Nintendo's Lite switch does not have to change to be a success

Switch Lite, the new version of the standard Switch console, does not really have a switch function. Instead of the removable controllers and TV dock that allow the standard Switch to change shape between a TV console, a portable gamepad and As a mobile multiplayer machine, the Switch Lite focuses much more on just one of these experiences – but it's not a bad thing. Rather, it shows that Switch's audience and call extend to a different market than the full version.

Following the announcement of Switch Lite's announcement, many debates took place on the failure of Switch's idealism in favor of "play-anywhere" multiplayer mode or on the fact that people did not use it. just not with their TV. But unless Nintendo decides to clarify the issue, this is not the problem that Switch Lite is supposed to solve. Nintendo does not sell it to existing Switch owners to replace their existing consoles, and anyone who's already using these modular features is not really the market for Switch Lite.

Picture of James Bareham / The Verge

For example, the existence of the iPod touch did not mean that the iPhone was a failure. It is a similar product, but different enough, to appeal to a different user group, designed to exploit the same ecosystem and applications and place them in front of a larger audience. It's also a similar dichotomy between Nintendo's 2DS / 3DS: 2DS is not an indictment against 3DS; it was an enlargement of the concept.

If you already have a switch, you are not the target market for a Lite switch in the same way that the iPod touch was not designed to be sold to iPhone owners. . A switch Is offer more features, at least on paper. It can connect to your TV, it offers more ways to play specific games and is compatible with crazy experiences like the Lab. But the Switch Lite will continue to play Zelda and Mario and Pokémon and Emblem of fire and Crossing of animals and almost every other Switch game as well and in a way that makes it more accessible and attractive to those who are not already on board.

Are there any Switch players who play their Switch almost exclusively on a full-fledged TV setup? Certainly. According to Nintendo, multiplayer board games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate remain some of the best-selling titles on the platform. For players who like to play this way, this option will stay with the full flip switch, which is not going anywhere. As said the president of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser The edge"The two systems will complement each other and coexist on the market."

But if you do not need this feature, do not play a lot of games on a TV or even have no TV and prefer to spend a third less money without compromising the features of real game, here is the Switch Lite. Nintendo is betting that there are a lot of players that fall into this category, players who do not already have an ordinary switch that Nintendo would like to have as customers. Bowser suggested as many The edge, stating that the decision to launch a smaller and cheaper switch was based on "how we observed [Switch owners] playing."

As Shigeru Miyamoto stated in his presentation for the exercise, "Our ultimate ambition is that a Nintendo Switch belongs not to every family, but to all individuals." that the console can be easily transported and used for competitive gaming via a local wireless connection. The Switch Lite would apparently embody these two goals: a more portable and personal console that leverages some of the Switch's greatest strengths to a more affordable level.

The Switch Lite is further proof that the true strength of the switch is not just its modular nature, but rather its ability to be different for different people. And given the quality of Switch's game library, making it more accessible to a wider audience seems like a good thing.