Cheaper Nintendo Switch Lite remains the lowest-selling version

The Nintendo Switch Lite remains the lowest-selling version of the Nintendo console. Although it is the cheapest version, less than one in six Switch consoles sold in the past two years was a Lite version.

The traditional Switch accounted for almost half of deliveries in recent years, while the OLED model accounted for 36 percent of deliveries. In total, Nintendo has delivered almost 38 million Switch consoles since spring 2021. In total, the console maker has delivered 122.5 million copies of its Switch, as shown by the quarterly figures.

Since its release, the OLED model has become more popular than the traditional model. During the past holiday quarter, Nintendo shipped 4.16 million OLED models and approximately 3 million regular variants of the Switch. Nintendo does not say why the Lite version sells less. The model does have a functional limitation compared to the other versions; the controllers are attached to it, so it cannot be used as a console to play on TV with separate controllers. This also makes some games unplayable.

Nevertheless, the total number of deliveries of Switch consoles is down compared to previous years. The chip shortage is over, but Nintendo has lowered its expectations. The company expects to deliver 3 million units of all variants in the coming months. This would bring the total to 18 million this year, while the company expected 19 million a few months ago.

In terms of games, Pokémon Violet and Scarlet in particular did well with 20.6 million copies delivered, says Nintendo. Splatoon 3 delivered 10.1 million copies, Switch Sports has 8.6 million copies delivered.

Nintendo Switch OLED