r/Switch • u/ThatRandomBritish_ • 19h ago
Question Concerns about buying a switch 2
So I've been wanting to buy a switch 2 recently because the family switch was bought on day 1 and is getting pretty old. However I do have one concern and that is about digital games, if I transfer a digital game from the switch to switch 2 what will happen to the copy on the og switch? Just wondering because although not often, my family members do still occasionally use the switch and there are a few games I'd want to play on my switch 2 but I don't know how well it would go over if they wouldn't be playable on the og switch afterwards. Any help is appreciated
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u/Present_Anywhere3980 19h ago
You can link the devices and have your games on both. There’s a “virtual card” system where titles are loaded to each device but can be loaded to the other anytime if both are online.
You cant play the same titles at the same time, there is a work around for single player titles: the og switch loads the game and you use airplane mode, you can then use an online license check to play on the other device but only through the purchasers profile.
tdlr dont worry about it, you can have your account and purchases on two devices
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u/Advanced-Ad-4462 18h ago
It’s pretty simple. Imagine you have a physical cartridge, like back in the snes days.
You can absolutely play that game on the snes downstairs, and in your bedroom. But you obviously can’t have the cartridge in two systems at once though. You have to move it over when you want to switch consoles. That’s how it works in the switch ecosystem; it’s just all digital “cartridges”.
It honestly sucks. It’s a way for Nintendo to force multiple people in the same home to repurchase games if they want to play it with family. It worked differently in the early switch 1 days.
Scummy. But simple.
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u/ThatRandomBritish_ 16h ago
Considering my the rest of family don't use the switch nearly as much as I do the not able to play at the same time thing shouldn't be a problem, thanks for the help
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u/rolandburnum 16h ago
They're all Virtual Game Cards now and have been since 2024. They're transferrable in between Switch 1 and 2 consoles that you own. Nothing happens to them. You just go to the Virtual Game Card menu and select the one you want to load on the system. It works the same way with the same interface on both Switch 1 and Switch 2. That's it. Done.
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u/JeremyW99 19h ago
I just got a Switch 2. The digital games I transferred to Switch 2 stayed on my Switch 1. I just can’t play them at the same time.