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Doug Bowser: We’re seeing a higher percent of female consumers buying Nintendo Switch Lite
Nintendo’s Switch Lite is still a fairly new player on the scene, but instead of being a cheap version of the original console, it’s more like Luigi for the original Switch Mario. Switch Lite is Nintendo’s plan to reach every corner of the gaming market.
The original Switch was already a commercial success and received early support, especially in the hardcore gaming market, which tends to skew men and falls into the millennial age.
But it captured two important new groups: women and families. The Switch Lite retails for $ 200, $ 100 cheaper than the original. That’s a big enough difference to force players who previously weren’t willing to buy a console to make the jump. In the first ten days after the release of Switch Lite, 57% of customers bought their Switch ever.
“We’re seeing a higher percentage 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.”
This is Nintendo’s first holiday season with Switch Lite on the market, and Bowser said offering two price points would help his 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 shoppers this holiday season, Nintendo is also reducing the number of Switch titles for Black Friday. Bowser noted that the games on sale span a wide range of genres-from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to Super Mario Party and Splatoon 2-ensuring that players of all kinds will be given a 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.”