Opinion
The Nintendo Switch 2 is «just» a bigger and more powerful Switch – and that’s a good thing
by Domagoj Belancic
With the Switch 2, Nintendo has solved one of the Switch 1’s biggest problems – its terrible eShop
8.6.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
Pictures: Domagoj Belancic
Nintendo eShop on the Switch 1 is horrendous. Although significantly better on the Switch 2, there’s still one major issue.
If you ask me, the Switch 1 is the best console Nintendo has ever made. It might even be my favourite console of all time. I’ve bought over 150 games for my trusty little handheld hybrid, most of which I’ve purchased digitally.
Now, as much as I adore the Switch 1, I hate the process of buying games on the console. Nintendo eShop was terrible from the moment the Switch was launched, but it became even slower and more cumbersome to use with each subsequent update.
The eShop app takes ages to open and its content only starts to load after a long delay. Navigating the multi-category side menu soon turns into a nerve-racking test of patience. Inputs are sometimes registered twice or not at all. Aaaargh!
Exploring individual categories is a pain too. When you’re scrolling through lists of games, the app loads new titles at a snail’s pace. It stutters, lags and drives me nuts. If I click on a game that interests me, I have to wait several seconds before I end up on the information page. This really sucks the fun out of discovering new games.
In comparison, eShop for the Switch 2 feels like a revelation. When you click on the app icon, the shop opens immediately. Incredible! You can scroll through the side menu without any annoying lag, and skim through game categories without the agonisingly long pauses and stuttering. Amazing! Even videos are played instantly in good quality.
Upgrading to a Switch 2 is almost worth it for the new version of eShop alone. I’m not kidding.
Nintendo knew how bad the app was and how important a good store is
I’m not alone in my dislike of the old version of eShop and my enthusiasm for the new one. Before the launch of the Switch 2, even Nintendo admitted, at least indirectly, that the old app was a disaster.
In an interview, the developers responsible for the app highlighted the new version’s significantly improved performance: «Thanks to the system’s performance capabilities, Nintendo eShop on Switch 2 has been improved and runs smoothly even when displaying a large number of games,» says Senior Director Takuhiro Dohta.
They also mentioned how central a store’s user experience is for consoles: «We believe the act of finding the game you want to play is itself part of the game system experience.»
As a result, the «Game Finds for You» tab was introduced, giving players new game recommendations every Saturday. Thank God that the days of having to flick through alternative storefronts such as dekudeals.com or Better eShop to discover games without having a nervous breakdown are over.
Nintendo still has a trash problem
Despite the massive progress eShop has made, I’m still not completely happy with it. Nintendo’s quality control system is seriously lacking, so the store’s packed with shovelware. That is, inferior games released en masse to screw money out of a few unsuspecting users.
There are always brazen imitations of viral Steam hits not yet available on the Switch. Schedule I – Mafia Empire on the Switch has zero connection to the surprise hit Schedule I on Steam, while Digging a Hole 2025 is a cheap knock-off of A Game About Digging a Hole. The numerous clones of TCG Card Shop Simulator weren’t made by the game’s «real» developer studio either.
Still, at least Nintendo’s taken a step in the right direction on this. The eShop’s «Charts» category is now sorted by sales and not by downloads, which filters out some of the junk.
The «New releases» category, on the other hand, is still full of questionable titles. I hope Nintendo will rethink this area too and improve the eShop by tightening up the rules.
Since I clicked on all those trashy games to write this article, I’ll probably find a bunch of hentai games and cheap imitations in my «Game Finds for You» tab this Saturday. Darn it. But hey, at least I won’t have to wait ages for the content to be displayed.
Domagoj Belancic
Senior Editor
Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.chMy love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.
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