If Nintendo’s current take on portability is just a little too big and a little too exy for your needs, there’s a smaller and less expensive model on the way.
Ever since Nintendo released its Switch console a couple of years ago, there’s been tremendous interest in the device.
It’s not just because it’s one of the more only portable consoles out there, surviving in a world where “mobile” gaming is fairly reliant on phones and tablets; it’s also because the console is getting games that transcend the typical Nintendo fare.
While you can generally expect Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon to make an appearance, more adult games are coming to the Switch, as well as a lot of smaller and more independent titles, as well.
Nintendo has also made the Switch more interesting than just another mobile gaming system. It can be plugged into a TV, it can have its controllers separated so two people can play, and the whole thing comes together as a next-generation experiment that worked.
But it’s also a next-generation experiment that will cost you close to $500, and if you have no plans to share your games or dock with a TV, it can be a tad pricey.
This week, however, Nintendo has revealed a new version of the Switch that does away with some of those extra capabilities, cutting the size, the weight, and the price down in the process.
The new Switch is called the Switch Lite, and it’s basically a variant of the Nintendo Switch dedicated to handheld gaming, using much the same internal hardware, but changing the external design a little.
It’s a little slimmer, a little lighter, and lacks the HDMI port, meaning it can’t be plugged into a TV like its older brother. The controls also can’t be disconnected from the main unit, making it more like a traditional portable than the experiment-that-worked that is the Switch. There’s even a slightly smaller screen, reducing from the 6.2 inch on the Switch to a 5.5 inch on the Switch Lite.
The new Switch Lite will still play all of the Switch games, so it’s not like you’re getting less of a system, just a more dedicated handheld, and one that retails for a little, arriving for $329.95 in three colours from September 20.
Depending on if you’ve spent the money on a Switch yet, that might mean you’re waiting until September to get a Switch priced a little better than its predecessor, though in that time, you can brush up on the previews and think about what’s coming.
