With the portability of the Nintendo Switch comes new and interesting ways to play previous console-only multiplayer experiences. Nintendo fans recently got to test this over the weekend with the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire event, which slated several hour slots over the weekend to allow players time to experience the multiplayer mayhem.
VentureBeat decided to use this opportunity to try out how well the game works over a mobile connection by spending one of these play sessions tethered to a Samsung Galaxy phone. Splatoon was the only device connected to the network and it was played for the full 60 minute duration.
During that time, it seems the hotspot app recorded the data use at around 153MB for the hour while connected. That low amount of data usage may account for the sever’s low tick-rate, which was measured to be around 12.5Hz, which is about a quarter of what most multiplayer games use. For example, Blizzard launched Overwatch with a 20Hz tickrate and soon had to up that to 60Hz to get better performance for players.
Around 150MB for an hours worth of gameplay is certainly very conservative on the data front and with more and more mobile carriers offering unlimited data plans, a smartphone is looking like a great companion device for the Nintendo Switch.
[via VentureBeat]
Splatoon 2 – $59.99
