Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Rory details how Nintendo's smallest Switch finally won him over...
“Yes sir, it’s definitely a sleeper train. Don’t worry.”
The lady at the ticket office chuckled to herself as her colleagues gave her a knowing smirk. There I was: another clueless westerner, fresh off the plane to Bangkok and bamboozled by…well, everything, to be honest with you.
“Alrighty then, if you say so!”
With (slightly) renewed confidence, I head back to the platform and climb aboard the train for a second time. I squint out of the grubby window to confirm the platform number, and I pore over the information on my ticket for what feels like the fiftieth time.
“Okay, I’m in the right place. This is definitely the 10 o’clock to Chiang Mai.”
But I still don’t see any beds. My back starts to ache at the prospect of spending the next 14 hours in an upright position. But I keep faith in the ticket lady’s words.
For a moment, I prise my eyes away from the impressively plump rat that had been scurrying around the tracks, and I look up to see a train guard sporting an immaculate green uniform, and an equally uptight expression.
He reaches up to the overhead luggage compartment, and, with a turn of the special tool hanging from his neck, reveals…oh, Christ. Not a luggage compartment at all, but my bed for the night. It’s like a dinner tray! Little wonder I hadn’t seen it.
I clamber my way up a rather sketchy-looking ladder and have a giggle to myself as I try to wedge my six-foot-four frame into a definitely-not-six-foot-four space. To further compound my misery, it’s September in Thailand, and the humidity is punishing.
I always said a Switch that couldn’t be docked was a non-starter for me.
Two nights of (very) solid partying at the Mad Monkey hostel ensure that my sleeping pattern is in tatters too, and, as the train pulls away, screeching and bouncing as it goes, I realise that the carriage lights are staying on for the whole journey. It’s going to be a long night.
At this point, I’ve already demolished the Citrus Twist Lay’s (absolutely elite, btw) and double-stuffed Oreos I’d bought for the journey, so I can’t even eat the boredom away. Luckily, I have an ace up my sleeve.
Pre-flight checks
You see, a few weeks previous, I had been carrying out last-minute packing rehearsals, and it turns out that cramming your entire life into a 40-litre Osprey backpack doesn’t allow for quite as much opulence as you might like.
My ‘going out’ shoes are the first casualty, but with each zip-seam-busting attempt, it is clear that I am going to have to make some pretty severe cutbacks. Either that or buy a bigger backpack, but honestly, ain’t nobody got time for those checked luggage fees.
So, as I deliberate on which three t-shirts to take and which seven to throw out (I’m new to this, alright?!) my laptop makes way for a slimmer tablet and mini Bluetooth keyboard. At this point, the weight reduction is becoming a bit of an obsession. I feel like a McLaren engineer.
I unzip the front compartment and see my OG launch Switch and its big, bulky case staring back at me. To my newly-obsessive eyes, it’s monstrously huge. I begrudgingly start to envision nine months (!) without a second playthrough of Metroid Dread, and…actually, you know what? That doesn’t seem so bad.
After all, I’m going travelling! I’m going to be jumping off waterfalls, riding motorbikes to white sand beaches, climbing mountains and partying every second of every day and night with young, beautiful people! Surely I won’t have time to be worrying about my GRID Autosport lap times, for crying out loud.
A change of heart
“But…we could just buy a Nintendo Switch Lite…” whispers my subconscious, in almost Sméagol-like fashion. “What will master do on that tricksy 18-hour flight? Read 'books'? What’s books, precious? What’s books, ey?!”
[Switch Lite] turned out to be a properly meaningful upgrade in more ways than I could have imagined
Sméagol had a point. You won’t see it on those glossy Instagram reels, and travellers’ tales are usually filled with talk of sunrise visits to Buddhist temples rather than 19-hour bus journeys, but guess what? Travelling a continent as vast as Asia does tend to include a lot of…well, travelling! Who’d have thunk it?!
And so the Switch Lite started to sound like a decent option. Thing is, I wasn’t exactly bowled over by its reveal.
“A Switch that can’t switch?! No kickstand, no rumble, no detachable Joy-Con? And why is it so cheap looking?!”
I always said a Switch that couldn’t be docked was a non-starter for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve played Rocket League on the can with the best of ‘em, but there’s just something about throwing games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild onto a 55” screen that just makes me feel more…invested.
Every little helps
Besides, how much of a difference could swapping from a Switch to a Switch Lite really make?
Well, reader, after spending an evening Ground Pounding my clothes (that were now rolled up into a compression cube, fyi) into oblivion, I can confirm it turned out to be the difference between being able to cram my filter bottle into the front pouch, and potentially catching some sort of waterborne disease.
Of course, I lost that bottle in a Vietnamese hostel after about 10 weeks, rendering the whole operation completely meaningless, but you know what? I’m still SO glad I brought the Lite with me; it turned out to be a properly meaningful upgrade in more ways than I could have imagined.
Fun in the sun
I picked mine up from the (admittedly often nefarious) world of Facebook Marketplace for just £80
You see, a gentleman of my age has extinguished enough birthday candles to recall the days of the Game Boy Advance and original Nintendo DS, both of which, while fantastic handhelds in their own right, didn’t exactly boast the most impressive displays.
Thankfully, I found the 720p panel on the Nintendo Switch Lite to be an absolute marvel. Even in the intense sunshine of northern Thailand, the screen’s peak brightness of 380 nits meant that reflected glimpses of my double chin (curse those Oreos!) were mercifully rare.
As a result, navigating Metroid Dread’s dingy, subterranean corridors was an effortless affair, even during the two days I spent cruising down the Mekong River on the legendary ‘slow boat’.
And as I recalled fond memories of seeking shade in the playground just to get walloped at Metroid Prime Hunters, I couldn’t help but think we’ve come a long way.
Playing with power
Coming from the HAC-001 model, the increased battery life was a huge boon, too; when you’re living out of a bag and dashing about here, there and everywhere, keeping your devices topped up on power isn’t always the first thing on your mind, so it was nice to know that missing a charge wasn’t the end of the world. Especially when your charging setup would sometimes look like this...
Not only does the Lite last longer on a single charge when compared to the launch model, but the smaller 3,570 mAh battery means it’s also quicker to charge and ate up less of my powerbank’s juice – an absolute lifeline for any traveller.
Sharp & sturdy
Much was made of the decision to feature non-removable Joy-Con on the Lite, and whilst the move certainly isn’t without its drawbacks, I was definitely glad of the console’s increased sturdiness on the occasions where I dropped my backpack to the floor in sweaty, dramatic exhaustion. This happened a lot.
And then there’s the improved picture clarity. Games that run at native 720p look impossibly crisp and sharp on the Lite’s smaller, more pixel-dense screen. The effect is doubly impressive when games also happen to run at 60fps, such is the case with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD which looks worlds apart from its muddier Wii debut.
And the best part? I picked mine up from the (admittedly often nefarious) world of Facebook Marketplace for just £80. It was in practically mint condition, and by the time I’d pawned my launch Switch off, I was actually £50 in the black.
Stickin' around
Recently, the Twittersphere has been awash with talk of the Switch’s ageing hardware becoming a bit long in the tooth, and with the recent Bloomberg report suggesting that Nintendo is actually ramping up production in 2023, it seems we won’t be getting a new hardware revision in the immediate future.
And honestly, I’m fine with that. Barring any major catastrophe, I’ll be there Day One for a Switch successor, sure. But in the meantime, I’m still blown away every time I fire up my tiny little Switch Lite and watch it chew through something like Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, no matter what the “anything under 4k/144fps is TOTALLY UNPLAYABLE!” crowd say.
Now that we can be fairly sure a hypothetical Switch 2 isn't an immediate concern (and now that I’m not jetsetting all over the gaff) I won’t lie: I am in the market for a Switch OLED, mainly so I can play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as the good lord intended: on a mahoosive telly.
But don’t let that take anything away from the Switch Lite; for what it set out to be, it couldn't really have been much better.
I ate some incredible food on my travels – seriously, if you’ve never had pad krapow or panang curry, sort it out – but equally sweet was the slice of humble pie I was served up by Nintendo.
Back in Blighty
I’m now regrettably back in the frozen wastes of the British Isles after my trip was cut short. I won’t go into too much detail, but suffice it to say I won’t be attempting to break up any more street brawls if I ever do muster up the courage to return to the Philippines.
But what have I learned from backpacking South East Asia for three months?
I learned that, despite its misleading name, 7-Eleven is actually open 24-hours and is in fact our lord and saviour; life means absolutely nothing without having people you love by your side; and Nintendo is still the undisputed king of producing affordable handheld video game systems.
The Lite isn’t just a lesser Switch; it’s pound-for-pound portable perfection.
Comments 100
It really is easier to tote around. I try not to as much as possible, since I love the screen on my SWOLED, but sometimes it's simply just easier to play on my Lite, and that's what it's there for.
It's my main console and has been so for years, despite the fact it's actually my sister's, and I think at this point it might be one of my favourite consoles. If at any point there is a OLED Lite model, I'll probably get one for myself. If there isn't one, though, I'll be perfectly happy getting a Lite.
Removed - off-topic
I’m abroad right now very far from home and my Switch Lite is the only technology comfort I need these days. I think Nintendo could shrink its footprint even more and I’d love it if they did
Great story! I did the same trip to Chiang Mai decades ago with a GBA. The two senior train staff came and joined us for an all night Mario Kart session. Total blast. The Lite is almost perfect. An OLED screen and a mini HDMI would make it perfect
@Scooby-Doo yes all of this. And an HDMI.
I would honestly love to have a Switch Lite as my secondary console (also, thank gosh for Nintendo giving that feature). I'm starting to experience an issue with Joy Cons that I think many are also experiencing, and it's the second worst thing behind drift... could actually be worse than drift.
The Switch Lite is my console. Praise the proper d pad. I just wish they had an OLED model available
That was a fun and informative read. Thank you!
Now, I'm much more of a TV gamer than a handheld one. I wish my 3DS had a way to hook up on the TV like the PSP.
Still glad the Lite can be useful for other types of players
That's the beauty of the Switch lite or standard OLED. It can go anywhere but this is lost when you talk to those who diss the Switch as underpowered without thinking ahead.
..the drift...when will it go away...
I have significant vision impairment but even so I purchased a switch lite a couple years ago as a secondary, more portable system, and I have to admit that despite text being painfully tiny, the screen is indeed very crisp and looks amazing. It actually looks MUCH better than the stretched pixel disaster of the OLED. Now if only Nintendo could go the way of the 2DS XL and make a basic but large handheld only version of the switch in LCD at an affordable price for the masses (and the many aging gamers with vision impairment). 🤓
this reads like J Peterman copy.
@ModdedInkling
seems if you got a lite and it had drift it'd be a much bigger deal.
@Kiyata You just said you don't like the stretched pixels on the SWOLED, though. That would also be a problem on a larger LCD screen. The colors would just be less vibrant as well.
Portability to take big games is the reason why I don't have a PS5 or new Xbox, or even the Steam deck which is still too bulky for a handheld. Switch will always reign supreme in this factor.
The only things stopping me from grabbing a lite for couch play is the face nintendo won't allow my games to be on two systems at the same time. I have over 100 Switch games. Another thing is the drift. It just don't make sense to buy something that will 100% break and drift.
Now if only it could combine play count hours with your other switch... My biggest pet peeve about having two switches is that play timing restarts on each system.
I own the Lite and the OLED. I actually prefer the picture quality of the Lite. The OLED colors are brighter but the Lite has a smoother looking image overall. Certain titles can look overly choppy on the OLED Switch.
My only Switch is a Switch Lite, and I absolutely love the thing.
@-wc-
It'll always be Burma to me!
🎵 Backpacking through SE Asia
Loaded!
Loaded!🎵
Great Priest tune
LOL I noticed my newest Milwaukee drill bag was MADE IN MYANMAR and I had two thoughts:
1) 😬
2) "It'll always be Burma to me."
PS - I've been meaning to get into Judas Priest for years, especially since hearing Death's insane cover of Painkiller! final track, final album 🤘😖🤘
what's the best Priest album IYO?
An OLED Switch Lite that could dock would be the perfect version of Switch for my needs!
I like all these people that don't have a Switch Lite, but are SO sure it has drift issues, will break etc.
I've had mine for almost 3 years now and have so far played around 930 hours on it, and I haven't had a single issue with it.
Okay serieus, this was actually a great read!
5*
If you’re into travel. I recommend a portable 4g LTE wifi hotspot. I use Prolink PRT7011L - it’s just a bit bigger than a joycon, you can stick it in your pocket.
Then when you’re overseas, buy a sim card with data for it (can even purchase in convenient store). Here in Indonesia, i buy 35 gigs at 4g LTE speed for only $7 and lasts me a month. Then you’ll have internet for your smart phone, computer & switch without using expensive international data plan.
When the Switch Lite was announced, I was one of those people who thought a Switch that couldn't Switch. What's the point? But I ended up buying one a few months after release (yellow) and it became my main since I play mostly portable. Then I bought the grey, turquoise, & Pokémon Sword & Shield lite consoles. Years later my Switch oled is my main portable go to because of the big beautiful screen and better battery life. But I sometimes use a lite to do some grinding in an rpg. Other then that they mostly go unused...
@The-Chosen-one Thank you! 😊
@Axecon I'm always on the lookout for a quality Steam Deck Lite. There are some competitors, but QC seems to be an issue.
I never play my Switch in handheld mode, I always use the Lite. The Switch is too big for handheld. The Lite is perfect.
As a handheld, the Lite is far superior to the regular Switch.
-Excellent D-pad
-Feels sturdier
-More comfortable
-Faster battery charge and longer lasting
-Better form factor
-Crisper looking image
@Ralizah the stretched pixels in LCD versus OLED are vastly different though. On OLED it is a hot mess. On LCD it’s just a slight blur effect at most. And with LCD it’s cheaper to make, and thus would be a bit more affordable not only for Nintendo but for the gamers purchasing it. Also some people with severe astigmatism or other certain vision problems get very sick playing on OLED but do not have those issues with LCD.
@-wc-
Only ever ran into drift once on my Joy Cons, and if the Switch Lite was my secondary console, I wouldn't be so screwed.
I’m still inclined to take my switch when I travel. Likely because I am only traveling domestically (mostly) and thus my bookbag is solely for electronics. Surface pro 8, portable monitor(which is same size as the surface), switch, kindle, hifi player are all I need. W also tend to toss my dock into my carryon since usually I can get it to work at most hotels. Lite is too small for me but happy it works for others.
This was a great article! More of these please 😃
@NorwegianMate
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/testify_as_to_how_and_why_the_switch_is_your_all-time_favorite_platform?start=40
post #46
KevinPFri 25th Nov 2022
The Switch just wins people over. Commentators can sit on these websites and argue over it's hardware and internal components or power or whatever, but in real world use it's a blast. I hated the idea of the Switch when it first came out and thought it was stupid. I'm 35 years old and grew up with the NES, N64, Sega Genesis, etc. I did NOT like handhelds. Well, fast forward 3 years from the Switch release, and I'm stuck in an airport in Des Moines, Iowa alone for 13 hours and wishing I had a Switch like the person near me.
Then fast forward another 2 years and we're preparing for a 20 hour drive partially across the Country for open heart surgery for my son. I decide to grab a Switch Lite to see if I'll like it. After being able to play in the late hours in the ICU when he's sedated and recovering and I'm kept up at night from the beeps and sounds of a hospital, I realize how amazing this thing really is. After he's released from the hospital, we had 4 days in the hotel in isolation before an outpatient follow up before heading home. That thing entertained me and him for those 4 days. It was a life saver.
I got home and realized I wanted the OLED because of how much I ended up loving the games. I bought it and took it to our family Thanksgiving party last night to let the nieces and nephews play Mario Kart against each other while the adults prepared the meal. My siblings never liked video games, I was the only one in our family who ever really played. Before everyone left for the night, my brother and his wife had ordered a Switch online for their kids for Christmas, my Sister and her husband bought one today, and my Mom and Dad decided they want one at their house for when the grandkids come over.
So what I've learned, is that regardless of what people on this website or others choose to debate about with the Switch, it's just simply an awesome product that can do so much for so many different cases. I absolutely love mind, and I agree and consider it my all time favorite console. Followed by the N64 (nostalgia) and the PS4 (game selection).
@ModdedInkling
that's valid. I wouldn't want lite to be my only switch but tbh this comments section is making me want to pick it one up!
imagine if there was only switch lite, and it was dockable 🙀
@SwitchForce Definitely my favourite console as well. Always been more interested in portable consoles. Switch and GBA SP for me ✌️ Still remember that people said the switch would suck because of its portability and the first cliche commercials. But I still love it.
Love my Lite. Over 2,000 hours and no drift yet. (Knocks on plastic)
You know, they wouldn't have as much need for a Lite version if they found a way to keep the Switch a clamshell design.
@sketchturner Not longer lasting than Switch V2 and Oled model.
@-wc-
Honestly, I would be fine with that. However, the games probably wouldn't be as innovative if Nintendo went through with it.
I would have suggested both an ebook reader AND a Switch, alternatively a Retroid 3+ or similar.
Anything more addons on Switch would drive the price above affordable to the masses. They have plenty of other e-devices and mobile phones and tablets that does those other functions.
This is where having options is key. An un-dockable Switch will always be a non-starter for me, but it's nice that handheld-only players don't need to be forced to pay the extra $100 for a feature they'd never use.
The Lite is the perfect handled size and device Period.
The Switch feels slightly too heavy at times, but the Lite is just that. If the screen was just a lil bigger with no bezel and OLED that thing would be amazing. I hope they refresh it in the future.
I love my OLED but a LITE OLED would be king.
TLDR: Get a Switch Lite if your traveling for months living out of a backpack. Everyone else, get a regular Switch.
The lite should have OLED and options to use Dock if they choose as the Joy-Cons don't come off. The Switch Lite can't replace the Switch OLED as it will always have smaller screen and smaller footprint when gaming.
I'm planning a trip abroad this year and I'm obviously going to take my Switch for that flight, and those nights back at the hotel. I've learned a lesson not taking my Switch with my for hotel stays. Usually I take my original Switch, which is an absolute godsend not having to pause progress on a game for a week and then muddle through remembering what I was doing when I pick it up again. But it is rather cumbersome for a flight, right? I have a Switch Lite that doesn't get played, so I was thinking of transferring all the saves to that for when I go. This piece has convinced me it's the right option. Smaller, easier to transport, no need for joy-con. Sorted.
@Chrysologus Ok I thought it was just me. The few times I've taken my Switch out the house, I found myself wanting to bring my pro controller with me, so I can sit the Switch on a table & play it that way because of how off it feels holding it.
I haven’t ever had to pack small, so I’m good with my OLED, but I’m not at all opposed to a Lite. I might get one someday.
Side Note: I live in South East Asia! I’m American but my family moved here last year. The city doesn’t look nearly as nice as where you were, but there are some great views if you go looking for them.😂
A bit overwrought but, yes, dedicated handheld gaming is sometimes pretty good. In fact, there was this whole Nintendo DS/3DS thing a few years ago that we all enjoyed.
The oled is for my home the lite is for travel. Perfect combo
This article makes me want a switch lite but then I keep remembering that I can’t dock it 😩
If it docked or has some way to output to a TV, it would seriously be an instant buy. The OG switch is way too bulky for me to take it out of my house. I still take my 3DS with me because of that. If only the switch lite would have a way to output to TV, even if it was just an HDMI x mini-HDMI, I’d buy it instantly and completely replace my OG version.
EDIT: I also wish I could have the systems cohabitate. Instead, I have to transfer between systems as I go and…switch…and that’s just annoying and time consuming.
EDIT 2: I’d also want a GameCube Indigo or atomic purple color lite.
@ChromaticDracula The system can co-exists you need to have Nintendo Cloud service to save the game so updates on one updates on the other. Some games like Pokémon and ACNH and few other don't Cloud save data. That's the only way to keep up to date game data for those that can use Cloud services.
Nintendo should launch a Switch Lite OLED.
Honest question: What's the point of backpacking in a place if you're just going to ignore your surroundings with a Switch Lite?
Really enjoyed reading this article. Cheers!
Superb article, really fun. Want more of these.
I've had a Switch Lite for a couple of years now & have had a different experience over time than the above for a couple of reasons, keep in mind this is because I also have a main OG Switch too as my primary.
First, when taking it traveling, it needs to constantly check for internet connections and if you forget to do this so it can verify your games before you leave your house, then you won't be playing any of your digital titles. Do this before you leave so you can play NSO NES & SNES games.
Second, if there is another person in your life and you don't make it your primary console, they won't be playing anything on their profile on your trip (this may also resolve problem #1). Even with a family membership, sometimes their cloud saves and ability to play certain titles didn't always work. So I cancelled the family membership shortly after testing.
Third, every year I've had the Lite the battery gets worse and worse. It can maybe last 2.5-4 hours tops instead of 6-9.
I mostly have puzzlers, arcade titles, indies and a few small RPGs, so nothing pushing the boundaries which I keep on my OG Switch. So everytime I boot it up, I have to charge it for an hour. May as well dock it then and play on the TV right? Wrong, the Lite can't do that. So I just start playing my OG Switch.
So fast forward to today, my Switch Lite sits there in its case and I actually prefer to cram my bigger Switch or my Evercade (which doesn't ever need WiFi) with me on the go. I also use roll-up bags (Ziploc sells them) that push the air out of clothes on travel trips & really save a TON of room whilst keeping my clothes waterproof. The way those bags roll allows a small pocket of air for a Switch in a case too hehe. So those are my preferences for travel and I travel quite a bit every year. I'm on a trip right now when writing this and my OG Switch is right next to me.
I think buying a Switch OLED to play on your 55 inch TV doesn't make much sense? Maybe missing a "not" when saying " in the market for a Zelda OLED TO to play on a mahoosive telly"?
Last thing & I'll shut up, really wish Doug Bowser and friends at Nintendo HQ really made it simpler to access digital titles across multiple Switches for those of us travelling.
Anyway, really love that you shared your travel stories, which we saw more of these adventures NLife has been on with their Switches!
This is how I felt about my 2DS.
I went the other way, I initially got a Switch Lite and found that it largely gathered dust (the price of games was a factor as well). Whilst great when I went abroad to visit family, when at home I tended to default to my Xbox.
As my kids got older my son started to really like playing on the Lite. He doesn’t care about whether he’s playing on a tv or handheld. In the end I got hold of a V2 Switch for myself and so we could play on the TV together, which started to get a lot more use. Meanwhile my son continued to love playing on the Lite. So inevitably I gave him the Lite and kept the V2 for me. My daughter now has her own Lite and she loves it too (though she’s not as big into games as her big brother). Recently I got the split pad pro and for me that is a much better handheld option when travelling (storage space allowing).
Honestly though, if Nintendo weren’t so backwards about the account system and I could just pick up and play between different systems without one being the ‘main’ system I might be tempted to get a third Lite exclusively for travelling, thereby not risking the more fiddly V2 Switch. It’s still a lovely little machine, though (just like it’s big brother) it’s murder on the hands without a grip!
@Gamecuber THIS! Totally agree with this! I'd be getting more editions of the Lite if the account system wasn't so backwards. And I love the Split Pad Pro, everytime I switch back to regular joycons, my hands cramp after 20 minutes.
@SwitchForce did you know this can affect your total play time being captured? Example: I have 180 hours of Super Smash play time, 60 hours into my playtime I added my Lite & the system reset the count to 0 and then synced that across to the other console (as if I never played it). So fast forward 120 hours, it still says 120 hours despite it being 180. Super annoying (although it doesn't affect gameplay or my gaming experience), I raised a ticket with Nintendo support and sent screenshots but they could never rectify this or replicate the issue. Same happened for Hollow Knight and some other titles so I stopped playing the bigger games across both systems that I wanted to track total playtime on. Small issue tbh but annoying.
Great article! Fun to read of adventure and being able to take gaming along for the ride.
@SonOfDracula 98% of the time, my Switch was firmly tucked away in my backpack and I wasn't even thinking about it. But like I say in the article, sometimes you'll have huge bus and train journeys with not much to see, or airport delays. Trust me, I was a busy man; spent most of my time adventuring and socialising, but on a three month backpacking trip, you are gonna have some downtime. It's just the nature of it.
You know you're a good writer when we want more details about the trip, and not the Nintendo related thing we are even on this website for. This was great.
If it wasn't such a hassle with cloudsaves/having to be connected to the internet to have two switches I would get one.
@Kilamanjaro strange that was the reasons to have Nintendo cloud save for the game data. Thus is the first I've heard if this or someone mentioning this.
i respect those that love the switch lite but i still prefer having my OLED switch.
The lite was so good and I wish they'd make an OLED version. It feels better to hold because you don't have the wobbly controllers on the side.
@CasuallyDressed Thank you!
Utterly ridiculous. I hope that 2mm extra bag space saved your life, my fanciful friend.
@SwitchForce yeah weird, that's why I upgraded to the Family Membership. It's typically not an issue for my physical carts so I've been purchasing digital a lot less often. Support hasn't really been able to resolve but I'd like it to work all of the time lol
Fun read. Thanks for sharing!
I never plug mine to the TV so I found it weird that they never made an OLED Lite. Makes more sense since than what they have now since it offers nothing that the original doesn't when connected to the TV. I preferred my Lite for its solid feel but sold it because the OLED screen looks better.
@NinjaNicky
that actually doesnt make sense. the benefits of lite (smaller?) are easily matched by the benefits of full size (bigger!)
seems that what you are saying is, your use case would benefit more from a smaller handheld so thats what they should have done. 👍
its odd to me how much people on here who mostly play handheld undervalue the possibility of hooking the switch up to the tv.
one person even told me "it's 'primarily' a handheld." like, what? 🤔
The Switch lite doesn’t…ya know…Switch.
They missed a trick not calling it the Lite Switch
@-wc- «imagine if there was only switch lite, and it was dockable 🙀»
That would be horrible. I have vision problems, and I don't have access to TV. And I never had a PC nor money to buy it. So, that's why I've bought Nintendo Switch. It had the biggest screen among portable/hybrid gaming system before SWOLED's release. And it had games that I wanted to play and buy.
I’m rocking my Animal Crossing system but if they ever announce a Switch Lite OLED, I’d be tempted to pick that up. I’m still shocked that hasn’t been announced.
Lovely article, isn't Bangkok station beautiful.. @casuallydressed travelled through Thailand in 2022, brought my switch of course (with hori-dpad), was there around halloween, so played a lots of Luigi's mansion three on the road...
@SonOfDracula traveling is of Many different thing... looking at beautiful temples is one of them, self-reflection, meeting people and just plain waiting are some of the others... for a lot of those things the switch can play it's part..
@Vyacheslav333
i see your point!
ultimately, i like my OG switch and i have no need for either newer iteration 👍
@WhiteUmbrella huh?
A friend of my daughter needs a Switch Lite suddenly. That’s how the cookie crumbles.
The lite is a great travel console, I got two of them I took offline a while back loaded up with games. It's just a great sized little portable. I always loved the solid one piece design, only drawback is the lack of rumble.
The screen feels too small for some games however
I had a switch lite originally but then I was gifted an Oled and I am much happier. I sold my lite it was way to small for me even though I made due with it for a few years.
Oled id for docked play on the tv and hanndheld play on the couch or bed, lite is my travel switch and it goes everywhere with me. Such a nice little gadget.
I feel like backpacking in any country is a uniquely Caucasian experience.
What a great article 👍 Thanks 😁
@Kilamanjaro you can only have 1 Primary console per account, that's obviously necessary else it be open to abuse. You just need to make your Switch Lite your Primary console
I was put off getting a switch lite due to the fear of getting joycon drift. At least you can just change the joycons on the OG or OLED models. Still, could to read some seem to get long term joy out of it. Good article.
@-wc- it makes perfect sense. The OLED is only worth it in handheld since it offers nothing extra when plugged to the TV so an OLED Lite makes more sense since it's only a handheld and the OLED would be used more. I know people that bought an OLED but only ever use it on the TV which is absolutely pointless. I also never said they shouldn't have made the OLED, I'm just saying an OLED Switch makes more sense and they should have made that too.
Grab the nyko shock n rock and you have an amazing grip for the lite
I had a launch Switch and Switch Lite, and now have an OLED Switch (I gave my sons the launch and Lite when I got the OLED) and I honestly miss the Switch Lite's form factor a lot. The lighter weight and sturdier unibody design just feel so much better for handheld play. I really wish Nintendo had kept the internal hardware to output a video signal via USB-C in the Lite. They could've sold a dock accessory separately to keep the Lite's cost down while giving Lite owners the option to spend more money if they wanted to play on their TVs. If I ever find a good deal on a Lite, I'm going to pick one up again.
@Ralizah
"SWOLED"?
I mean, I totally get it. Sometimes you don't know how useful an item that you have is until you actually have a situation to where you would be able to take advantage of it. That has happened to me countless times, and when you buy those extra accessories, or systems that you think you may never use in the circumstances that you bought them for become useful, it can be a pretty awesome feeling, knowing that you don't have to go out and buy anything else to make it work. Sometimes life events can create new opportunities for ways to enjoy things.
@Mario500 Switch OLED
@SonOfDracula
Thank you for being the ONLY person with common sense so far!
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