Games

We got a switch when it first came out, that was the only switch we had as a family for a while. It was shared just like any other console. Games like Mario Kart are just as playable on one switch as they are on prior platforms, if you buy more controllers.

Eventually, as the kids got older, we got them switch lites so they could play games on their own. Physical cartridges are definitely sharable, the only catch is that (of course) you can only play one copy at a time and some games have an online/group play component that you can't experience with one cartridge. So, for instance, Animal Crossing has one island per switch, so if you have two switches in the household you could swap the cart back and forth and both switches can play the game by swapping the cartridge, but characters from one can't visit the other unless both games are running at the same time. We have bought an embarrassing number of Animal Crossing carts.

Digital copies are tied to a Nintendo account. You can only have one "primary" switch attached to the account. That Switch will be able to run the games on the account without phoning home first. If that account is logged into other switches, they do get access to the games, but only if the non-primary switch has internet access to validate that the game is not being played by any other switch on the account. (I ran into this issue whe I wanted to play the BOTW DLC on a second switch on airplanes; I ultimately had to create a second account to buy it a second time on that switch to prevent it from phoning home).

Digital copies also download the entire game into storage, while physical copies have the game in cartridge ROM and much less is stored locally. Getting a Digital copy of a large game might fill up most of your storage. This is why I still prefer cartridges, especially now that my kids are older and don't lose them anymore.

How is it affordable? It's not, we eat a lot of ramen.

Hope this helps!

Do you play the same games together often? In that case unless it is a couch co-op game (some are) you would need a second switch with the same game.

You can have multiple profiles on a switch and can share games between profiles on that switch. If it's physical you can just play that game on any switch on any profile (just whoever has the cartridge). If it's digital, if you buy it on the primary profile of a certain switch (make sure you do this) then all the other profiles on that switch can play that game too. If you want to share digital games between different switches it's more complicated, but it requires cloud syncing and some other shenanigans I couldn't explain.

They are all portable but you might be talking about the switch light which doesn't have removable controllers. If you have a tv one for everyone, the you either need the controllers from the other switches or extra controllers (joy con style or normal controller style) to play together. Some games can be a lot of fun to play on the tv together. Check how many people a game can play.

I hope I answers some of your questions.

There is no "TV version". The switch docks to a docking station to make it output to a TV. You just need a docking station and controllers to make a single Switch into a shared screen experience in the living room. Anyone's Switch can use the dock.

Physical games are sharable, but only one device can use that game at a time, because they're physical cartridges.

Personally, I'd go with a Steam Deck over a Switch, unless your family specifically is looking to play Switch games that are exclusive to it (which technically with emulation the Steam Deck can also play, but that's not legal unless you own a switch and the game). The nice thing about Steam games is that Steam's Families feature lets you share the entire game library digitally to 5 family members, so unless they want to play the same game at once, you only buy games once and they can all play them. There are also some games that let you own one copy and let multiple people play multiplayer at once on it, too.

Plus, games on Steam are cheaper than Switch games and the Steam Deck is only a bit more money upfront than a Switch is, especially on sale, which I expect it to be on sale for Black Friday coming up.

Finally, Steam games also can be played on a PC. Any PC. The Steam Deck is just an easy to use, skinned UI PC. As such, when the Steam Deck becomes obsolete, you don't have a bunch of games that are now locked to an obsolete platform. There are PC games that are decades old that still play on PCs today (although sometimes a bit of fiddling is required for REALLY old ones).

Edit:

FYI the regular switch and OLED can dock. The switch lite cannot.

You can put multiple accounts on the same device. My wife and I share one switch.

We used to have one per person, but I don't play as much and we hardly play at the same time so I sold my other switch.

Physical games are sharable but it also means you can only play one device per cartridge at one time. So with games with only 1 save slot, you should get more physical cartridges.

Digital games are locked to the account that bought it. Anyone can play it, but if it has one save slot, then that will be the biggest issue.

I guess ultimately it depends on what kind of games your family likes

As you mention, party games you only need one. If your family's into single player or portables then each person needs one

How is it affordable? Well, it isn't really. Although I guess a switch probably retails for about half the cost of a PS5

It's funny though, if you compare it to other consoles, I think people are far less likely to buy an Xbox or Playstation for each family member. And yet, people would do that for the gameboy and DS without batting an eye. The switch is trying to be everything, for better or worse.

When we got ours, we were pretty content having just one and then playing party games or taking turns on single player games. Sooner or later though, we had to get another so we could play pokemon together. Which is a shame because my interest in pokemon seems to have suddenly fallen off a cliff and now my switch is collecting dust

So I guess all that to say: your mileage may vary

Isn't it the same as with every other entertainment system? I grew up with a big brother and a little sister. We only had one PS1, later one X360. We could either play in co-op, or take turns. Sometimes my father would also play on the console, and we'd do something else in the meantime.

What's different about the Switch? It's an entertainment system. You insert the game, you play. I don't have one, but I'm pretty sure it allows for different accounts to be created and each have their own save file, so there's no need to buy multiple consoles/multiple copies of the same game. You can either play on the go, or hook it to the TV and play with the bigger screen. You are not forced to play party games just because you have a bigger screen, and you are not forced to treat it like a "personal device" just because you are playing on the smaller screen (I also despise the idea of "personal device" for kids: learning to share games is a very important lesson for kids).