The Switch eShop has gotten spruced up a bit with some new features. A handful of changes look to make it easier for customers to sift through content. The changes include...
- new ‘featured’ section
- changed the Deals to ‘Great deals’
- charts now include the top 30 titles
- chart has an option to change to ‘digital-only titles’
Does this solve the issue of good indie games that disappear into oblivion after a few weeks
Well, this definitely improves the visibility of Ikaruga on the german eShop, as it's 16th in the overall charts (and of course higher in the digital only charts), and it' s the picture for the "highlights of May"section.
Good:
-More titles on the main page, so the huge flow of releases aren't instantly burying titles anymore after a week. Now it's more like 4 weeks.
-Better organized and fancy best sellers section that are more specific
-OK selection of titles for best sellers, still doesn't feature good obscure games outside of Bleed 2
Bad:
-You still have to put your game on sale to be noticed if you aren't popular
-No publisher search
-Shit HTML5 layout still
-No Music in 2018 on an Nintendo system
-Layout is still dull as sin
-The Switch eShop looks just as shitty as it always has despite some good QOL improvements, but even the former worst Nintendo digital store (DSiWare) had music and easy category/search tool. Very disappointed and this better not be their entire plan of upgrading the storefront. Music in particular is needed.
...is music really that important? Sure it was a nice thing on the other consoles and I wouldn't mind seeing it come back but...needed?
-You still have to put your game on sale to be noticed if you aren't popular
True, but what to do about it? You can't expect Nintendo to make a list with "least popular games". Nobody would want that...
-No publisher search
You can...
-Shit HTML5 layout still
The store being HTML 5 means they can easily update the store separate from the main OS. Like this update. Also the console stores have ALWAYS been HTML.
-No Music in 2018 on an Nintendo system
Not a bad thing. Actually I like the store to be silent. I really hated the music on the Wii / Wii U. Only the 3DS had it better with different themes. But I still prefer the Switch silent.
-Layout is still dull as sin
The layout is simple. And that's the entire Switch. And that what makes the Switch OS the fastest Nintendo OS EVER. So not a bad thing.
-The Switch eShop looks just as shitty as it always has despite some good QOL improvements, but even the former worst Nintendo digital store (DSiWare) had music and easy category/search tool. Very disappointed and this better not be their entire plan of upgrading the storefront. Music in particular is needed
The Switch eShop allows you also to search genres.
I legit didn't know about the publisher search until now. Kinda dumbfounded they made it so obscure compared to the past, so at least that complaint is a non-issue. Still, of all the online eShops Nintendo has made, this one feels the most obviously HTML5 of them all. They should still find some way to make it a bit lively like the Wii U shop at least, but the publisher search at least makes it a lot better. Still, by featuring obscure games, I really mean things akin to featuring gems like Lode Runner Legacy or Elena Temple. Sometimes they'd point out things Nintendo Life or some other hit Nintendo site would like a lot, and that helped me find some good 3DS gems back in the day.
Needs a dark theme... and ambient music IMO.
It is mildly jarring to go from my main menu, which is using the dark theme, to the eShop, which is a pretty bright white, so at the very least it'd be nice to have the eShop theme match your home menu theme.
Also yeah it's a bit odd even a year later there's still no ambient music theme. I agree it's not some necessary thing the eShop must have in order to be considered worth opening (if music for a digital shop was absolutely necessary in order to be considered "worth a damn" then Steam and GOG would be no where near as successful as they are), but it is an admittedly odd omission after the Wii, 3DS, and even Wii U had some nice music playing on their digital shops (the Wii Shop Channel music is pretty nostalgic nowadays, if Nintendo ever allows for selectable music themes on the eShop one day they absolutely have to include the Wii Shop Channel music).
A dark theme would be great! I changed my home menu to the dark theme on launch day (at this stage I get a shock whenever I see a screenshot of the light theme) and I'd love an eshop theme to match!
I don't mind the lack of ambient music though... I agree that a good theme can add a lot to the browsing experience but I think the wrong theme can just be annoying too...
I agree with the dark theme, that's something I noticed well I looked at it. If the Switch OS has it, the eShop should have it as well. Dark themes also use up less power right?
I like that there's no music in the shop or constantly swirling chimes on the OS itself. Those were cool for older systems but this feels modern. Dark mode to match OS would be welcome, but the speed improvement and across-the-board functionality enhancements are great.
The ability to go to a games info screen...then scroll to the top and click on the publisher/developer of the game to see all the rest of the games they have done...is VERY nice. I agree with those that would like to see some kind of background music in the eShop. To this day, the Wii U eShop is still my favorite to visit, due to its layout and sound. Why Nintendo moved from that fun place to a much more sterile environment I'm not sure. Hopefully they continue to update the Switch eShop in future though.
I listen to music almost all the time anyway. But I did really like the BG music on the Wii. But after a while I just put on my own music anyway. Way better.
