Nintendo Switch Lite: Console Could Eliminate Features in Dozens of Games

Nintendo abruptly added a new console to its roster Wednesday, announcing that a new $200 Nintendo Switch Lite would be released in September. The new gaming system will be lighter-weight, cheaper, and an extra 30 minutes or so in battery life than the original. But gamers expecting some of the most iconic Switch features at a lower price will likely be disappointed.

Its lack of any sort of display output will make it a no-go for anyone hoping for something resembling a TV-console. To make matters worse, the Switch Lite will require gamers to purchase additional accessories to play certain titles and games modes that the Switch ran on its own. The additional costs will make the new console cost roughly the same as original.

For example, Nintendo’s newest gaming system will not support any motion controls on its own. All games that require or have optional motion control features won’t be playable on the Switch Lite unless users purchase the $70 Joy-Con bundle. Yoshiaki Koizumi, the General Producer of the Nintendo Switch, explained that the new Switch system doesn’t include the two big components included in the original that enable motion sensing.

“In fact, the control input are different from the Joy-Con controllers included with the flagship Nintendo Switch console,” he said in the Switch Lite’s announcement video. “The IR Motion Camera and HD rumble features have been removed. That means you’ll need additional Joy-Con controllers to pay games like 1-2 Switch, which requires motion controls.”

Nintendo Switch Lite: Motion Control Games

The only game that requires motion controls to play is 1 2 Switch, a two-player party game released in March 2017. But there’s roster of games that include the option to use motion controls that Switch Lite owners won’t have access to.

Here’s a list of many of the titles that include motion controls as an additional feature. Switch Lite users will still be able to play these titles, but will miss out features that can enhance the game:

• ARMS
• DOOM
• Fe
• Fortnite
• Gal Metal
• Go Vacation
• Human Resource Machine
• Immortal Redneck
• Just Dance 2018 & Just Dance 2019
• LA Noire
• Leisure Suit Larry
• Little Inferno
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Mario Tennis
• Neonwall
• Okami
• Pokemon Let’s Go
• Rayman Legends Definitive Edition
• Resident Evil: Revelations 1 & Revelations 2
• Sausage Sports Club
• Senran Kagura Reflexions
• Splatoon 2
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Super Mario Party
• Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum’n’Fun
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• The World Ends With You: Final Remix
• Wolfenstein
• World of Goo

Switch Lite players will need to add an additional $70 purchase to the $200 console to fully enjoy those games’ features. That would make the new handheld only $30 cheaper than the original Switch (and about even with a refurbished one).

Nintendo’s latest release gives consumers who didn’t want to splash out on the first Switch’s $300 price tag the opportunity to play the Switch’s best new games. But users who want to use motion control or link their Switches to a TV — two of the Switch’s key selling points — will want to pass on the Switch Lite and opt for the original.