We're still not sure why there's no equivalent to the Activity Log on the Nintendo Switch, but as quite a few realised early on you can use the Parental Controls App on a smart device to do the same thing. While it's also useful for parents to manage and moderate the gaming of their little 'uns, some of us use it just to track general playtime, mimicking our parents in the process. Have fun with that, Freudians.
In any case, the app now has a handy update that improves the service for actual parents but also those of us curious about how long we're playing each game. As you can see below there's now further detail and notifications on downloads, while playtime breakdowns are more detailed and also separated by user.
It's a decent update, all told, and as always the app is rather quick and efficient in updating itself and linking to the Switch when you have a solid connection.
And yes, here's the really cool trailer for the app once again, which stands out as one of Nintendo's cuter videos of recent years.
Are you a parent making good use of this app, or are you like this writer, pretending to be your own parent and heading for a psychiatrist's couch? Reveal all in the comments below.
Comments 26
Never used it
Heh, I initially read "suppressing your child's gaming experience have never been easier!" In the image.
Anyway, nice update, I like being able to track my playtime like this. But it'd be more convenient if it was included on the system itself, rather than in an app (or at the very least available on both).
Excellent. It was always dumb that you couldn't see data for each user.
And it has data from day 1, so really dumb that it wasn't in the app in the first place.
EDIT: I'm wrong, the user data isn't there from day 1
It still doesn't tell you how long you've played each game if you are playing multiple games, only an overall time. That's what I want to see. The 3DS Activity Log is awesome. I don't understand why Switch can't have the same thing. As is, I track the times myself because I'm always curious how much time I've played a game.
I linked it to my Switch then soon after unlinked it. I didn't like having the big reminder of it on my home screen. Unless there is a way to hide that?
All my previous months data is gone, simply stating that I didn't play in March, April, May and June, which is obviously vicious lies!
Haha, it also tracks if you've entered an incorrect pin number. Poor kids!
@G0dlike Select 'All' and it shows you the old data. It's not broken down by user until June.
I wish you could just see play time for each game.
And you still can't set parental controls per user, which surely is the fundamental point of the app...
Am I the only person that doesn't like to know how long i've spent on a game? think its a sign of getting old and feeling guilty about what I could of done in them 85 plus hours on Zelda!
Hahaha...
No more cheating playing time.
This app is actually pretty good. The only complaint is that you can only link 3 Switch to the app. I guess Nintendo wasn't reckoning on our 6 Switch household (me, the wife, child 1, child 2, child 3 and child 4 - baby #5 is too young for a Switch).
Having the kids' Switch switch off at night by themselves is very cool. You can even tweak the timings when they come begging for more playtime (OK I'm having too much fun)
Boy that DeNA partnership really paying off.
Oh, great. I decided to try this out and now I can't turn parental controls off completely. I can disable them in the app, but I'm still stuck entering a dang PIN whenever I want to change my internet settings. How the heck do I turn parental controls off completely on the Switch itself?
@JamesR With five children how the hell do you find time to play games? Having one is hard enough!
@BionicDodo the portability has been my favourite feature of the Switch. I get 40 minutes in every day on the train and can usually squeeze in a couple of hour-long sessions each week in the evenings (usually when people are on the TV). Plus a bit of time here and there (I've been known to take it into the bath!)
I've been a huge fan of the Switch mainly because it's allowed me to play games again. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Wii U but it went unused for weeks at a time. I simply don't have time to sit in the front room and play. On the other hand, my 3DS was portable but it never quite fully got hold of me (maybe the screen was too small, or the operating system too sluggish, or it was tricky to be playing different games at home and on the move). I can't quite explain why the Switch works but (for me) it really has been a game-changer.
Even if it was only a portable Wii U with ports galore - it would still easily be my favourite and most played system since the Gamecube (university days!)
@Retron It's so f---g obvious. Why don't they do this? Seems like it'd be easier to control in system too!
@JamesR Funnily enough you've basically just described my feelings/situation. I only really play it on the train to work and back each day and the odd few minutes here and there at home.
The only games I have really finished in the last few years were on my Vita - the PS3 and Wii U never got a lot time (the list of PS3 classics I own but have not really played much is embarrassing - The Last of Us, Ni No Kuni, Demon Souls, GTA IV, Bioshock Infinite, Red Dead Redemption...).
Having some proper console style games that I can play on the train has been brilliant and I would welcome some ports of Wii U, or preferably, PS3/360 games.
I'm just glad that we don't need a smartphone app to ... you know boot up and play the games on the Switch. I'm sure that's next on their list though, as pretty much everything else has already been outsourced to mobile by now: "The Nintendo Dashboard app: Use it to select and boot-up any game on your Switch system - gaming has never been this easy!"*
*only available on compatible smart devices, Nintendo account and internet connection necessary, not available during maintenance times
@BionicDodo I hear you! My backlog: Xenoblade Chronicles X (bought, never launched!); Rayman Legends (bought, literally on the first level); Bayonetta 2 (bought, played for 2 hours); Paper Mario (bought, second world); Tokyo Mirage Sessions (bought, never launched). Also, I picked up almost every Wii download title too. I keep thinking that I'll have time for these games at some point.
Every now and again I do find time (like a bank holiday weekend or when the kids are away). Just before Christmas I got through Pikmin 3 (after getting this for free with the Mario Kart 8 promotion many years back).
I would happily re-buy the games on my backlog just to play them on Switch. With this device, I've managed to find 175 hours for Zelda and 30 for Mario Kart 8 (which is more or less what I spent on the Wii U version).
Utter rubbish for playtime totals as the app never showed game specific running totals. And might now but has no record of playtime for the last three months.....so useless.
Now what they actually need to do is update it so that you can set play time limits BY USER, and not have play time limits be effective for everyone. Which is the biggest flaw with the app that I've seen.
@JasonLee99 After you tap a day and it shows you total time played with each game's icon, tap that again and it'll break down each game. Just swipe left for each game.
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