Looking to Get a Gaming Handheld for Under $100? Just Buy This (2024)

The Nintendo Switch Lite is still a fantastic gaming handheld. While there are a number of budget-conscious retro handhelds out there, my recommendation for handheld gamers on a budget is to skip those and instead get a pre-owned Switch Lite. Here’s why.

Get Gaming on the Switch Lite for Less Than $100

If you take a minute to browse eBay for a pre-owned Switch Lite, you’ll find a ton of offers listed for less than $100. The Switch Lite is a steal at that price, mainly because of its fantastic game library that includes a ton of indies, Nintendo exclusives, and some AAA games.

You can't get a used regular Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or any other PC gaming handheld for less than $100. Even pre-owned Nintendo 3DS consoles cost the same or more than pre-owned Switch Lite units.

This minuscule gaming machine offers a lot for the money. The build quality is fantastic, especially the screen protection. I've dropped mine a couple of times onto a ceramic tile floor, and it survived without even the tiniest scuff to its name.

The 5.5 inch display is just the right size for the console's native 720p resolution. You might notice some aliasing (jagged lines) when playing 3D games, but with a pixel density of 267 PPI, the Switch Lite screen is quite sharp. Unfortunately, I find the contrast ratio to be somewhat poor even for an IPS screen.

Conversely, colors pop and are nicely saturated and the maximum brightness is high enough to play the console outside, as long as you’re not in direct sunlight. I set the brightness to about two-thirds when gaming on the Switch Lite.

The controls are pretty solid. The face and shoulder buttons are easy to press, feel pleasant under the fingers, and have just the right amount of resistance. I especially like the ZL and ZR buttons, which feel fantastic. The D-pad is a bit small, but it's far from the worst one I've used. It’s precise and has the same, slightly tactile feedback as the face buttons.

The only downside here are the thumbsticks. They just feel cheap and aren’t that precise, to be honest. On the flip side, both thumbsticks on my Switch Lite work fine almost four years after I got it. That's a relief considering the stick drift issues that have plagued the Nintendo Switch.

I used my Switch Lite a lot until I got myself a Steam Deck. Since then, my partner games on it a couple of times per week, and while she isn’t a hardcore gamer, she has clocked at least a hundred hours of play in the last year and a half with both thumbsticks still not showing any sign of drifting.

The Switch Lite can still feel a bit "budget" in some regards. The Wi-Fi chip is slow and the speakers are a bit tinny, but at least the battery life is excellent even to this day. Compared to most sub $100 gaming handhelds, the Switch Lite is as good if not better than its competitors.

It’s also worth noting that the Switch Lite is a fairly compact gaming handheld, meaning it might feel cramped if you have medium or large hands. For example, my hands are pretty average-sized, and I would get a bit uncomfortable when gaming on my Switch Lite for an hour or so, especially when I played 2D games where I used the D-pad. Luckily, you can get a number of grip cases that considerably improve the console's ergonomics.

If you’ve decided to get a preowned Switch Lite, there are a couple of areas you should focus on. The most important one is the thumbsticks.

Nintendo really missed the mark here because thumbsticks on all Switch models are heavily drift-prone. If possible, ask the seller to test the console by recording a video of the Switch Lite while it runs a 3D game featuring a camera that can be adjusted with the right thumbstick. If the playable character is standing still and the camera’s not moving, the thumbsticks are likely working fine.

You can also use the Switch Joy-Con calibration interface to test for drift.

I also advise you to only consider reputable sellers with lots of positive ratings. Avoid sellers with zero ratings and those that have multiple negative reviews.

Next, ask the seller about battery life. While my Switch Lite is still going strong, this isn't necessarily the case for all pre-owned Switch Lites. This especially true if the previous owner didn’t care about the battery health.

Finally, carefully analyze photos of the device for damage or suspect patches and, if possible, ask the seller to send you additional photos that focus on any detail that looks off to you. Also, make sure that the listing includes the console and the charger.

Play a Ton of Nintendo Exclusives, Indies, and Even AAA Games

The Nintendo Switch game library is huge. It includes more than 5,000 games, with new games coming out on a daily basis. The heaviest hitters among those are the Nintendo exclusives. Out of all three current home consoles, I reckon the Switch has the most impressive collection of exclusives.

Some of the best exclusives you can plan on Switch Lite include Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Metroid Dread, Bayonetta 3, Tetris 99, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Splatoon 3, Metroid Prime Remastered, Pikmin 4, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Luigi's Mansion 3, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Astral Chain, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, a bunch of Pokémon games, and the list goes on. This insanely good offering easily trumps what you’re getting on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles.

Then you have a somewhat limited but still pretty solid library of third-party AAA games that include titles such as The Witcher 3, Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal, Alien: Isolation, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Diablo III, Hogwarts Legacy, Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2, Sid Meier's Civilization 6, Skyrim, Monster Hunter Rise, Crysis Remastered, Dying Light, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Portal Companion Collection, Immortals Fenyx Rising, It Takes Two, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, Shin Megami Tensei 5, Rayman Legends, Persona 5 Royal, Nier: Automata, Dragon Quest 11, Bioshock and Borderlands collections, Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light Redux, Divinity Original Sin 2, and many more.

You’ve also got hundreds of superb indie titles, a good number of which aren't available on PlayStation and Xbox. However, since the Switch has evolved into the best platform for indie games, aside from PC of course, you’ll find almost every noteworthy indie title from the last decade or so on the Nintendo eShop. Many of them even launch on the Switch before Sony or Microsoft's machines.

Finally, the Nintendo Switch Online subscription includes more than 100 classic NES, SNES, and Game Boy Advance blockbusters, including Dr. Mario, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gradius, The Legend of Zelda, Super Metroid, Punch-Out!!, Kid Icarus, F-Zero, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Star Fox and Star Fox 2, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island, Donkey Kong Country as well as its two SNES sequels, Super Mario All-Stars, Shin Megami Tensei, Shin Megami Tensei II, EarthBound, Killer Instinct, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Wario Land 3, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages, and others.

There’s also a rather strong offering of N64 and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive games you can play if you subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.

And while Nintendo exclusives tend to hold a high value for years after release, you can dive into the used game market rife with physical editions of virtually every Nintendo Switch exclusive. You can buy a used game, finish it, and then sell it for almost the same price you bought because physical editions of Switch exclusives hold their price rather well, even if preowned. Just watch for counterfeits. You can even borrow Switch games from your local library.

As for the third-party titles, the eShop features constant sales and promotions. I've purchased many excellent games for my Switch Lite for cheap because of the constant sales. In fact, many of the indie games I bought on eShop were priced lower than they were on Steam during Steam sales.

This applies to most AAA games, too. Aside from a few outliers—mostly Bethesda-published games—you can get most AAA games available on Switch for cheap if you just wait for a sale. There are a few good tricks you can use to save money on Switch games.

The Switch Will Get New Releases for Years

You might be thinking: “Why would I want to buy a Nintendo Switch Lite if the Nintendo Switch 2 is just around the corner?” The answer is: "If you haven’t had a chance to enjoy the Nintendo Switch yet, its game library is so huge that you’ll be set for the next half a decade."

And while the cadence of Nintendo exclusives and third-party AAA games has started to slow down in the last year or so, you can bet that the OG Switch, due to its humongous install-base, will continue getting notable indie titles in years to come.

Also, you won’t be able to get a Switch 2 for less than $100; this just won't happen. Even if Nintendo decides to release a Lite version of the Switch 2 at one point, it will take years before Switch 2 Lite pre-owned units start to appear in large quantities on eBay and other online retail sites.

The best time to get a used Switch Lite is now. It has a massive library chock-full of impressive games, it's super affordable, you can choose from hundreds of listings selling pre-owned Switch Lites, and you can rest assured that the tiny gaming machine will continue receiving a ton of indie games in the years to come.