Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ

A steam deck can run all the games those two can and it runs Linux which means it will probably never be obsolete

You have plenty of answers already, but one thing I want to point out that might not have been mentioned yet: The DS line of handhelds are unique hardware; the Switch is not.

By that I mean there is a vast library of games developed over ~15 years that were designed for the dual screen layout. Don't listen to what anyone tells you about emulation; those games are much, much better when played on actual Nintendo hardware, not because they run poorly on emulators, but because your phone, monitors, Steam Deck, and TV are one horizontal screen. Every alternative layout I've seen for emulating DS games is an awkward compromise to fit two screens on one. It sucks, it doesn't look good, and you'll have to change the layout on a per game basis because one size absolutely does not fit all.

Now look at the Switch. It's a standard 16:9 720p touch screen. Everything that can and will ever be built powerful enough to emulate a Switch will display those games in the way they were intended to be presented. When Switch emulation is perfect (and it's most of the way there) there is no compromise. You can already play Switch games on other handheld devices at higher resolutions and frame rates than the Switch itself can handle and it's an objectively better experience.

I only offer this perspective because you're talking about a very long term view of device ownership. We are now well past the period of game development on two screens as it existed on the DS line of handhelds. I highly doubt that phase of game design is ever coming back. And like it or not, many of those games are best experienced on the original hardware they were designed for and that will probably still be the case 20 years from now. On the other hand, we already have a plethora of alternative hardware options for games made for the Nintendo Switch and those numbers will grow considerably between now and 2044.

If it's like my other consoles from 20 years ago, It'll be sealed in a box in the attic while you emulate it without a thought.

1. Nintendo online is a lot like Xbox live. You can play single player without it (generally) but have to pay to get online/multiplayer

2. yes, you can have multiple accounts on the switch each with their own save, without paying for online for all/any of them.

3. I don't know if I'd guarantee that. Who knows what dumb services things rely on. If you want something that'll work maybe consider a more open ecosystem like that of the steam deck or its competitors

This is a deeply philosophical question involving time, the nature of ‘self’ and potential for physical abilities, and indeed mortality itself.

I mean… how much of an answer do actually want?

There are games like "Control" that are guaranteed to be dead in 5 years max as they're glorified remote play solutions. The game is playing on someone else's computer and streamed to the switch. So the bill for that computer is paid by new sales like a Ponzi scheme. No more sales = the dev turns off their servers = no more playing

Unless it has gotten better, the joy cons on these things always fail. That's 1 reason I never got one

Even if the games run, the joy cons will likely not last long before drifting

Nintendo doesn't have always-online DRM. Some games won't work 20 years from now of course, but your cartridge of BOTW or Pikmin 4 will still work as long as the hardware is in good repair. The Switch is a fine system and should last for years and years of quality game time.

Not going to comment on the software ecosystems because that is pure speculation and anyone claiming otherwise is talking out of their ass.

What I will instead point out is: your hardware is likely to fail in that time period. "Planned obsolesce" or whatever, I don't care how you justify it. The reality is that these contain batteries that will degrade, and eventually fail. That is why anyone with a PSP or a Vita should check if it is bulging and dispose of it accordingly. And I think it is the xbox 360 that has a capacitor that people should cut before it leaks? Or basically any PC from 20 or so years ago where you need to repair the system clock on the mobo.

Hell, people love to talk about how unbreakable and amazing the NES is. Except... just look at GDQ where they have had multiple (?) instances of consoles failing during runs and the runners even talk about needing to source functioning consoles and scrap them for parts. This is why the speed running community went from gatekeeping "Rawr, only original hardware" to "So... those FPGAs are fucking cool, right?"

Much like with PC gaming: having the hardware or even the license does not mean you can play it in ten years without jumping through some hoops that often involve emulation and/or cracks.

The short answer is yes, but you'll have to get used to the reality that Nintendo themselves will not be there for you if anything goes wrong down in those 20 years. There will be third-party fixers and a community of people who'll probably have things made for replacements.

You are far better off using a Switch as opposed to a DS. You can emulate more on a Switch than a DS.

If you can get your hands on a NDS with an R4 for a decent price, I'd say that will give you way better access to a great library of games. The games are going to be simpler and a bit dated, but there are some gems in there. There's no dependency on online and the games will work until the hardware fails

Even with the best care I wouldn't expect it to last 20 years. The switch is nowhere near a well built machine as the DS was. The controllers will be lucky to last a year. They used arbitration to avoid a lawsuit over how crappy the switch is knowingly built. We've been through three since their inception. That being said they're still a lot of fun. They are trying to integrate the sub more, but it's still avoidable on some games. If you buy one get a hard case or at least a somewhat solid case to help support the console with the controllers connected if you decide to play it that way. The way that they're connected with what destroyed them faster for us because you put too much pressure on the controllers and their connection when holding it. Using a case like this for reinforce the controllers and make them last much longer in my experience.

Since the problem of the joycons breaking down has come up a few times, I just want to mention that you can easily couple 8bit-do controllers, or presumably any others, and play with those instead. That's likely to mean they'll be available for a while. Not sure that you can do anything about a DS's buttons breaking

By DS, I hope you're talking about a New 3DS, perhaps XL, and not the older DS models. Installing CFW on a New 3DS is pretty easy, and whether you buy your games or pirate them, there's a giant library that could easily keep you occupied for 20+ years. Even if you stay offline. You can also run emulators, ROMs, and other homebrew to get even more use out of it.

If I was to buy a Switch, I'd want the OLED model, but they're difficult to mod. Unless you have good soldering skills, you'll likely have to pay for someone to install a modchip. That being said, the Switch is significantly more powerful than the 3DS. Will eShop be down for Switch in 20 years? Unfortunately, most likely. But with piracy, or games on cartridges, you could easily enjoy your games in 20+ years. The Switch can also handle emulating a lot of games that a 3DS just doesn't have the power to.

Either system would be fine. I'd lean toward the Switch, unless you really want something that can easily fit in your pocket, can be modded without soldering, and should be a cheaper price point. I have collected every console Nintendo has made so far, and they all still work, as long as you take good care of them. The only exception is the Wii U, mine works, but they're known for bricking because of cheap NAND chips, particularly from consoles sold at launch.

I already did some searching and found that games can be played offline fine (most of them, some exceptions are there like Multiplayer and Mortal Kombat)

Yes, most games will work offline just fine even with a multiplayer mode. (You just won't be able to access multiplayer.) I believe you can still play Mortal Kombat 11 offline but it locks you out of a lot of content IIRC.

There is something like the paid Nintendo Online Account. I am not planning on having a paid account. How much of the system depends on the account?

The account creation is completely free. You can even make a local account but you won't be able to play games online or use the eshop without making a Nintendo account. The only thing you "need" to pay for is a $20 annual Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play your games online. (Note that all games don't require the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, but most do. This includes all of Nintendo's first party IP's.)

Can I have progression in a game (let’s say: one of the Zelda franchise) and will my Wife and Kids all have their own progression, without having to pay for X accounts?

All of your games will have separate saves with different profiles. Note that all of the accounts you make don't need a Nintendo Account, so you can make a Nintendo Account for yourself (which is free) if you want the features it comes with, and local accounts for your wife and kids, and any game they play will have different saves that won't conflict with your saves. The only exception to this that I know of is Animal Crossing New Horizons. You can have different accounts and players on one Switch but you are limited to only one island per console.

People who own a Switch, let’s take this to extremes, do you feel like in 20 years from now you can still do the same things on your hardware as you can do now? (No multiplayer is fine)

Personally, I'm not sure how long the Switch's hardware will last. If the durability and longevity of Nintendo's other consoles are anything to go by, I'd say it has a fair shot of lasting a while; with the exception of maybe a battery replacement and/or new thermal paste. I have both the OG model and an OLED model, and I can say for certain that the OLED model runs cooler and quieter than my OG model. Even if the Switch's hardware fails I will always have my games and saves backed up on my PC so I can always play my games through an emulator on more powerful hardware.

Edit: I completely forgot to mention joycons. I think these will be the first things that get replaced with any amount of long-term use. I've already gone through 4 pairs on my OG switch because of joycon drift. My OLED is holding up fine though (thankfully), but I think the cheaper option would be to just replace the joycon's thumb-sticks with hall-sense sticks, and they should (in theory) last quite a bit longer.

I think people are forgetting the DS part of the question

DS are very cheap second hand and all the game cartridges work in offline mode natively. If you haven't ever owned a DS before you need to pickup a few 3DS XL models ASAP and catch up on that whole generation of gaming!

As for switch people are right below, if you want longterm playability you might need to emulate on a different device like a steam deck. Some switch games need that online 'phone home' to download the game

You can have different profiles to play Zelda but for animal. Crossing for example you'll have to share an island.

None of this requires a subscription. Only online games do

People thought the same thing in 1985. The NES still works.

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Very difficult to predict the future, but my bet would be on no (to the in 20years question).

I doubt the hardware would last 20 years and eventually it'll become hard to source parts as the popularity falls off, even if you could repair it yourself. I'm sure anything with an online dependency will not work either, but offline games have a chance.

But the real question is would you want to use the switch in 20 years (or honestly, even today)? There is already a better alternative (steam deck) with a much more open platform with way more capabilities and I believe it can already emulate Nintendo games (although no first hand experience with that)

I have a switch myself and would never recommend it to anyone personally.

I would be reasonably confident in offline games running in 20 years if you bought the cartridges, if you bought the estore versions I would be significantly less confident.