When you buy a lot of Nintendo Switch games digitally, you can share them with your friends in this way. Physical sharing Nintendo Switch games is of course still easier, but digital sharing is therefore not impossible. You just have to perform these operations.
Sharing Nintendo Switch games
When the Nintendo Switch Online service was launched by Nintendo, it also came out immediately that it is possible to share your digital games with your friends. Although that is true, that is of course not the message that Nintendo wants to give. The message of the company is that you can also play your own collection of digital games on the console of a friend. What you need for this is a Nintendo account and a primary console. Below we explain how to do game sharing.
Game sharing is a principle that does not sound strange to many gamers. Gamers with an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 can do this by enabling another primary system. When you switch with your friends of primary system, they can play the games that you purchase digitally and vice versa. On the Nintendo Switch that works about the same, but not quite so. The steps you go through are not strange; below we have clearly illustrated how to arrange this.
Your primary Nintendo Switch console
But before we can start, we first need to clarify some things. When you log into your own Nintendo Switch with your existing Nintendo account and go to the eShop, that account is linked to your game console. This can only be reversed by completely deactivating your current primary console – so be sure when you do this. On your primary console, anyone can play the games that have been downloaded. You do not necessarily need an online connection, as long as the game requires it.
Unfortunately it is not possible to use a second Nintendo Switch as your primary console (hence the term ‘primary’). On non-primary console it is then still possible to do a number of things. This way you can still place your account on another Switch console. But the possibilities are somewhat limited. As a main user, you simply get access to everything you have paid for. In many cases you still have to download the software that was purchased, but after that you just have to be able to play.
Non-primary Nintendo Switch consoles
Compared to your primary Nintendo Switch console some restrictions imposed when you gamet on another Switch game console with your own Nintendo account. This way you have to have access to the internet at all times. Should the internet fall away, you will not immediately be thrown out of your current play session. However, after a while the game pauses. Only when you have an active connection again, you can proceed with gaming. So make sure that you are always close to a Wi-Fi network.
In addition, only the owner of the digital content can start the games. On Xbox and PlayStation it is so that as long as someone plays on your primary console (also after switching), everyone can enjoy those games. That is also the case with the Switch, but only at home. However, as long as the main user, or owner of the digital content, does not play games on his own console at home, or with an active internet connection, then it is possible for the person with the account on his Switch to (continue to) play.
If you are playing a game that belongs to someone else, by using that person’s account, you can continue to do so until the owner of that game comes online and starts up his own software. Your play session will then be paused and the game will not do anything until the player decides to stop. Nintendo has also prepared a number of images that illustrate this situation. On the left is the primary console and on the right the console where the profile of the owner is also on.
So it is not an ideal situation, but this can ensure that your digital Nintendo Switch games can play without having to buy everything yourself. Try to make good agreements about this, so that one gamer does not get in the way of the game of the other gamer. Although this is the way to play your own games on a console from another gamer, this can also be a good way to share games together on one account. You can also choose to buy games together, for example.
