![]() However, finding a way to hold the screen upright for detached play may be a challenge, since there’s no kickstand on the back of the system. You have some recourse, as the Switch Lite can still pair with Switch Pro Controllers and Joy-Cons if you want to save your hands. If you thought the Switch was uncomfortable as a portable device, the smaller Switch Lite may cause more problems for you. My fears from the Lite’s announcement of cramped hands now seem premature, though those with larger hands will still want to try one before buying. It feels like a plastic toy, not a piece of technology, and I say that as a positive. The Lite’s exterior is made of a matte plastic (launching in yellow, gray, and turquoise) that sits well in the hands without being too slippery. True to its name, the Switch Lite is also a bit lighter at around 0.61 pounds versus 0.88 pounds (that’s with the Joy-Cons attached). ![]() The system itself is slightly smaller than the original Switch, as is its display: a 5.5-inch 720p LCD screen instead of the hybrid device’s 6.2-inch screen. HD Rumble and the motion camera have also been removed, which doesn’t seem like a significant loss considering that so few Switch games have made interesting use of those features. (We’ve only had two days with the Switch Lite - not enough time for long-term tests of the analog sticks’ functionality.) This decision remains concerning due to Nintendo’s long-standing issues with controller drift for the platform, considering the inability to replace the Switch Lite’s controls if something goes wrong. The Switch Lite has no detachable Joy-Cons the controls are part of the package, which is a single hunk of plastic. The lack of a TV-out function is the key difference between the Switch Lite and the original hardware, but it’s just one of many tweaks that refocus this system as a pure portable. Photo: Michael McWhertor/Polygon What’s different between the Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch? Which brings us back to the hardware itself. With a $199.99 dedicated portable that plays Switch games. So how does Nintendo get rid of the 3DS while keeping that market? Nintendo knows the value of a low-cost portable one of the reasons the 3DS has held on for so long is that parents love buying less expensive systems for children to take with them when they travel, or just when they want to play something around the house. So why would Nintendo want to remove that choice, drop the price, and compete with its own existing line of hybrid hardware?īecause, as Apple famously proved, you can either cannibalize your own business and paradoxically grow it, or wait for someone else to take market share. Its entire branding alludes to choice: Play on your living room TV, or “switch” it up and play on the go. The original Switch was a fascinating idea, combining the flexibility of portables with the power of a traditional console. But it may be more accurate to say that Nintendo’s portable business has completely engulfed its console business. You could argue that Nintendo’s console business has already taken over its portable business, now that so few games are coming out for the Nintendo 3DS. Photo: Michael McWhertor/Polygon Why does anyone need a Switch Lite? No longer is Nintendo in the discrete businesses of portables and consoles it’s in the business of Switches. But the Switch Lite appears to solidify it. Yes, the original Switch launched this plan a couple years ago. ![]() The company is using its console experience to make a portable more robust as a gaming device than any smartphone, and its portable talent to make a more flexible and mobile console. Rather than fight on two fronts, Nintendo is performing a balancing act that only it has the experience and guts to pull off. For the first time in nearly three decades, Nintendo seems to be consolidating its power around a centralized gaming ecosystem to fend off threats that threaten to undercut its two specialties: The competing consoles have become too powerful and complex, while portable gaming on smartphones has become too cheap and ubiquitous. The answer gets to the surprising gutsiness of a seemingly simple hardware iteration. the Switch! It can be used at home or on the go! Why take away key features when the universal strategy in the tech world is to add, add, add - usually while raising the price? Before I dig into the Nintendo Switch Lite, Nintendo’s lovely portable-only revision of its original hybrid hardware, I’d like to answer the question that seems to follow this release like a buzzy little mosquito: Why does the Switch Lite even exist? The Switch is.
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