Nintendo’s Switch Lite is still a pretty new player on the scene—but rather than being a cheap take on the original console, it’s more like a Luigi to the original Switch’s Mario. The Switch Lite is Nintendo’s plan to reach every corner of the gaming market.
The original Switch has already been a commercial success and saw early buy-in, especially from the hardcore gaming market, which tends to skew male and falls within the millennial age range.
But the Lite has captured two new important groups: women and families. The Switch Lite retails for $200, $100 less than the original. It’s a big enough difference to get players that weren’t willing to purchase the console previously to finally make the leap. In the first ten days of the Switch Lite’s release, 57% of customers were buying their Switch ever.
“We’re seeing a higher percent of female consumers buying Nintendo Switch Lite than buy the flagship,” Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser says. “We see Lite as a great opportunity for us to expand with that audience.”
It’s Nintendo’s first holiday season with the Switch Lite on the market, and Bowser said offering two price points will help its overall strategy.
“Our intent with Nintendo Switch Lite is absolutely to reach a more expanded audience and to do so by offering a more dedicated gaming device for those that were really looking for that experience,” Bowser told Fortune.
To further entice buyers this holiday season, Nintendo is also marking down a number of Switch titles for Black Friday. Bowser noted that the games on sale encompass a wide range of genres—from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to Super Mario Party and Splatoon 2—ensuring that gamers of all kinds can take advantage of the discount.
“Our goal with Nintendo Switch is to have games for every type of gamer. As a result, we’re working with a wide variety of publishing partners, and each partner’s a little unique,” Bowser told Fortune at the gaming convention E3 this summer. “Our goal is to help everyone get on the platform. We believe that’s the way we can offer games to every gamer. We want to be a platform of choice.”
