When Nintendo revealed the Switch Lite to the world in July, it was evident the new system was aimed at a different and arguably much younger market. This was reflected in the price of the unit, which according to Takashi Mochizuki of The Wallstreet Journal, was an ongoing concern for Nintendo during the development phase.
Mochizuki said Nintendo was very eager to capture the "low end" market by pricing the system below $199.99 / £199.99. Suppliers reportedly stated how the Japanese company even tried to "aggressively" cut the costs of the system prior to its release, and one executive claimed they "battled" Nintendo for months on end over the pricing of a key component.
Given the success of the low-cost 3DS / 2DS line with younger audiences, it's easy to see why Nintendo would be so keen to drive down the costs of the Switch Lite. The new unit and new software – like Pokémon Sword and Shield – is expected to help maintain the Switch sales momentum this holiday season.
The WSJ also mentioned how Murata Manufacturing Co. is a new "lithium-ion battery" supplier for Nintendo. By having this company compete with TDK Corp. (Nintendo's existing supplier), Nintendo hopes to lower battery costs.
Do you think the Switch Lite is reasonably priced? Will you be buying one? Leave a comment below.
[source wsj.com]
Comments 75
I wonder if the "one house one system" idea of a home console has hurt them. After all, they ideally would get that one home console into a house and often a 3DS for every gamer. I know some houses are multiple swiitch owning houses, but it doesn't seem as common as a household with many "traditional" portable gaming systems in the past. This seems like an attempt to replicate that.
Screen seemed far less clear and vibrant on the Lite, the main reason I let my wife have it and stuck with my original Switch. Could have used a cheaper component there. The system did feel pretty sturdy though.
@Corbs but will the joy con not drifting be the sturdy part we need, that's all we need to know at this point.
@Xelha Hopefully. You'll have to send your whole Switch in if the sticks start acting up.
As long as there’s no compromise on quality
I don't know about other countries but in mine (Hungary), you pay the price difference of one AAA game and you can buy the real Switch with the full functionality.
As for me, I'd think about buying the Lite as a second Switch console if it was ~125-150 pounds but with its current price (and possible controller drifting problems), I see absolutely no reason to buy an inferior product.
I hate the WSJ. What do they know? Clearly they were wrong about their leak that Nintendo would release a slightly more powerful switch this year and also a cheaper model. The WSJ is why we can't believe in rumours.
They may well have done this. But in my opinion the device is not worth 200 dollars. It's at best a 140-150 dollar device. That's how highly I value the TV functionality, swappable joycons, and HD rumble.
@sixrings
Well technically they were right that there was a cheaper SKU and a more powerful model. It's just that the powerful one had it's extra "power" used to extend battery life and it has almost silently replaced the existing model.
If you buy a Switch now you're not buying the same Tegra chip you did at launch.
For its appearance (to me it looks cheap) and target market I think a max of 159.99 should have been the retail price
It worries me when they try to drive down the cost of batteries because that can lead to cut corners and we know we’re that leads. Most infamously with the Note 7 but there have been other examples too.
I have nothing to say! I find this all rather standard practice.
I think the continued weak pound in recent months has lead to the price parity with the US where the $299:£279 OG model looks a much better deal (the lite should probably have been £169/179 if the pound was stronger). Might have been a factor?
@BarefootBowser yeah the price hikes for dollar parity on all Apple products in September 2017 was eye watering. I do think the lite will be more popular in the US where you can clearly market the $100 difference in price, I think that’s why we’ve seen links awakening bundled in here already.
@Corbs that's weird, all the tests I've seen on youtube say and show exactly the opposite. The screen of the switch lite is, due to the fact that it is smaller (higher pixel density), sharper. And the viewing angles bigger.
This sorta throws a wrench at the idea that Nintendo is "purposely overpricing" the Switch Lite...
I'm sure the pricing it at $199 or £199 means that on Black Friday - the Switch Lite can be Bundled with a game:)
Btw - the switch Lite is not an "Inferior" product - it is a "different" product.
It's actually really good quality, a lovely piece of Kit!
@BarefootBowser WiFi for the system seems pretty standard. Even then, hardly anyone ever reaches the top speed of their ISP. I have 100mps download, but max out around 75 or so. And that's just with my computer's gigabyte Ethernet.
@cfgk24 Different in that it can only do less. So, inferior.
@Corbs ha I bet you didn't tell her that's why she could have it. Thinking of buying one for my missus. I'm sick of seeing her play rubbish mobile phone games
@BarefootBowser Can't believe there's still no sign of Bluetooth headphones
@SpaceboyScreams
I agree with you. It is inferior. But it's only because of the name "Switch" that we think it's inferior.
If they named it, idk, "advanced 3ds" or whatever, then it would be a new product and that's it.
But as "Switch", which doesn't switch, it's inferior.
Mostly what I am bothered with is the battery life. It's ok to have a dedicated handheld, but it should surpass the original "revised" Switch version regarding battery life. But, well, we all know that's not the case.......
You're right. It's inferior in every possible way. Who am I trying to fool. 😃
Lite isn't that much cheaper at all. I paid only 30-40 bucks more for the proper Switch.
I’m still surprised they didn’t add the ability to dock and to sell the dock separately. I mean it would only need a connector which they probably get for $0.50 wired to a circuit board...
@BigE I hear that, my wife loves crappy app games but I just cant get her interested in 'proper' games...🤨
I can’t make my mind up about the Switch in general. I’ve owned every system except the SNES and the Switch but I find that I have little to no enthusiasm for it. My main issue with it is not a criticism at all, it’s just that I have the Wii U and a lot of games for it, so many of the switch titles are just slightly enhanced versions (albeit portable).
However, even at £200 that is a lot of money for a portable device that could potentially get broken and the cost of the games is high as well. For £200 I got an Xbox One with 2 controllers and 3 games last year, which is a much more powerful system with a wealth of titles and good value in terms of sales and gamepass.
The Switch Lite, while I don’t doubt it being a good bit of kit, sacrifices a lot compared to the base model for not a massive difference in price. £200 is hardly money I would spend either on a whim for myself or for my kids. Compare that to Nintendo’s history of handhelds and the brilliant value they have given (£90 for the OG Gameboy with Tetris back in the day or the DS Lite for £100 a decade ago). If I was new to gaming the £79 2DS is what would grab me as a ‘oh, go on then!’ bit of self indulgence. The Switch Lite is too pricy for that and as a second system (why wouldn’t I buy a PS4 for a similar price?)
Don’t get me wrong, I love Nintendo but £150 for the lite, considering what they are positioning it as and considering that it is a major step back from the original model, is far more sensible (cost of parts non with standing).
On the other hand, I got the 2DS first then upgraded to a new 3DS model for all the bells and whistles and honestly wish I hadn’t bothered, so perhaps the Lite is sufficient (if only as a 3DS replacement for pure handheld).
If i do ever ‘switch’ I’ve got a funny feeling it'll either be at the end if it’s life or as a gift. Currently it is just too expensive as either a second system or a handheld (when I was a PS2 player I bought the GameCube as a second system for £70. At that price you’d be daft not to!)
@Gamecuber Given that the Gameboy was released in 1990, if you take inflation into account, the cost in today's money is over £200 and around £150 for the DS. When I take into account the weak pound also, the price is exactly what I'd expect.
@westman98 Lol. Compare that price with the price of equally powerful smartphones and you'll see the Switch Lite is very cheap. I doubt Nintendo make any profit on it.
@Deljo exactly the same here
Make no mistake. Nintendo are still targeting a "toy" demographic, where price point is everything, and supplying them with components is never likely to be a gold-mine.
Elititst may think the devices are underpowered, but considering what you get, there's a lot of functionality in place for your dollar.
Thanks wall street journal, I would have never expected for Nintendo to have cut cost for a cheaper console.
The Switch was never the portable device to replace the DS. It was not so much pocketable as bag-able. The Switch Light is expensive for the market it is assumed to be aimed at, the childrens market. Although I would dispute that because a child would be up to about age 6. Any older and they are quite capable of playing on any console with the right game. And Nintendo advertise the Lite as an adult console, that is slightly more portable, not a cheaper console for children, with more expensive games than a DS. 🙃
But Nintendo have created a sort of chatch 22 for themselves, Even if they could lower the Switch Lite price, that would suggest the Switch is overpriced.
People complaining about the UK price are missing two things:-
1) It’s being sold at a price that is already allowing retailers to bundle a game (Curry’s have it with Links Awakening for £199)
2) The incredibly weak pound. Comparing it to prices from 15 years ago is pointless as the opposite was true then.
@electrolite77 it's like gamers are living in a bubble when the UK didn't leave the EU and our economy didn't get curb stomped for the last 2.5 years.
Like it's genuinely a surprise everytime a game or console comes out and we pay almost the same as every other country now.
It's funny because we genuinely have ridiculously unrealistic expectations for our video games.
We still want to pay the same as we did 30 years ago for brand new video games... yet dev times, economy, resources have all changed but our expectations are the same as its always been.
@electrolite77 still a good price but bundled with a game it’s at £219 at curry’s
@1UP_MARIO yup, found out they'd changed this morning when I went to get one! D'oh
It's important to remember the Switch Lite actually costs around £166.60 as 20% of the price is comprised of VAT.
Comments about the value of the pound and the change in inflation are totally valid, so I accept that. However, in terms marketing and how the price of it ‘sounds’ £200 is still strange to me. On the one hand it suggests that the lite is not ‘cheap’ technology and the price suggests a premium device. However, on the other hand, it is still pricing it above the ‘toy’ bracket. I don’t know how others feel about it but £200 for a device for my kids is too much and my eldest is definitely in the age bracket that the Lite appeals to. However, given that kids these days all seem to have smart phones anyway, perhaps my view is a little off 🙂
I still feel that with only a £79 price difference you are loosing a lot of the Switch’s most important features for not a huge difference in price. As others have said, if it still could connect to a TV then the price would make more sense, but the removal of the very thing that makes it so unique is too much to ask. Compare that to the 2DS (£79) to the new 2DS XL (£139.99). Now, there’s nothing wrong with the base 2DS (I love it) but you do get a decent upgrade to the XL which justifies such a difference in price (it’s practically half the price of the XL model for the original). The Switch Lite is a similar situation, offering the same basic abilities of the base Switch, but with many of the things that are special about it as a system removed (I suppose 2DS vs new 3DS XL might have been a better example).
I don’t want anyone to feel I don’t like the idea of the Lite but it is still an expensive bit of kit which pales into comparison to the original machine. At a lower price point it would make more sense to lose so much of the originals appeal.
But to paraphrase a much wiser man than I: ‘well, like, that’s just your opinion, man’
Shame they werent successful.
When is Switch Pro coming?
@BigE right? For a portable system in this day and age you’d think it would have it (along with the headphone jack too). It would be another reason for older, existing fans to switch to the lite as well as kids coming into the system.
If they could simplify the game save sync issue between consoles (for all games), I'd add a Lite to the stable for $189. If they had put a 3ds gameslot on it so that families could still leverage their 3ds game libraries, I would have pre-ordered. We'll, maybe not. Those colors suck.
@kepsux it has not hurt them at all. They are selling an incredible number of units and the software sales are very high as well.
It’s never gonna happen, but if I could hop between the two versions as seamless as Google is offering with Stadia, I would bite in a second. I would love a beater Switch that I didn’t have to baby as much, but I’m all about the OG Switch and will never give that thing up.
@BarefootBowser Yeah, it's not rocket science, but cross device syncing between phones, e-readers, email and most other things requires little if any thought. I'd settle for something close to StreetPass level here. When my two Switches are near each other, sync the latest game state info. LoFi solution: Let me buy an Amiibo that that I can tap on one and then tap on the other to move save data.
I presume the switch life is more sturdy compared to the original switch. My OG switch feels like the plastic is moving when I touch it.
@barefootbowser yeah, that was another thought I had. However, that really means that it is not a direct replacement to the 3DS.
Btw did you mean iPod shuffle (lack of screen etc)?
@Corbs odd I find it to be complete opposite. Especially strange when you consider the Lite uses a slightly better and revised screen to the OG.
@1UP_MARIO
Ah, it was £199 yesterday. Shows there’s room though, I’d expect a lot of similar deals come Black Friday.
@Gamecuber
I think the price is about right. I’m sure they would have liked to get it a bit lower but you can’t ignore the effect of a tanking currency and 20% Tax.
As for seeming inferior, as I was going to say to @YozenFroghurt. That’s one persons perception. I wouldn’t buy one myself but as a parent, if my kids were old enough I would be all over this. An £80 saving for a machine that has less moving parts to break and small detachable Controllers to lose is a win-win. Same reason I changed from a New 3DS to a hinge-less 2DS.
@Razer
Totally agree. There’s a race to the bottom on pricing that’s resulted in a lot of modern games being sold for a similar price to what I was paying for Amstrad CPC games 30 years ago. This is despite the massively increased development costs. It’s not realistic and is why publishers are looking elsewhere for revenue (DLC, MTX, GAAS etc).
@electrolite77 yeah. Demand must of been high. Sold out in my local store
@aVagabond it's okay to like an inferior product. At least they made it kinda cute.
@YozenFroghurt for me it’s more like I got you this one because I will have to get another one for the other child’s birthday and I can’t afford 3 full fat switches. Kids are super expensive as it is so a cheaper lite version is very very welcome. I also wouldn’t say it’s aimed at children because they aren’t covered in unicorn pink and wizard purple but they are more suitable for children that is for sure. Im obviously talking about younger children. me as a teenager would have been asking or saving up a full fat one without a doubt
@ozwally i bought one and I wouldn’t say it feels cheap... i’m actually enjoying playing zelda on it (i already have a day one standard model)
@Corbs "Screen seemed far less clear and vibrant on the Lite, the main reason I let my wife have it and stuck with my original Switch."
That's strange, because even on paper the Switch lite's specs call for it to have a brighter and clearer and more color accurate screen. I have one and I can say that the screen on it is better than on my original Switch. Perhaps your unit was busted. You should return it and exchange it.
@CircuitWrangler3 same here, it’s super crisp and luminous
Makes sense. Isn’t the attach rate on Switch rather high? The more systems that are out there the more games people will buy from the massive library. I know I’m having trouble keeping up.
@kepsux Not sure where you've been, but the exact opposite has happened.
The previous model wasn't working that you're speculating Nintendo now wishes they had stuck with. The Wii U was by far their worst performing console in the sales department and suffered from long software droughts.
And only the casual hit with the Wii turned things around temporarily for their console business which throughout the 1990's and 2000's sold fewer systems every generation while at the same time the size of the console marketplace itself exploded.
And worst, Nintendo was losing millions of dollars consistently the last generation and the handheld line that usually bolstered Nintendo's fortunes was under fire by the rise of the smartphone.
The successful in the end 3DS only sold a mere fraction of what the DS did, despite Sony not being a serious threat like they were the previous generation with their PSP. It also required emergency surgery early in life to save it with that drastic price cut a few months after launch and also suffered severe software droughts since 3rd party support that usually concealed those 1st party gaps was a shadow of its former self.
Now, Nintendo is selling essentially one product to everyone and every game they develop can be sold to every current generation Nintendo hardware holder. It's that software (And now, their online service) where the real money is made, which is why platform holders, including Nintendo themselves, sometimes sell the system at below cost to get it into people's hands so they can start buying games and so on.
So I can't imagine any regrets at Nintendo's headquarters or with investors. Nintendo made the brave decision needed to preserve their position as a hardware maker in both the handheld and console marketplace and it has paid off handsomely.
@glaemay
Exactly.
I always find it funny when smartdevice manufacturers create gaming smartphones with similar or better specs than the Switch/Switch Lite, but it turns out they are priced at $1000+ (plus another $100+ for a set of JoyCon-esque detachable controllers that are compatible with ~10 games).
@kepsux
The Switch sold 36+ million units at $300/300€/¥30000 by June 2019, with no official price reduction or new hardware revision whatsoever. I don't think the "one house one system" mantra has hurt the Switch at all.
Heck, there are six(!) 3DS revisions on the market, yet it is the least successful of the four Nintendo handheld systems.
The other article suggesting Nintendo cheaped out on the sticks again is worrying.
I still have a battered PSP with a perfectly functional analog stick. I had to repair the shoulder button contacts at one point but the stick has never failed.
How Nintendo could make the Joycon sticks so bad to start with beggars belief, but a second time knowing FULL WELL the drift issues? That’s a full on class action lawsuit: purposefully using faulty hardware.
@Gamecuber I get what you’re saying and if you consider the OG switch comes with a dock that Nintendo sell for £80. If you deduct that from the price of an OG switch then that leaves you with £200 that the Lite costs except that has less features.
Of course Nintendo are making a lot of profit on selling the dock separately (£80 for some plastic and couple of connectors!) but even so it shows a lack of overall value for the lite vs OG switch imo.
For those who are worrying I had play my brother's Switch Lite for over 24 hours now and did not experience any joystick drift yet. I also got the newer longer battery Switch and play that one for over 3 days now and did not experience any joystick drift. I hope to play it for 3 months to see if there's any problem.
@edgedino
SpawnWave took the Switch Lite apart and it appears the Switch Lite controllers are the same as original Switch. He made a video if you want to see it, the video is on Youtube.
@biglittlejake no need that news has already spread like wildfire that its the same days ago iirc.
@kepsux Been part of the plan all along. Not a new development.
@retro_player_22
Stick drift happens because of extended usage over a long period of time.
24 hours of ownership is not a long period of time.
@retro_player_22
Me had drift stick at 13 months. Me no happy. Me have to buy new drift sticks to carry on playing game.
But me love Switch long time.
Lots love. Xxxxxxx
@Scott_PdP You can do that with amibo? Does that include all save data?
@BlackTalon2 Sadly, no. I was just suggesting ways that Nintendo could have made owning two Switches better by allowing us to sync all game save data. There are several technical solutions, but using Amiibos would have been simple.
@BarefootBowser honesty, I would not worry about it, most soc's like switch, phones and tablets have limited bus bandwidth. So they always have lower wifi results, as long as it works for online gaming your good.
@RadioHedgeFund @RadioHedgeFund
Had my original switch since day one and logged more hours then my Xbox one. Not one single drift issue. Have you had drift issues?
The NSL is for more casual gamers and people who can't afford the regular Nintendo Switch. Making it $100 less and removing some of the features the other console had was key to make it cheaper.
Welp. They failed miserably with that.
Switch Lite's price around here is 250 dollars. Normal Switch is $330. Both very expensive, but Lite isn't worth the 80 dollar save.
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