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DélioPT said:
Conina said:

It ain't THAT hard to understand:

  • handheld gamers who want a lighter and better portable device
  • gamers with a $200 budget who want to play Switch games
  • parents/relatives buying a gift which plays Switch games

Perhaps you'll understand it when sales go up YoY beginning September 20th

And the original Switch wasn't going to be bought by the majority of those segments?
The sales pace of Switch and strong appeal seem to indicate it would.

Some of the handheld gamers bought or were going to buy the original Switch, others wouldn't for different reasons (too clunky on the go, waste of money for features they don't want/need). We don't know which of these two groups are the majority.

Most price conscious people who set themselves a budget for buying a Switch (for themselves or as a gift) would just wait longer until their chosen price is reached. If they wait longer to buy the hardware, they will probably also buy less games for that system in the long run. Since most of the money is made by selling software, it is in Nintendo's interest to boost the hardware base as fast as possible. 

The sales pace of Switch is good, but of course it can be much better.

DélioPT said:

The only part of what you mention that could, in my eyes, be seen as relevant - as in, to cater to - would be the dads and relatives. But even then you could the price of the original Switch by 50$ or add some games to increase the value.

By lowering the price of the original Switch by $50 they wouldn't reach the people with a $200 budget.

They would also lower their profit margin for the Switch by $50.

The production costs of the Switch Lite are probably much lower than the production costs of the original Switch: no Joy-Cons (including separate batteries + HD rumble), no dock, smaller battery, smaller display...

By selling an entry model with less features & less production costs they can keep their profit margins high.

DélioPT said:

I still don't get why they needed this console.

To reach different target groups with different models. Almost every other company does that (Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung...); Nintendo did that too with different DS and 3DS models.

It's really not that hard to understand.