Topic: Adding Switch Lite

Hello,
My twin sons have a Nintendo Switch to share.
They have some game cards but most software is from the e-shop.
I'm considering buying an extra Switch Lite so that they can play together.
Is it possible to play different downloaded games at the same time?

Another question. On the switch one son is playing Fortnite.
The other plays Fortnite on the laptop (Epic Games account).
When we buy a switch Lite, will he be able to transfer his Epic games account to the switch lite and can they play together?

Thanks in advance.
Tony

@Tonyony The switch user/account system on multiple consoles can be a bit of a head-scratcher so excuse the super-long reply!

The simple answer is that it is possible to play different games on multiple Switches, but there are some fairly big hoops to jump through.

The is also a distinction between users and accounts. You can set up to 8 users on the Switch, but each user doesn't necessarily have to have a Nintendo Account linked to it. Linking an account gives you access to the e-shop for that user, so if you've already bought e-shop games you'll have at least one user linked to an account (you can only link an account to a single user).

So with a single Switch console all users/accounts can play games bought by any other account on that console. If you log into your account on a second Switch you have to set one as your Primary. Everyone on the Primary Switch can still play games purchased on your account, but only you can play your games on the Secondary Switch.

Not sure how your users/accounts are set up, but in simple terms:

Primary Switch - All users can play all digital games regardless of who purchased.
Secondary Switch - Only the account that purchased the game on the e-shop can play.

Also worth noting that you can't play as the same user on both Switches at the same time - the Secondary Switch does a brief online check when launching a game and won't let you play if the user is active on the other Switch. This also means you need to have an internet connection when starting a game on the Secondary Switch.

You can actually share digital games this way too. If the account that bought the game is playing on the secondary Switch, then any other account can play the same game on the Primary Switch at the same time. We regularly play Mario Kart on 2 Switch consoles this way.

I'm not to sure how Fortnite works on Switch as I've never played, but if it's like Rocket League (Also Epic Games) then you link the Epic and Nintendo account for each user and and progress is synced on all linked platforms - I have Rocket League linked to Xbox, Switch and Steam. I'm assuming if your sons are not sharing the same Epic account then they will be able to play together.

Thank you @dmcc0 for your reply.
Things seem to be more clear now for me.
Thank you very much for that.
The only one with an Nintendo e-shop account is me. I assume when I make an e-shop account for my son he can download an own copy of Fortnite and then transfer his EPIC account to the Switch Lite.
They mostly play at home so there is an internet (wifi) connection.
Thanks again. I'll study your mail again on how to set-up things.
Tony

If it's like Rocket League then its Linking the accounts rather than transferring - he should still be able to go back and play on whatever platform he wants and progress is synced.

@Tonyony Just bolstering dmcc0: After you download Fortnite to the new switch and boot it up, you will have to log into your son's epic games account, and then his game progress will become accessible.

The game may prompt you automatically to log into epic games upon booting up. If it doesn't, I think you can find where to login via the main menu or settings menu.

I'd he's after a new console to play Fortnite I would recommend grabbing the Series S for them to share as well as the original Switch rather than a second Lite. It's a much better console and is the same price (if not cheaper) than the Lite.

This would give them access to a lot more games between them with many being half the price on Xbox than Switch for the same product.
He could also link the Xbox to his phone to play handheld around the house on a better screen than the Lite offers. I would think portability away from home isn't a big deciding factor either if they mostly play online games.

@WoomyNNYes Thank you. I'll look into it.

@Chaotic_Neutral Thank you for the advice. I'll look into it. I'm not familiar with the S-series. I think he also still wants to play other Nintendo games. When buying X-box he will have to start over in buying games.

@Tonyony get Gamepass and he won't have to buy any games and all Xbox games are added to the service day 1 for free.
A series S and a Switch are the perfect way to access most new games. I'm sure him and his brother would happily swap consoles with each other when 1 wants to play a console specific game.
Set them up a profile on each

Ok @Chaotic_Neutral . Thanks for the advice. I'll let them know the possibilities.