We had already smelled it of a possible announcement in the air, and we had even talked about it in an editorial not long ago: although in fact the announcement of Nintendo Switch Lite on the occasion ofE3 2019, the big N had never been quite ready to deny the company's possible interest - and involvement - in developing a smaller and more affordable variant of his acclaimed consul.
Nintendo Switch Lite was therefore unveiled to the public today, through a nice presentation video that shows the features. More compact and, above all, more flamboyant and colorful than its older sister, the new version will land on the international (and therefore world-wide) market. 20 September 2019, and will be available in three variants: gray, yellow and turquoise. But what can this strategically revised console really offer to the public, to those gamers who do not yet have the top of the range?
Designed as a purely portable console
Nintendo offers the Lite variant of the hybrid console to all those players who are always on the go. Nintendo Switch Lite it is in fact a compact, light console with integrated controls, thus presenting itself lighter and more practical than its older sister. Being though without Joy-Con and IR camera, the machine is compatible only with Nintendo Switch software that can be played in portable mode. Despite this, however, the console is still ideal for those who always have many opportunities to play outside the home, and also for those who want to have fun in multiplayer online or local wireless with friends and family who already own a top-of-the-range Nintendo Switch console.
Furthermore, the Nintendo Switch Lite console has been designed to play on the go it does not transmit the image to the TV. It is therefore not compatible with the dock included in the standard version and does not even have an HDMI output that still allows you to connect it to a larger screen. Quite obvious choice, perhaps, by Nintendo, and also very interesting from a particular point of view, as it confirms how much - although many users use the standard console especially in handled mode - Nintendo Switch remains mainly considered a stationary machine.
Features and technical specifications
The console essentially looks like a revised version of the standard Nintendo Switch console, with some disclaimers and other interesting features. First of all, the screen that mounts this new version is slightly smaller than the one mounted on the standard, being in fact from 5,5 inches. Despite its slightly smaller size, however, it is also made with technology LCD, is of type capacitive touch screen and offers a resolution of 1280 × 720.
While not mounting the sensor for automatic brightness (which will force players to manually adjust it), the screen could still be made with matt finish, and not as shiny as the current top of the range: to give us a clue would in fact be a small detail of the presentation video, in which the president is preparing to play outdoors on a particularly sunny day - so much so that he has to cover his eyes with the hand.
Small in size, however, is also the entire body of the machine: Nintendo Switch Lite measures in fact 91,1mm x 208mm x 13,9mm and weighs 275g, against the 102mm x 239mm x 13,9mm and 398g (Joy-Con included) of the top of the range, while the battery offers a capacity of 3570mAh compared to the 4310mAh of the bigger sister. Despite this "thinning", however, the Kyoto house has still optimized the hardware flawlessly, so much so that an even higher duration is guaranteed, in terms of autonomy, when compared to the standard console: according to what was communicated, in fact, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, will require players on Lite to rely on an electrical outlet after 4 hours of use.
As for the other specifications, however, we emphasize that the machine mounts a NVIDIA Tegra processor, has a 32GB system memory (expandable with a micro SD, microSDHC and microSDXC), motion sensors such as accelerometer and gyroscope, offers a connection Bluetooth and NFC (ergo, compatibility with amiibo) and a restyling of the buttons, proposing the classic ones directional crosses. We reiterate, however, that the functionality of theHD Rumble and those offered by IR camera, not supported by this cheap version.
Price and bundle at launch
The launch of the Nintendo Switch Lite is currently scheduled for 20 September 2019, while the price of the console has not yet been announced for the European market, although in the United States it has already been set at dollars 199 - excluded taxes. September 20, by the way, is the same launch date as the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening; possible and not to exclude, therefore, a possible launch in bundle of the console with the digital version of the title, similar to what could also happen with Sword and Shield Pokémon.
At the moment, in fact, a special edition dedicated to Zacian e Zamazenta, the two legendary Pokémon of the eighth generation, which will boast a beautiful gray body with cyan and magenta keys and illustrations of the two creatures on the back. This edition will be available in Japan and North America shortly before the official launch of the titles (and only while stocks last), namely theNovember 8 2019, but it would be interesting if a pack with the two titles were also proposed in the wake of what has been done previously for Pokemon: Let's Go.
The future of the 3DS and Switch family
Nintendo Switch Lite, however, contrary to what many gamers suspect, will not be the successor of the Nintedo 3DS. This choice by the company was confirmed by the CEO of the American division himself, Doug Bowser, who openly explained how the intent is to continue "supporting the 3DS family as long as there is demand."
But how will Nintendo behave with the title park of the Nintendo Switch family? Single and shared catalog, with the respective shortcomings and limitations that the simple Lite version will have to endure (but remember, which can be circumvented with the purchase of a couple of Additional Joy-Con), or catalogs that, over time, will differ to be specific for the two variants and their respective owners? At the moment Nintendo has not intervened on this detail, but it would be quite unlikely to see a clear division marked for one and the other version.
In any case, if attracted by the attractive price you are already evaluating the purchase of the device but you are still quite unsure, on the official website it is possible to make a small comparison to observe in more detail what the two variants offer, and which of the two may possibly do for you.
