Nintendo Switch Lite handheld game console coming in September for $200

1. So the thing is that: Yes, the Switch is a portable device but compared to something like the 3DS XL it is just that tiny bit too big and too heavy to bother taking sometimes. Especially as someone who doesn’t disconnect the Joycons very often, I actually really like the look of the Switch LIte.

   But I’m super bummed out that it doesn’t dock. I guess Nintendo figured it’d eat into regular Switch sales if it did.

   I assume that this is to essentially upgrade the 2DS/3DS market, even if Nintendo insist that this isn’t the purpose. 3DSs and PS Vitas have been huge in Japan for ages and for a lot of those people docking might not even be relevant, depending on lifestyle. Also, kids.

2. LOL. Most wise people won’t “get” this. As in, it won’t make sense. Switch was one big compromise with missing titles and then compromised titles because the “console” couldn’t power much. Now this? Weak. Like summer blockbusters, this will sell. Garbage movies sell well too. Uninspiring release by Nintendo but given the lack of competition in this space, I guess it makes sense. Gives more viability to android phones with gaming accessories though. Switch being used as a brand/revenue play. Switch this.

3. For me…nothing about this product makes sense.

   1. I have to imagine there’s a major subset of their customers who ONLY use the Switch in handheld mode – who don’t connect to an external display or use detached controllers. With the smaller size and improved battery life, this is a dream device for that specific customer base.

      It’s either that, or they actually are trying to phase out the 3DS…

      1. TBH, It’s a given that the 3DS is going to be phased out, or rather it already has been for a couple years now. They’re just keeping up appearances for now so that the investors don’t have a total meltdown. They’re very effective at doing this, as they’ve managed to trick millions of people into thinking their new handheld console “can also be a home console”.

4. So it’s a Switch… that can’t switch.

   1. They switched out the switchy features for… non-switchy ones.

      1. Or maybe it means “switch” in a different sense of the word… https://www.dictionary.com/browse/switch

         1. That’s pretty clever. They should hire you, because I don’t think they thought that far ahead.

   2. It’s a switcharoo.

5. My only minor quibble is there is no means for video output, but I honestly can’t blame them. It is clear they left that feature out to fully segment their stack and thereby not risk cannibalizing the sales of the high-end model. Still, I would been enticed to buy this and use it as a media device for travel and home use if it had a video output. Now, not so much.

   1. Is it hard to include something like Miracast or DLNA?

      1. Wifi display mirroring is generally quite bad for fast-paced games.

6. Okay, it makes sense to remove the kickstand.
   It even makes sense to remove the dual-gyros from each JoyCon side.
   (but probably should’ve included a single-gyro for the entire handheld like a phone).
   But it doesn’t make sense to remove the Left Arrow-Buttons.
   Or to remove the HD-Rumble feature.
   It doesn’t make sense to remove the IrDA.
   And makes zero sense to remove the ability to Dock it.

   ….Nintendo is basically killing off the Nintendo Switch, and making it as a 3DS successor.
   Which probably means we won’t get a Nintendo Switch successor, but they’ll keep the Nintendo Switch Lite alongside a future Home-only Console Box. This hypothetical “GameCone” would probably be around the same performance of a PS4… whilst the PS5 and Xbox V will be moving towards the performance of Gaming PC’s (Ryzen 3700X, RX 5700, 32GB GDDR6, SSD support).

   1. They’re keeping the OG Switch around indefinitely, so this isn’t a replacement so much as a cheaper alternative (although one that arguably *is* a replacement for the DS/Game Boy line).

      That said, I do wonder if the launch of the Switch Lite will discourage developers from producing games for desktop/tabletop mode in order to ensure the broadest compatibility… in which case maybe you’re right.

      1. I mean, it starts as a duplicate product run.
         Eventually the Original Nintendo Switch gets/remains expensive, and availability to sellers become reduced artificially by Nintendo and further by the marketing. We’ve seen this happen heaps of times before, companies purposely making decisions to extend profit-margins.

         Before you know it, the Switch Lite is the defacto console. The other 2DS/3DS have been discontinued. And Nintendo is contemplating discontinuing the Nintendo Switch, and prepping their next “GameCone” Home-Only-Console.

         There’s a lot things I don’t like about the Switch, but the concept is not it. I think it’s phenomenal to have a portable device that can double as your home console, sort of like what Laptops did for Computing back in the early 2000’s.

   2. It makes perfect sense to remove all those things on a portable-only version of the Switch. The left arrows are already basically just a D-pad in handheld mode, and the rest reduce both the cost of the machine and the space required for components that are less necessary. Most people wouldn’t miss the IrDA if it were removed from the full-size Switch, let alone a cheaper mini version without removable JoyCons. In fact, of all the things you listed, it probably makes the least sense to remove the gyros because some games actually use those.

      1. Gyros and the TV-out make no sense to remove. Pretty sure a lot of Splatoon fans will be pissed off by their removal.
         As for TV-out, I’m pretty sure it costs them nothing to keep it in.

7. Looks like Sony PSP, but with Mario Cart.

   1. Broooo, i thought it look kinda like Game Gear, but with bigger screen size and thinner… lol

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