Nintendo Switch - New Owners Guide

Mr E

So you have a Nintendo Switch - congratulations! You have one of the best, most versatile consoles on the market today. Some tips for new owners:

1. Set Up in Advance: If Santa is bringing it for your kids, it's worth unboxing it, setting it up and updating the firmware to v4.1.0. The initial release was v1.0.0 in March, so a lot has changed/improved since then. Don't worry about putting everything back in the box afterwards - it's a well designed box and everything will fit back in without any fuss.

2. Charge it! As above, plug in the console while you're setting it up to give it some charge.

3. Essential Accessories: If you have smallies, a screen protector is a good idea (but arguably not essential - I don't have one and my 10 year old nephew and 8 year old niece play on it regularly). I do recommend a case though. There is a good variety out there (including Argos, Smyths and Gamestop if you want to pick one up before Monday)

4. Multiple Users: One of the Switch's best features is that it's a multi-user system. This means that you can set up separate accounts for all your family who want to play it. When you run a game, you're asked what account you want to use. Every account has it's own save games, so as long as they stick to their own account, there is no danger that they can mess up your own save games on your account.

5. Non-Essential Add-Ons: The Switch can be a bit of a bottomless pit for add-ons (pro-controller, spare docks, extra joy-cons, SD cards, charging grip etc.) - despite that, it will be FINE with what comes in the box. You can add more to it later. Remember that it is one of the few consoles that comes with two controllers!

6. eShop Tip 1: You want to buy digital games but you're worried about leaving your credit card details in the eShop? Don't be - there is a checkbox when making a purchase that says "Save Details" - if you don't want to save your credit card details, just don't click it.

7. eShop Tip 2: The Switch is region free. The advantage of that is that game prices can vary WILDLY from region to region. For example, Enter The Gungeon is €14.99 here, but it's €5.04 in the Russian eShop. It's worth bookmarking this site - it will save you an absolute FORTUNE if you like buying mainly digital games. How to change region? Try this... (Worth noting that if you have credit on your main eshop account and you change region on that, you will LOSE the credit that was there before you changed). As such, it's recommended that you have a separate account (or more than one) for other regions. Keep an eye on the South African eShop, the Russian eShop and the Norwegian eShop in particular. Note: Buying from South American countries (like Argentina) is currently impossible. Read here for more info: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/moving-out-nintendo-switch-eshop-argentina-3472870

8. Extra Dock Warning: Third party docks seem to be troublesome (with reports of them breaking Switches in some situations). Do some research before buying one.

Great post. I'd add be careful with getting skins for your Switch. Shortly after release there were many accounts of these melting when inserted into the dock.

An addition that should be a good idea is a third party stand. The one that comes attached to the Switch is very flimsy.

keane2097

Possibly worth pointing out - Splatoon 2 is a rare exception to the 'totally region free' rule.

Some of the online elements of Splatoon 2 are region locked - you can't change this and in the unlikely event you happen to buy from, say, Japan, it won't have English language support either.

EU version is the correct one for us here, and it includes English. Probably won't effect anyone, but just in case!

Banjo

keane2097 wrote: »

Possibly worth pointing out - Splatoon 2 is a rare exception to the 'totally region free' rule.

Some of the online elements of Splatoon 2 are region locked - you can't change this and in the unlikely event you happen to buy from, say, Japan, it won't have English language support either.

EU version is the correct one for us here, and it includes English. Probably won't effect anyone, but just in case!

Guess where Splatoon is cheapest?
Guess which country on the continent of Africa speaks english?

Did you just say South Africa twice? Say it one more time and Nelson Mandela will appear in the mirror and strangle you with your own dental floss, screaming "3 decades!"

keane2097

Banjo wrote: »

Guess where Splatoon is cheapest?
Guess which country on the continent of Africa speaks english?

Did you just say South Africa twice? Say it one more time and Nelson Mandela will appear in the mirror and strangle you with your own dental floss, screaming "3 decades!"

Yes but just to note that you will be stuck playing Splatfests and whatnot against people in South Africa rather than Ireland.

Headshot

question for potential new orders, is it advisable to buy a new Micro SD card even though you wont be downloading games yet?

Mr E

No need (to start with).

One wrinkle though - there is no "move to SD" function yet. You have to "archive" the game, which deletes the game but keeps save data. Then you have to download it again (it will automatically download to SD).

Headshot

Would it be cheaper to buy the games online in this case?

Im getting 3 games, Zelda, Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade

Andrew76

Mr E wrote: »

No need (to start with).

One wrinkle though - there is no "move to SD" function yet. You have to "archive" the game, which deletes the game but keeps save data. Then you have to download it again (it will automatically download to SD).

Running a game from internal memory rather than SD is slightly faster though and I've read that once you put in a memory card games automatically download to it without choice. So a slight bonus in not using a memory card in my book, until you absolutely have to of course.

I'm guessing at some point they'll introduce the ability to choose the install location and to move it to either.

Headshot

The lazy guy in me, doesnt want to keep putting in different games into the console and downloading the games would be a easier to browse from one game to the next.

irishman86

Say i buy one from the Mexico store, will it be available in English
I bought Zelda without looking at this like a fool

Mr E

Nobody has figured out how to buy from Mexico yet. Credit cards, Revolut and PayPal don't work there, and nobody knows where to buy eShop credit.

Banjo

irishman86 wrote: »

Say i buy one from the Mexico store, will it be available in English
I bought Zelda without looking at this like a fool

If it helps, I got FIFA from the Russian store, it's all in English. But if you have a Russian account you get Russian news feeds on your Switch's home screen.

Yoghurt87

Sorry if it's the wrong place to post this, I wasn't sure which of the Switch threads to use.

My question is whether it's possible to access digital purchases for the Wii U on the Switch? I've read conflicting information online, and have gone through the whole rigmarole of deleting the user associated with the NNID from the Wii U and linking the NNID to a new profile on the Switch - the accounts are now showing as linked, but none of the purchased content is showing up on the eShop.

Will I have to for out another €30 so my child can continue to play Minecraft (and approx sixty quid's worth of other digital content) on the Switch?

Mr E

Rebuy, sorry.

Yoghurt87

Ah feck. Thanks for the quick answer anyway!

Mr E

Make sure you look at number 7 in the first post. Minecraft is about €16.50 in the South African eShop.

CiDeRmAn

Banjo wrote: »

If it helps, I got FIFA from the Russian store, it's all in English. But if you have a Russian account you get Russian news feeds on your Switch's home screen.

If people are concerned that the region lock is active on certain online features, perhaps an experiment is called for.
I'll get back to you!

Update: just checked and it seems while my purchases are visible in all regions of eshop they are only redownloadable from the region they were bought in.

TheDoc

Very useful thread!

Think I'll just go with what's in the box and the games I want, and add on stuff as I feel required down the line. I didn't realise the controllers work like that

keane2097

Here's the other thread:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057814447

TheDoc

keane2097 wrote: »

Here's the other thread:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057814447

Cool thanks, very helpful.

I'll see how things go after the initial use and stuff and then sure I know where to be looking. Threw a few bits into my phone there in terms of a list of potential things.

The messenger bag actually looks a good shout.

I'll probably chill out now and just impatiently wait on IrishWater to sort themselves out so I can buy the bloody thing.

Who knew WaterCharges would end up with this outcome

dublin7d7

I'm a total beginner, my 8 yr son got Switch at the weekend

What do the letters on the joycon mean, what are the basics of operating the Joycons?
I understand the arrows and all that, but want to get full usage out of it

If you could point me to a relevant thread or guide, I'd appreciate it

Had a good look around YouTube and the Net but could n't really find the Dummies guide that I need

Thanks

Mr E

Different games use different buttons. There are 4 directional buttons on the left Joy Con.
There are 4 buttons on the right Joy Con (A, B, X and Y). There are 2 shoulder buttons on each side (L, ZL, R, ZR).

The buttons have different functions depending on the game.
Usually when you start a game, there is a tutorial to teach you the controls.

dublin7d7

Mr E wrote: »

Different games use different buttons. There are 4 directional buttons on the left Joy Con.
There are 4 buttons on the right Joy Con (A, B, X and Y). There are 2 shoulder buttons on each side (L, ZL, R, ZR).

The buttons have different functions depending on the game.
Usually when you start a game, there is a tutorial to teach you the controls.

Good stuff ta , that will get me started

Mariomaker

I have a question. I am planning on getting a switch. Does it have apps like Netflix, youtube or Amazon Prime?

Mr E

It has YouTube. No sign of Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Not sure Prime will ever get there, but I think the possibility Netflix at some time in the future is better than 50/50.

jarvis

Great info in here. Thanks op.

One question though. I seen games is the Australian store for $0.00 even though they cost money in other places. Is this accurate???

Mr E

Doesn't sound right. Can you be more specific?

jarvis

Mr E wrote: »

Doesn't sound right. Can you be more specific?

Oops. My mistake. There is 0.00 downloads but they’re 0.00 on all estores

Mr E

Bumping this thread (especially for the Switch consoles from the guy in the red suit!)

See point 1 in the first post above. Some games (like Starlink for example) have chunky downloads before you can play...

jarvis

Found this thread very useful. Took the advice and have the switch firmware updated and fully charged ready for my 12yo to get going straight away. Thinking I’ll get Fifa from the Estore for myself too!!!