Nintendo unveiled its new Nintendo Switch Lite today, detailed in a video here. Designed to be a solely portable and more affordable version of the Nintendo Switch, the handheld is set to launch on September 20th of this year with a price of $199.99.
The system will be available in three colors: yellow, gray and turquoise. It will be a slightly lighter and smaller system with a little more battery life for on the go. The Lite will have a much requested D-pad (or as Nintendo says, +Control Pad) but will not include the removable aspect of Joy-Cons or HD rumble. This means that the system will only be able to run games that support handheld mode.
The system makes sense given the upcoming release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. The Lite is about a third of the price of a base-model Nintendo Switch and will allow for an even more expansive audience. To coincide with the release of Pokémon, Nintendo will have a Zacian and Zamazenta-themed Nintendo Switch Lite dropping on November 8th, 2019, just in time for the holiday season.
The Nintendo Switch Lite somewhat resembles the jump from 3DS to 2DS with what seems to be catering to a younger audience. The response online seems akin to that of the 2DS, with many Switch fans hoping for an upgrade instead. We will just have to see how the Switch Lite sells.
All images provided by Nintendo