Looking at reviews of Grid Legends on Switch 2 I was very impressed with the graphics shown. Very competitive performance I thought and came away feeling very positive about the game until later I read they have removed all online play for this version, the only version without this functionality and of course it soon popped up that the console lacks analogue triggers and decent strong rumble so feels inferior to other versions. Strangely even the IOS and Android versions have online functionality and its free for them too. Online play has a high cost with regard CPU performance and so it seems like Switch 2 simply couldn't afford to offer it on this game. Many IOS and Android devices have significantly more CPU performance than Switch 2 even if graphically inferior. I believe PC, Xbox and PS4/5 all have crossplay so you can play against people playing on different systems. Here in the UK the game is only 6 pounds at CEX on Xbox one/series consoles.
Just a disappointing situation. I looked at the Steam Deck version and have to say graphically much weaker than Switch 2 but still the Steam Deck version is far superior, its the full game as it was meant to be played with much better controls.
However with all that said I am still super impressed with the Switch 2 graphics for this game. Is the Switch 2 worth getting if you are into racing games though? I would definitely say no. It seems the wrong platform to me for various reasons.
@BonzoBanana No arguments there. I'd think you'd have to be stark staring mad to want to play even a middle-ground sim racer on any Nintendo console since the GameCube, at least if you've any alternatives. They just haven't made the hardware choices to suit those kinds of games.
It's a write-off, even over and above paying full price for a four year old game that released to middling reviews would be anyway. Give it a year and it'll be in deep-discount territory, for sure.
@Matt_Barber It is a shame. I feel if the Switch 2 had been given analogue triggers, upped the CPU from 1Ghz to 2Ghz for Switch 2 mode and put in a slightly larger battery its performance would be far more competitive and a much more capable platform going forward and these upgrades would not have been expensive at all. I said before the low CPU resources of Switch 2 could be a huge issue and it does seem that way. I seem to remember on the Switch 1 some of the internet/network processing was done on the main CPU because the Switch 1 lacked the dedicated chips of home consoles and I'm guess the Switch 2 is the same. I could be wrong but then why do all other versions get online gameplay? Maybe they had to do it the same way on Switch 2 for backwards compatibility so Switch 1 games could still have online play. PS4 and Xbox One all have dedicated auxiliary processors for assisting with network processing and other background tasks. I know the PS4 has an ARM chip in there not sure what the Xbox has but they just call it the southbridge chip.l The PS4 ARM chip has 256MB of dedicated memory. It's clear the Switch 2 CPU was just enough to provide the game as is and there was no surplus capacity to provide online gameplay. Switch 2 games with online gameplay that come to mind are fortnite and Mario Kart World, both games are visually attractive with vibrant colours but technically not that impressive I feel. I feel they could have dialed it back a bit to provide online gameplay with Grid Legends rather than cut out an important part of the game.
AI answer;
Yes, the original Nintendo Switch (Switch 1) heavily relies on its main CPU cores—specifically the ARM Cortex-A57 cores within the Nvidia Tegra X1 SoC—to process network, internet, and background data, alongside the OS.
CPU Utilization: The Switch's CPU (running at 1 GHz) is known to be a limiting factor in system performance. Developers often reported that the CPU would have its "hands full" with active game logic, making it difficult to handle background tasks like asset streaming and network data.
System on a Chip (SoC) Structure: The Switch 1 does not have a dedicated, separate network processor for game data. The Tegra X1 handles all tasks, including networking, in addition to game logic and OS functions.
System Resources: While the Tegra X1 has four additional, more power-efficient ARM Cortex-A53 cores, these are generally not used for these tasks.
Networking Stack: The system software (based on a microkernel architecture) handles network communication, but this software runs on the same ARM processors, using up to 1GB of memory to run the OS and network services.
In summary, the Switch 1 uses its main CPU for networking, which is why intensive background downloads or online play can sometimes impact game performance.
@BonzoBanana I use my Steam Deck daily, and whenever I use my Switch 1 and 2, the extremely narrow and digital triggers always feel so bad. And not just do they feel bad, the fact they are digital (on/off) switches rather than analog is a significant reduction in mechanical gameplay depth. Any game with driving, for example, is just awful on Switch because your throttle is either just on or off.
I actually much prefer digital triggers as the lower travel makes them more comfortable to use. I’m glad Nintendo has stuck with them throughout the years tbh.
That said, can totally understand why they’d be inferior for racing games. A shame that there’s no alternative version of the joycon with analog triggers or something.
@Buizel Nintendo pioneered analogue triggers with the GameCube, which remains their most ergonomic controller to date. There's a reason they started back up production for Smash Ultimate as well, and why Smash uses soft vs. hard press differentiation. I get the personal preference angle of course, but honestly, I think once you get used to analogue it's both more comfortable and significantly better. But it wouldn't fit within a standard joy con.
@OmnitronVariant I grew up with the Gamecube and have used analog triggers for decades. I have still settled on digital, especially as I’ve got older and ergonomics in general have become more important to me.
I agree it’s preference at the end of the day. Personally I get on much better with the Pro Controller than other controllers. Especially the DualShock 5…dunno how anyone uses that thing! It is frustrating that Sony in particular insists upon you using their first party controller...at least with the Switch (2) there are third party options!
IIRC the Xbox Elite controller had an option to change the travel of the triggers, which was pretty cool. I would love to see that on a Nintendo controller actually.
I also prefer digital triggers for the same reason as Buizel, though admittedly I have zero interest in racing games. And this also seems to be the reason why Nintendo chose to have digital triggers instead of analogue ones in their controllers:
Switch 2's lead designers, Kouichi Kawamoto and Tetsuya Sasaki, producer and technical director respectively, addressed this and other questions about the console's design and ecosystem during the post-event press conference, which VentureBeat has transcribed in full. On the subject of analogue triggers, Kawamoto noted that there were many developers who insisted on them, but that the balance of positives and negatives ultimately decided them in favour of digital triggers.
"In terms of analogue buttons on the shoulders, there are positives, but also negatives. You lose a little bit of instancy when they're analogue. We considered it and decided that instant input would be the better option. That's why we decided to move forward with this decision."
Anyway, according to the Nintendo Life review of Grid Legends you can use the Gamecube controller (either the original or the new one produced by Nintendo) — which does have analogue triggers — for this game to get the proper analogue effect. Hopefully Nintendo will eventually allow third-party controllers with analogue triggers to also work on games like this one, as I'm sure many people don't want to buy the GC controller just for this purpose.
Digital triggers are also much cheaper. Steam Deck's are the best implementation of analogue triggers so far IMO; not too deep, but enough travel room for nuance for games that need it. And for any game that doesn't I still find it better than digital triggers, particularly because I can fine-tune the triggers to my liking regardless of any individual game's settings.
Obviously subjective but the feel of the triggers has been a negative for me since Switch 1 and it remains so, and the deck has shown me that it's very possible to have good ergonomics and controls on a handheld. It does come at the cost of portability, but S2 is already so large and unwieldy I no longer see it as a truly portable device anyway. At least not any more so than the deck.
@OmnitronVariant personally ergonomics is what completely put me off the Steam Deck…so to each their own I guess.
This is why I particularly appreciate the Switch (2)’s modularity. The ability to use different joycons is a great feature that I still think is somewhat underutilised (definitely for the Switch 2, but give it time).
@Buizel But have you tried Steam Deck? I didn't think the ergonomic would work for me at all when looking at the thing. But then I tried a friend's and I ordered one the same day.
I also prefer digital triggers for the same reason as Buizel, though admittedly I have zero interest in racing games.
Same. Making the triggers worse for some games just so they're better for a couple niche racers seems like a bad trade-off. But I say that as someone who only really plays Mario Kart and non-car racers (e.g. mario 35, fall guys, etc).
Everytime I play a GameCube game on Switch which used triggers (such as Mario Sunshine) I feel like the lack of triggers barely makes a practical difference and doesn't effect my enjoyment whatsoever. In the meantime, digital triggers for fast platformers are wonderful.
Maybe Nintendo should have made the random extra buttons underneath the pro controler analogue just to make everyone happy.
@BonzoBanana Did you play the switch 1's GRID game online? I thought it had a tragic flaw, that ruined it. It's online could only be played with full damage turned on, and about 80-90% of the time I tried racing online, I usually got a wacko that just rams your car in the beginning, and the damage easily crippled your car's performance and made the race pointless before you could get to the second or third turn. It didn't even take a hard hit to ruin your car, and your suspension or steering would get trashed, and make your car drag, slow, or broke your ability to steer well.
Also, online racing wasn't available for switch 1's GRID at launch either. Then online was added months later (6 months later? - a guess). So, maybe online will still get added to GRID Legends for switch 2. But if online racing does come, pray that it's not full-damage-only like the previous GRID.
I also prefer digital triggers for the same reason as Buizel, though admittedly I have zero interest in racing games.
Everytime I play a GameCube game on Switch which used triggers (such as Mario Sunshine) I feel like the lack of triggers barely makes a practical difference and doesn't effect my enjoyment whatsoever.
While I agree with the rest of your post - I will say that analog triggers really do add to the experience of Mario Sunshine, and I do miss them when playing on the Switch. But I think overall the tradeoff of being able to play it on a modern hybrid system is worth it. Similar to how I find the tradeoffs in Galaxy 1 and 2 to be worth it in the end.
But yeah, in most cases I’m defo a digital trigger guy. Especially when games have you frequently using them for something like targeting (I’m looking at you, Pokemon Legends Z-A).
Yeah, Mario Sunshine is a good example of why I want analog triggers back. It just doesn't play the same in 3D All Stars without them and there's some mechanics that they couldn't quite do with digital.
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