Nintendo Download favourite Nicalis is happy with the eShop so far, with president Tyrone Rodriguez telling Destructoid he feels the eShop is a great stride forward for the company.
Speaking on the decision to feature particular games and themes instead of give all games equal billing, Rodriguez said:
The eShop, I feel, has really turned things around for Nintendo on the digital side because the storefront is heavily feature-driven. Any publisher can still produce whatever it wants, similar to iOS in both regards. However, given the feature-oriented nature, the eShop is quasi-curated without being some lame PR line like, 'consciously developing a curated portfolio'.
Criticising the Wii Shop Channel, Rodriguez is happy that the eShop features smaller sections to give browsers some direction:
Since the eShop is heavily feature-driven, this not only helps promote titles, it forces publishers and developers to make better games, hopefully. You want to get featured? You better have something good to show, curated or not.
Nicalis has already supported the eShop with VVVVVV and has pledged to bring NightSky to 3DS in the future.
What do you make of Rodriguez's comments? Do you like the eShop as it is or would you rather a more even-handed approach to displaying games?
[source destructoid.com]
Comments 40
Accounts would be nice, so if I break my 3DS I can re-download my games.
Good news, everyone!
I may have bought Cave Story on WiiWare, Steam, 3DS and Humble Bundle, but a 3DS download would be an instant buy for me. And hopefully, they can find the time and man-power to put La-Mulana on there as well.
I still think the eShop layout is hideous and don't really understand how this chap thinks the overall structure is better. Sure, we've got big icons with the latest releases or defined groupings of software but it's certainly not the App Store or even PSN.
I believe that Nintendo need to take the eShop further and make it more user friendly.
I know that they like to be different with their stuff, but it needs to be easier to search for new stuff and not confusing sections of games that come under categories such as "games that would be ideal while trapped inside a box".
They need to have simple sections like:
I dread each week going onto the eShop. I shouldn't feel that way, but I do unfortunately. They need to be able for people to find what they're looking for quicker - not searching random places for games they might enjoy.
He should be in charge of Nintendo's advertising on the subject.
The eShop, it's quasi-curated!
Eshop is a step in the right direction but it's a long ways from being a psn or xbox live.
No accounts or sales hinders the store greatly.
I’d say he’s right. The shop does put a lot of emphasis on the ratings people give out. And while I may not agree with some of them it’s still a good way to satisfy nearly every owner of a 3DS imo.
The only room for improvement that comes to mind right now is the handling of updates. I’d like 'em to tell me what exactly they've updated in a game and give me an option to download all updates at once instead of having to click through every one of them and tell ‘em to download in sleep mode there.
I agree with Ty, the eShop is a big step forward for Nintendo.
Mostly because of this!
@Dazza hahaha humble but that sure was cool...
@6. Joco84
Totally. I'd change those stupid "jewel games" and "that 80's feel" garbage to the Wii shop's categorizing system any day.
It's so obvious that they're trying to attach appealing ideas to shovel games that lack them.
I think it has a good set up - but game releases are far too slow. The eShop has VC and 3DSWare (not counting DSiWare as it isn't made for the 3DS and has bad resolutions), and we only get 0-2 games a week. Considering these games also have been mostly only GB so far is also dissapointing.
"the eShop is quasi-curated without being some lame PR line like, 'consciously developing a curated portfolio"... huh? his comment is about as confusing as finding your way around the eShop, the shop could be a lot better...
Who can forget Games Beginning With R?
@Joco84: You do realize half of those are on there, right?
@James Thanks for reminding me of that. Hilarious!
@Joco84: "dread," really? That's a strong word. Personally, I find the silly little categories charming at best, harmless at worst. What I like is that it presents you with games you wouldn't seek out yourself. If everything was in a standard Genre/System category, you might never stumble across anything outside your normal interests. I like the surprise element of it — "What's in here this week?" Sure, most of them I'd never download, but at least I'm seeing a game, considering it... something I wouldn't be doing otherwise. The eShop could be better. But it could be a LOT worse. DSi-wha?
imo, the eshop user experience in a word, sucks. In fact the only thing that makes it at all better than the big N's previous download endeavors is that it feels quite a bit faster.
I see where he's coming from though, as it's nice to have "featured games" mentioned the moment you boot up the shop. Nearly every time there's a new, top-shelf, eshop title released it's staring you in the face, letting me feel that maybe I should give the game a look.
Whatever, the app store is crap. Want to update your games? Better click on each one individually, or update them all! Want to actually have it work properly? Sync your device with your PC / Mac! Want to actually be able to see useful information and keep track of your apps? Download Appshopper! Appshopper is only thing that makes it bearable.
I hate the app store too
Great, now when's La-Mulana going to be on the Wii Shop?
But I do think the eShop is great. It's certainly a vast improvement over the Wii Shop and DSi Shop, and I hope the Wii U's shop channel will continue these improvements.
This is actually how I feel on the eShop. It's a huge improvement over DSi's store and Wii's store and it seems the bar on quality is being raised.
What's so bad about the eShop's Krazy Kategories?
that's what I'm calling them henceforth
I like Joco84's idea, but I also like sections like the Nintendo Life favorites
it definitely should have permanent sections, same as Joco84 mentionned.
i do like the features that regularly change but it rather a mess the way it is now.
not really user friendly.
a small menu on the side with the permanent sections, and keep the huge icons for the featured sections as it is. A web-like approach would simplify things and make it easier to anyone. Anyone can surf the web, so anyone will be able to seek what they need in the eshop.
and the featured sections is much important for keeping the quality titles over the crappy ones.
The layout is far from perfect, and I think it could stand to be more user-friendly, but I like the eShop overall. I found myself buying more games in the eShop since September than I bought in WiiWare in all of 2011.
Within a deep forest 3D
You heard it here first.
@4 There is a remake for Cave Story on 3DS in full 3D.
Finally a developer that is positive about a Nintendo download system. That's certainly improvement.
However it comes from a developer who takes it's time. And I don't mean that positive. For example: It took ages to bring a free (!!!) PC game to Wiiware (for far to much money), and La Mulana has still to arrive on Wiiware!
Lots of interesting points here-
I personaly appreciate the "Featured" catagories & content. It takes the guess work out of searching for new weekly content. If i'm ever still not sure where to look, I use the "Latest Sofware" or "---- Videos" filter, or the search bar all together. The fact that the title has to be spelled out completely, correctly, & doesn't utilize a "keyword" infastructure is kind of disheartening, but I feel overall that Nintendo are moving in the right direction with downloadable content, & the dashboard from which to find & purchase it. They aren't trying to be Sony, or Apple, & I for one appreciate the slow & steady approach.
Also, & correct me if I'm over speculative, and/or just wrong, but I thought that when the Nintendo Network goes LIVE, it's incorporating accounts & profiles, thus linking the 3DS & Wii U to the user & his/her downloaded content.
Wasn't this just announced.
I expect an eShop update/system update to be coming in the not-so-distant future.
I like the idea of 'featured' games, but not at the expense of having simple categories so that I can find stuff I actually want. Why not give users the option of increasing the number of tiles per page, y'know, like the main menu of the 3DS? That would make it a lot more feasible to have more categories and whatnot.
I want it set up like the Wii Shop Channel.
I would like all featured games to show up first and then I can click "Go Shopping" and there will be categories like
3DSWare
DSiWare
Virtual Console
Settings
And those will open into even more categories.
For everyone complaining about accounts isnt that what nintendo network is for and more?
@ Knuckles: I believe so, thats what I was asking.
As long as I leave the e shop with the game I want, I'm happy
It's an improvement over anything on the Wii, though I still get confused looking for stuff. Took forever to find Kirby Dreamland (though part of that was the colorful icon for a grayscale game). And having the big $0 for my account keeps making me think anything I look at is free to download. Basically it works as a fun colorful distraction to mess around in, but it isn't set up well for seriously searching. More like Netflix than iOS.
Other than some developers that obviously use google translate to write their game's info in spanish, the fact that the sShop thinks EVERY game is an emulated version of a previously released GB or GBC game and that the price search filter and "coming soon" games use dollars (disguised as pesos, 2 pesos for 2 dollar games? lol) instead of pesos. I really enjoy the eShop!
Sooo... La-Mulana soon?
Why isn't there an option to search 3DS-exclusive titles? There is so much shovelware on DSi, and my internal system memory is about full. Sorry Nintendo, but given that the 3DS system memory is only slightly bigger than DSi, until you give me an option to load DSiware off the SD card like with Wiiware, I'm not gonna be downloading much else from the old DSiware back catalog that I don't already own.
@39 Thank You!!! That's what I've been wanting to know for months now, when? Anyone?!
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