Nintendo Switch Fans Have Problems With N64 Controls and Performance

The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack just released last night, but not without its problems. There have been some concerns about the Nintendo 64 aspect of this new premium subscription regarding its overall performance and controller schemes. It seems that people are rather divided on this not because of its price point, but because of the quality.

The normal Nintendo Switch Online membership costs $20 USD per year and $34.99 USD per year via the Family Membership. However, if you want to get the Expansion Pack upgrade to the membership, you’ll have to pay an additional $30 for an individual membership or $45 for the Family Membership.

This is already a polarizing aspect because of the steep price point, especially given the gripes people are having with the Nintendo 64 application. First off, there have been numerous reports and instances where games look and perform worse than when they did on the 1996 console’s hardware. There are also instances where performance problems start to occur when making use of the online multiplayer modes.

You can see in this clip that this Twitter user is experiencing framerate and audio issues. Sure, the argument can be made that this instance is an extreme one, given that the host has an unstable connection, but this is one of many out there experiencing similar problems.

Another issue lies in the fact that players cannot map their own controls. Nintendo 64 controller button layouts are a lot different from the Switch, creating some rather complicated ways to play certain games. Another Twitter user here provides a graphic detailing some rather confusing button layouts.

It’s a bit disappointing to see that a console from 25 years ago can’t be properly emulated on far superior hardware. Let alone, the Nintendo Switch has an option in its system that can allow players to remap their controllers to their heart’s content, of course with vital buttons like Home and Sync being off limits. The only way it seems that this console can be properly played is if you purchase the dedicated controller bundled with the subscription, thought it might be hard to find one thanks to scalping.

There are many more examples you can find out there of the Nintendo 64 application not running optimally on Switch hardware, though there are many people saying otherwise. For a price change that steep, it just feels like there should have been better quality control before releasing this.

The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is out now. You can find additional pricing details here.