The Nintendo Switch Lite does’t go on sale for almost two months, but praise the heavens! The eagerly awaited console can now be pre-ordered.
The handheld-only version of the mightily-successful Switch can be reserved on Amazon in the UK and the US ahead of the September 20 release date.
The retailer is offering the system, which has Joy-Cons permanently attached to the body, in gray, yellow, turquoise and a special Zacian and Zamazenta edition. The latter is listed as currently unavailable.
The $199/£199 price tag is a $100/£100 saving on the cost of the regular Switch and the savings are sure to bring a number of new gamers into the fold.
Related: Nintendo Switch Lite vs Nintendo Switch
The console will play almost all of the existing games for the system and the battery life is 30% improved over the original model. Arguably, it’s also better for platformers because of the traditional d-pad, in favour of the directional buttons. The 32GB internal storage remains the same and there’s still support for expansion through SD cards.
However, there are trade offs. The screen is smaller, down from 6.2-inches to 5.5-inches. There’s no HD rumble and you won’t be able to hook it up to the television set either. There’s no dock and it doesn’t support the original Switch dock either.
- Pre-order the Nintendo Switch Lite in the UK
- Pre-order the Nintendo Switch Lite in the United States
Also, if you want to play any games that make use of motion control and the IR Motion Camera will require you to snap up some external Joy-Cons. To avoid accidentally buying one of these games, there will be a symbol on the back of every game case to tell you whether it supports handheld mode.
However, motion controls have been underused and the vast majority of titles for the Switch – big hitters like Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – are all compatible with the system.
Will you be picking up the Nintendo Switch Lite through pre-orders? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter @trustedreviews or email the editor below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.