I'm new to Nintendo, and this week acquired the following hardware:
2 Switches (v2), each now connected to a TV
1 Switch Lite
2 Pro Controllers
2 extra joy cons [so I have a total of 6 joy cons plus 2 pro controllers]
charger, carrying case, screen protector
I have the following games :
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (cartridge and download)
Zelda: Breath of the Wild (cartridge)
Zelda: Link's Awakening (cartridge)
Super Mario Odyssey (cartridge)
Mario Kart 8 (download)
Super Smash Bros (download)
I created one Nintendo account, and linked each of the 3 Switches to that one account. I used that account to download Animal Crossing and/or various demos from the eShop onto each Switch. I also created additional user profiles on each Switches (one for each of my daughters), but did not link them to Nintendo accounts. Both girls have been playing Animal Crossing with their own profile, one on Switch #1 using the download version and one on Switch #2 using the cartridge.
I haven't tried any games on the Switch Lite yet, buy I have started downloaded games onto it. I noticed that it looks like I cannot install Mario Kart 8 on it; the option to download it was greyed out. I also noticed that the Switch Lite screen is a little smaller than the normal Switch screens.
So, I'm starting to figure out the best use for these Switches. I'd prefer the girls to keep playing their Switches connected on the TV, so that I don't have to worry about the Switches being dropped. However, one of my daughters told me that she wishes she could use the touch screen for typing words, which makes sense. So maybe Animal Crossing could benefit from being detached from the TV, at least some times.
But anyway, there's also the issue of cloud saves, or moving save games back and forth between the Switches.
For example, let's say I start Breath of the Wild on the Switch Lite, and find that after a couple weeks I'd really prefer playing it on the TV. Is it possible for me to move (or copy) my Breath of the Wild save games to one of the normal Switches later? Or do I need to stick with the Switch Lite forever?
And then let's say I'm playing Breath of the Wild on a normal Switch, and my daughter is tired of having to wait until I'm done in order to play Animal Crossing. Is there a way to transfer her Animal Crossing island to the Switch Lite, so that she and I don't have to take turns anymore? In other words, can we effectively "swap" Switches?
And finally, in general, how much flexibility is there in moving/copying save games back and forth between multiple Switches? Does it vary greatly from game to game, or is there a "standard" way that Nintendo handles save game transfers on Switches?
Borderlands2 is cheap and has both split screen and ad-hoc...Pretty sure you could get a full four person party if you split screen a single switch...and without a single online account.
You’ll probably need some time travel supplies. Frozen burritos. Mountain Dew. Divorce papers, etc...
@tripecac Your free to share physical games (game only works when inserted into console). Game saves are stored on the Switch internal memory, not on the cartridges.
Thanks for the info. My questions are not really about sharing games; they are more about sharing the saves (progress) of those games between the Switches.
Here are some clarifications and follow-up questions:
1) For the main user (linked to the same Nintendo account on all 3 Switches), is there a way to get some or all of the games I listed (particularly the long solo games like Animal Crossing and Zelda) to automatically sync saves between the 3 Switches?
For example, if I play a game on Switch #1 and save, can I resume it on Switch #2, save, and then resume on Switch #3? (This is similar to how a MMO stores your progress in the cloud, not on your device.) Or are saves always bound to a specific Switch, with no automatic sharing of saves between Switches?
[If the answer varies between games, can you please let me know which games of the games I listed support this feature?]
2) If there is no automatic syncing of saves between Switches, then is there at least a way to manually copy/move saves to another Switch?
For example, if I get tired of playing a game on the Switch Lite, can I copy or move its save to another Switch and resume my game there?
[If the answer varies between games, can you please let me know which games of the games I listed support this feature?]
3) Is Nintendo's "cloud backup" not really designed for syncing games between Switches, but rather for emergency recovery of save games if a Switch is lost or damaged?
In other words, should I consider it (or ignore it) as a possible means of moving saves back and forth between Switches?
4) For each Switch I have also created a secondary user for each daughter. So, all 3 Switches have a user profile for me and each daughter. Since I want them to be able to play whatever games I download, I have deliberately avoiding setting up Nintendo accounts for them. However, I see that the Nintendo site mentions family/child accounts. Should I create a family/child account for each daughter, or would that prevent them from using games I download with my account?
5) If I do not create family/child accounts for my daughters, then what are my options for moving their saves back and forth between the Switches? How can I ensure that Daughter A can play a game on Switch #1 (using the profile I created for her), transfer the save to Switch #2, and resume it using her similarly named profile there?
6) If transferring saves back and forth between Switches is not a viable long-term option, then I'll need to carefully plan which games to play on the Switch Lite, and which to save for a normal Switch (once my girls start taking breaks from Animal Crossing).
So, which of the following single-player games are best experienced on a normal Switch (with TV and pro controller) and which are perfectly fine on a Switch Lite?
You can use the cloud to save game data and quickly download it to another switch, however there are a few games that don't support this function with Animal Crossing, Splatoon and Pokemon not supporting cloud saves.
For ease of access you would probably be better off starting a family online subscription and adding your daughters on their own accounts as there are restrictions between who can play what when game sharing
I was told by a Nintendo rep (via chat) that if I create Nintendo accounts for my daughters and link those accounts to their user profiles on each Switch, they will no longer be able to play games that I've downloaded using my own account... except on the primary Switch. In order for my daughters to play games on the non-primary Switches, I will need to either give them cartridges or buy them their own digital copies of those games using their accounts, which can get expensive!
As long as I don't link their user accounts to Nintendo accounts, they should be able to play anything that I can play, on any Switch (but of course they cannot play downloaded games at the same time). Is that right?
UPDATE: I've been reading some more, and it sounds like my daughters will not be able to play downloaded games on non-primary Switches, unless they play the game as me (using my profile). Does that sound right?
UPDATE: I've been reading some more, and it sounds like my daughters will not be able to play downloaded games on non-primary Switches, unless they play the game as me (using my profile). Does that sound right?
@tripecac Yes, that's right. The Primary & Non-Primary system was designed for one owner - a person that has a regular Switch( for TV/home) and a Switch Lite(for on-the-go travel). And, only one console plays at a time. It's a business model move, and a system that syncs game save progress across multiple consoles, which creates a game save conflict if both consoles are being used. If you played the same game on two consoles, which console's progress to save?, which to overwrite?
If that sounds restricting, I and many would agree.
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Topic: How to best use 2 Switches and a Switch Lite?
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