Contents
- 1Can I connect my Nintendo Switch to my laptop?
- 2What is needed to connect your Nintendo Switch to your laptop
- 3How to configure a capture card for your laptop
- 4Can I connect my Nintendo Switch to my PC?
- 5Another way to play Nintendo games on your laptop
Nintendo switch officially allows gaming on its own screen in handheld mode and on a connected TV screen when docked, but these aren’t the only options. You can connect the Switch to a laptop and play games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Animal Crossing New Horizons on your computer. But it takes a bit of work. Here’s how to do it.
The instructions in this guide apply to the original Nintendo Switch console and not the Switch Lite.
What is needed to connect your Nintendo Switch to your laptop
To view the gameplay of the Nintendo Switch on a laptop, you need to purchase an HDMI video capture card. This is necessary because laptop models generally do not support HDMI In functionality.
You may remember using an HDMI connection to mirror your computer screen to a monitor or television screen. This is an HDMI out port and cannot be used to import other media onto the laptop screen.
Any capture card can be used for this process as long as it has a USB-C connection and an HDMI input port. There are several very good capture cards to choose from, but Elgato cards are generally considered the best option by gamers due to their affordability, build quality, and ease of use.
For these instructions, we used an Elgato HD60 HDMI capture card and the free Elgato Game Capture HD software. The capture card can be purchased from Amazon while the software can be downloaded for free from Elgato’s official website.
If you use another capture card to connect your Switch to your laptop, the steps should be almost identical. Likewise, most game capture software works the same way, so if you have another program that you prefer to use, you can use it instead of Game Capture HD.
How to connect the Nintendo Switch to a laptop
To play the Nintendo console on your laptop, you basically use your laptop monitor as a television screen, so you can leave the console on its base during this entire setup process.
- Disconnect the HDMI cable from the Nintendo Switch from the TV.
- Plug the HDMI cable from the Nintendo Switch into the HDMI input port of your Elgato HD60 HDMI capture card. This entire process can take a lot of power, so it’s a good idea to connect both your laptop and the console base to a power source.
- On your laptop, open Game Capture HD.
- Turn on the Nintendo Switch console by pressing the Home button on any connected controller.
- Connect the USB cable that comes with the Elgato HD60 to the capture card and your laptop.
- After a few seconds, you should see the Nintendo Switch home screen within Game Capture HD.If the Elgato Game Capture HD software does not detect the Nintendo Switch, make sure the HDMI cable is connected to the input port of the capture card and not the output port. It should be on the same side as the USB cable.
- Select the full screen icon in the upper right corner of Game Capture HD. The program should fill the entire screen.
- Be careful not to touch the mouse or keyboard. Now you can play your games with the Nintendo Switch on your laptop just like you would on a television.
This same technique can be used to view media from any other device that has an HDMI cable, such as a Blu-ray player or Xbox One console.
How to set up a capture card for your laptop
If you can afford a decent capture card with USB 3.0 Type-C support, check out the Elgato Game Capture HD60 S. It costs around $ 175 and allows you to play your Nintendo Switch on your laptop without experiencing any lag. The HDMI cable goes from the base of the switch to the capturer, and the USB 3.0 connector goes from there to your laptop. Just download the Game Capture HD program from the Elgato website, and you’re done. It is perfect for anyone who travels and cannot carry a monitor everywhere.
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Can I connect my Nintendo Switch to my PC?
Just not directly, you would have to use the above or connect it directly to the monitor.
Another way to play Nintendo games on your laptop
If you don’t have an HDMI capture card and can’t afford one, a solid alternative is to play the PC versions of your favorite Nintendo Switch games on your laptop.
With the exception of top-tier franchises like Super Mario, Animal Crossing, and Pokemon, many of the video games available on the Nintendo Switch can also be purchased from the Microsoft Store app store on Windows 10, Epic Games, or Steam. Some popular online games, like Minecraft and Fortnite, even support cross-storage between devices. This means that you can continue a game you’ve started on the Nintendo Switch on your laptop, and then bring all of that progress back to the Switch when you’re ready.
If you find yourself buying console games on PC on a regular basis and you have an Xbox One console, you might want to take a look at Xbox Play Anywhere titles. These allow you to buy the console and PC versions of the game for the price of a single game.
Many Nintendo Switch controllers are also compatible with a laptop or desktop computer, so in most cases you won’t have to learn new controls either.
