a new one constantly. Another comment also mentioned performance being an issue for Switch emulation on the Deck.
This might be a solution for some, but it definitely isn’t for everyone.
Listen, I love my Steam Deck, but it isn’t a reasonable replacement for heavy Switch users, like this guy and his family. It’s not exactly a high-spec’d machine and as a result, in my experience, none of the Switch games play at their original FPS on the Deck. Some are so bad that they are unplayable. Online play is going to be, at best, limited and far more difficult to manage. Heck, setting it up in general for kids that probably just want to play the damn games is going to be more annoying. The worst part would be listening to, “Dad, why can’t we just buy a Switch?” a thousand times.
They’re currently not a switch user at all. I’m recommending they don’t start.
You’re right about that, but that doesn’t address the main concerns I made in my post.
Cool concept, but can kids work an emulator and the process of acquiring games?
And then you have to field uncomfortable questions with your kids when they ask about whether piracy is stealing. Or worse, the judgment from other parents when your kid brags to all his friends about having all the games and they don’t even pay for them.