This morning, Nintendo announced the next iteration of the Switch console: the Nintendo Switch Lite. A dedicated handheld console, the Lite won’t connect to a TV or do any of the Joy-Con switching of the original Switch. However, for someone who wants to use a Switch exclusively in handheld mode, the console is a steal.

Nintendo Switch Lite

Three colors – turqouise, gray, and yellow. Not to mention a clean light gray Pokemon Sword and Shield variant.

At a starting price of $199, $100 less than the original, the Lite still manages to incorporate a lot of the functionality. A 5.5-inch touch screen, 720p resolution, for example. But, there are also some trade offs. For one, motion control and IR sensors are gone, which could lead to some incompatibility in certain games.

The Lite also boasts a “slightly” better battery life, a more power-efficient chip layout, and no additional batteries in the built-in controllers. As well as actually adding a D-pad, so it’s possible to use that for games.

All in all, the Lite looks like a solid addition, though despite what the trailer shows, I can’t help but feel like it does away with the social aspect of the Switch. Oh well, it’s not like I was playing it with anyone to begin with.

The Lite launches on September 20th. Check out more detail on Nintendo’s website.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. My issues with it haven’t changed. While I play in handheld mode a lot, several games, including some marquee titles (Mario Odyssey and Pokémon Lets Go) require motion controls. You cannot play all aspects of the game without a large additional purchase, and that’s crap. Worse, since there’s no TV out, that purchase ends up being kind of wasted anyway.

    This feels like they are chasing a price point, instead of trying to get their current system closer to it. The $199 for this feels like it’s a great deal, until you look at the fact that you’d end up spending a huge chunk of your savings on joycons, never get the co-op flavor of the larger one, and have several games you won’t be able to play because of it. I don’t understand why they’re making a system with so many trade-offs, and it feels un-Nintendo.

  2. My joke comment: Finally! A dedicated Tetris 99 machine!

    My serious comments: I don’t think the lack of motion controls is going to be an issue. The video shows people playing Odyssey and BotW.

    I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on the turquiose one. For someone who can’t afford the regular system and the marquee games, it can make for a great budget system for some budget games. And by budget, I mean the indy titles that won’t cost an arm and a leg, of which there are many GREAT quality ones. One could get a Switch Lite and a ton of games for less than the cost of a regular Switch.

    My only concern would be the controller sticks. There’s a known failure rate on them and getting them serviced would mean sending in the whole system.

    One thing I’m wondering is how Switch Online account management will work. Will I be able to use both systems with a single account? Will game save data sync seamlessly and be pushed to other systems?

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