Nintendo share prices rise by 4 percent after Switch Lite announcement

Shares in Japan’s Nintendo Co rose more than 4 percent on Thursday after the company said it would soon launch Nintendo Switch Lite, a cheaper, handheld version of its hugely popular Switch games.[caption id="attachment_4861341" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Banners of Nintendo's new game console Switch are pictured at its experience venue in Tokyo, Japan. Image: Reuters.[/caption]The Kyoto-based company said the new device would launch on 20 Sept at a suggested retail price of 19,980 yen, or $199.99, compared with $299 for the Nintendo Switch.Nintendo shares had risen on media reports earlier this year of a low-cost version of the Switch console, only to be battered after management appeared to dampen such speculation over the past few months.In mid-morning trade, Nintendo’s shares were up 3.6 percent, while the benchmark Nikkei average was flat.“A lower-priced version should stimulate demand,” Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a note to clients.He said the new device directly targets the 75 million owners of Nintendo’s 3DS hand-held device, and that “this lower-priced version should add fuel to fire as this price-point directly targets those” owners.