New Nintendo Switch Lite Special Editions Are Weirdly Exclusive

Oliver Brandt
·2 min read

Switch Lite animal crossing teal

Nintendo just announced two new Nintendo Switch Lite console designs, based on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That’s… a little weird, and frankly a little late, all things considered. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is three years old at this point, and sales on both the game and Switch Lite consoles have slowed down. What’s weirder though is that both of these consoles are exclusive to different retailers.

The Nintendo Switch Lite (Isabelle’s Aloha Edition) Bundle, which is essentially just a standard pink Nintendo Switch Lite with a few Animal Crossing decals and a digital copy of the game, will be exclusively available at Target. The Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) Bundle is largely the same thing, but teal instead of pink, and will be exclusive to Walmart.

Look, it’s not super uncommon to have specific special edition consoles exclusive to a retailer. But having two consoles that are effectively the same thing, just different colors, exclusive to separate retailers? Well, that’s just a bit odd.

What makes it even weirder is that it seems to be just the US where this kind of exclusivity is in place. In the UK and Europe, both consoles will seemingly be generally available at the same retailers, alongside a new Nintendo Switch Sports Bundle that, so far, hasn’t been announced for the US.

The US is, at least, getting the old reliable holiday bundle: a Nintendo Switch (just a regular one, not an OLED) with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This is the same holiday bundle Nintendo’s rolled out for just about every holiday season in every region since the Switch launched, but at least this time it has a new design.

It is curious, though, that no OLED holiday bundles have been announced in this most recent batch. The OLED Switch is the best-selling of the three different versions of the console, and at a slightly higher price, you’d think it would be a better value proposition. That said, reports have shown that Nintendo actually has a lower profit margin on OLED consoles, so maybe the economics just don’t add up.

Either way, both Animal Crossing consoles and the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle will be available on October 6, 2023 — the same day as the recently announced Super Mario Bros. Wonder OLED console.