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Just bought a Nintendo Switch and.... why is the eShop so empty?

Darkstorne

Darkstorne

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,812
England
Typhonsentra said:
For what it's worth, I am grateful to the one guy who actually took the time to make recommendations as I missed Octopath and that is definitely something that interests me, so thank you for that.
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I mostly use mine as a Monster Hunter Generations and Indie gaming machine (huge amount of fantastic Indie games frequently discounted), but if you like traditional RPGs then don't forget about Final Fantasy on Switch either! FF8 Remaster looks amazing on the Switch =) Skyrim also plays ridiculously well on the console.
 
.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,212
I find it's mostly just filled to the brim with really, really bad games, which makes finding the good ones incredibly hard.
 
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Nuclear Muffin

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
4,721
Sander VF said:
How can you say that for 2019? Nintendo released a whole bunch of games with 85+ MC this year and none of them are Wii U ports.
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Almost 3 years after the console's launch? Bit late there.

And even then, Link's Awakening is a remake of a GB game and Mario Maker 2 is a glorified Wii U port with extra content bolted on top (Also NSMBU Dx IS a literal Wii U port).
 
carlosrox

carlosrox

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,270
Vancouver BC
There is enough good shit on there to buy games on a weekly basis.

In the last week or two I've bought like 5 more eshop games and there's still tons I'm getting.

Then there's Alien and Star Ocean this week.

So yeah there's totally nothing to play *eyeroll*
 
It’s Time To Go

It’s Time To Go

Member
Dec 2, 2017
20,592
What's really amazing is OP is a member of what is still considered a video game enthusiast forum and didn't know or think to look up basic facts about a video game console. Like how many threads have we had about lack of Netflix or virtual console on switch? Almost weekly threads in fact on these issues.
 

Deleted member 37233

Banned
Jan 2, 2018
10,699
Nuclear Muffin said:
Almost 3 years after the console's launch? Bit late there.

And even then, Link's Awakening is a remake of a GB game and Mario Maker 2 is a glorified Wii U port with extra content bolted on top (Also NSMBU Dx IS a literal Wii U port).
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Nintendo is publishing more games every year than any other publisher, stop moving goalposts and to disregard games because of "reasons".
 
awake4ages

awake4ages

Neo•Geo Saver
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,050
What the hell are you talking about

No VC? OK, get a sub and play NES/SNES games. If that isn't enough, the Neo Geo catalog is staggering, ACA and Sega Ages games are the best quality ports you can find. There are a truckload of RPGs available, and many, many exclusives.

I can barely get on the eshop without buying something every time a half decent sale comes along.
 

Nuclear Muffin

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
4,721
Lichtsang said:
Nintendo is publishing more games every year than any other publisher, stop moving goalposts and to disregard games because of "reasons".
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None of those games I mentioned are really exclusive to Switch. You can play Link's Awakening on GB/GBC and Mario Maker on Wii U (which has most of the same content). Sure, LA is a great remake and MM2 is a nice upgrade from the Wii U original, but they're not really new experiences.

They're not really original, which was my point in the first place. If you have already played these games before, there isn't that much to entice you here. The Switch is lacking in actual, original content.
 

Deleted member 31873

Banned
Nov 8, 2017
3,532
Completely agree with OP. Super Mario Odyssey and Link's Awakening are cool. Cuphead and Ori are good too since I don't own a gaming PC or Xbox. Outside of those? There's really not much I care about that I can't just get on my PS4.

I have probably 20 times more interesting games just for PSVR than I have for my Switch. Worst console purchase I've ever made.
 
Kelanflyter

Kelanflyter

Banned
Nov 9, 2017
1,730
France
Typhonsentra said:
Absolutely on me. I know know I'm complaining but this isn't me saying it wasn't worth getting, just baffled by decisions Nintendo has made which feel like things I would take for granted after my experiences with the Wii U.

Like yeah, I could look up inf about there being no virtual console but is it really unreasonable to assume it'd be there given it's been a part of their platform strategy since the original Wii was launched 13 years ago? I wouldn't really care as I have only ever bought one game from the Virtual Console in all these years (Earthbound Zero/Mother), but yeah, it surprised me to not see that get ported over. I remember it not being at launch, but people on GAF kept insisting it would come but I guess it didn't.
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You have Virtual Console on Switch, just in a different form.
Sub the Nintendo Online and you'll have access to the NES and SNES apps
 
Sander VF

Sander VF

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
25,932
Tbilisi, Georgia
Nuclear Muffin said:
Almost 3 years after the console's launch? Bit late there.
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How does this matter? Are we discussing this in 2018? Did the op time travel to buy the thing last year and we're reading the thread from a year ago?


Nuclear Muffin said:
And even then, Link's Awakening is a remake of a GB game and Mario Maker 2 is a glorified Wii U port with extra content bolted on top
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I'm kinda astounded that a small part of Nintendo fanbase seems to have somehow internalized blatant nonsense reasoning made by console warriors for console war purposes.

A port is a port. Iterative sequels are not ports. The industry is overflowing with iterative sequels yet no one ever made this argument before Switch came along and warrior trolls wanted to downplay Splatoon 2 on the "enemy lists" and then a small segment of Nintendo fans actually somehow internalized that for whenever they want to complain about the library.

It's amazing.
Nuclear Muffin said:
Also NSMBU Dx IS a literal Wii U port)
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Also NSMU DX has a sub-85 metacritic and was obviously not included in my statement.
 

Deleted member 37233

Banned
Jan 2, 2018
10,699
Nuclear Muffin said:
None of those games I mentioned are really exclusive to Switch. You can play Link's Awakening on GB/GBC and Mario Maker on Wii U (which has most of the same content). Sure, LA is a great remake and MM2 is a nice upgrade from the Wii U original, but they're not really new experiences.

They're not really original, which was my point in the first place. If you have already played these games before, there isn't that much to entice you here. The Switch is lacking in actual, original content.
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Link's Awakening is a Remake, if you disregard it then you can disregard every remake and remaster on every platform. And if you diregard an improved sequel of a game you can also disregard most games on all platforms. That's just dumb. Sounds like those people how argued Smash and Splatoon were ports.

Astral Chain, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Mario Maker 2, Link's Awakening (2019), The Stretchers, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Luigis Mansion 3, Pokémon Sword/Shield, Ring Fit Adventure, Daemon X Machina, Cadence of Hyrule, Yoshi's Crafted World, Tetris 99, BoxBoy! + BoyGirl!, Super Kirby Clash, Fitness Boxing, ...

Nintendo published all of those titles this year, all of those are exclusive and none of them are ports.
 
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danhz

danhz

Member
Apr 20, 2018
3,231
We already have phones for apps, and they have way better resolution, this is a machine to play videogames, and it has videogames.
 
P-MAC

P-MAC

Member
Nov 15, 2017
4,449
The Switch has the best, biggest and broadest library a Nintendo console has ever had and absolutely dwarfs the Wii U's library. Either you don't like Nintendo games at all or you haven't looked properly lol.
 
Gnorman

Gnorman

Banned
Jan 14, 2018
2,945
It depends what other systems OP owns. I've had my switch about 15 months and haven't filled the internal memory yet. You can't argue the switch doesn't have games though, it's got stuff for just about every taste now.
 
Kwigo

Kwigo

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
8,025
Next on EtcetEra:
Why are people buying expensive stuff without doing their research?
 
cw_sasuke

cw_sasuke

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,342
Nuclear Muffin said:
Almost 3 years after the console's launch? Bit late there.

And even then, Link's Awakening is a remake of a GB game and Mario Maker 2 is a glorified Wii U port with extra content bolted on top (Also NSMBU Dx IS a literal Wii U port).
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lol

What's late about releasing software in the 3rd year of a systems life ? You are really desperately reaching for anything that fits your narrative.

Calling MM2 a port...what a joke of a take.
 
Matty H

Matty H

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,107
I just bought one too. There's tonnes of games but it feels like way more junk than quality. Same with every storefront though.

Other than the big first party titles, there's a dozen or so Indies that I've put on my watch list. Only a couple of those are higher priority than my backlog on other systems.

There's enough to justify my purchase but for some reason I thought there would be more. Also I thought there'd be more NES/SNES ports.
 

rickyson33

Banned
Nov 23, 2017
3,053
there really isn't a ton there if you had a Wii U and have another platform you play multiplatforms on to be honest

it's all about expectations though,i've only played a couple games on my switch and don't at all regret getting it because I knew what I was getting into and decided it was worth it for me
 
Nitpicker_Red

Nitpicker_Red

Member
Nov 3, 2017
1,282
Typhonsentra said:
And speaking of old ports.... no virtual console? Not that I'm huge on rebuying straight ports for a premium but it would've helped pad out what feels like a pretty barren storefront. The system is pretty convenient and feels nice though, and I am looking forward to Pokemon despite the negativity, but I guess I just missed hearing about all of these issues and/or just assumed they'd be fixed by now.
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There's NES and SNES games available with the NS Online subscription, but they don't add very regularly games.
You can share a NSO family subscription with a stranger online for reduced price. Wasn't there a thread for membership sharing?

From the ones that are there, there's Super Metroid, Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Zelda A Link to the Past, Demon's Crest, Breath of Fire that stand out for me on the SNES. (other people might have other stand-outs) Missing some good titles (missing a Kirby, Donkey Kong Country, or any Bomberman or Megaman).
The NES is if you want to catch up on serie firsts like the first three (four) Super Mario Bros. (some people say SMB3 is better than SM World), the first Metroid, the first two Legend of Zelda, the second Kirby, what's Kid Icarus...

(Of course if you played them elsewhere [you know how] that's less valuable, but since you mentionned the VC by name, I thought I'd freshen you up.)

Tetris 99's Battle Royale mode is also part of the NSO.

Personally I used the NSO for Splatoon 2 (kind of revolutionary shooter for people not used to shooters), but if you don't have any online game you want to play, $20 for a year of access (less if you share a membership) can be a tough sell.
 
OP
OP

Typhonsentra

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,947
Couscous said:
OP, it would helpful if you told us which other systems you own so that we can recommend you some good games.
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PS4, Vita, and 3DS for systems since 2010, before then I owned any system at or near launch. I picked up a Xbox One S for 150 as well with the Switch. I bought it mainly because I notice most of the multiplats that are older tend to be cheaper on it than the PS4 at GameStop, or at least the ones near me.
 
Couscous

Couscous

Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,089
Twente (The Netherlands)
Typhonsentra said:
PS4, Vita, and 3DS for systems since 2010, before then I owned any system at or near launch. I picked up a Xbox One S for 150 as well with the Switch. I bought it mainly because I notice most of the multiplats that are older tend to be cheaper on it than the PS4 at GameStop, or at least the ones near me.
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Did you play Hollow Knight? If not, buy it now since it's ome of the best games on the system period.
 
so1337

so1337

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,476
1upsuper said:
It's a macca for modern indie titles, plus you have nearly the entire Neo Geo library on there as well as a bunch of Sega Ages titles, Konami collections, Hamster arcade ports, and M2 enhanced ports. It's missing a ton of retro libraries but it's not nothing.

The real problem is sifting through the garbage. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't keep up on releases as they happened. I'm not sure how you're supposed to find the good stuff.
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Vitet

Vitet

Member
Oct 31, 2017
2,573
Valencia, Spain
hussien-11 said:
I can at least name another 10-15 good rpgs on Switch:

Dragon Quest Builders 2
Mario + Rabbids
Cosmic Star Heroine
The Alliance Alive HD
Ys VIII
The Caligula Effect Overdose
Valkyria Chronicles 1
Grandia HD Collection
The Last Remnant Remastered
Super Neptunia RPG
Oninaki
Lost Sphear

Switch is my jrpg machine :P
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I think we should add the Witcher 3 as mentioned, but amazed no one mentioned
Baldur's Gate 1+2
Planescape Torment + Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights (coming this week)
 
Foxnull

Foxnull

Alt-Account
Banned
May 30, 2019
1,651
I kinda agree on the topic. Once you filter out all the shovelware and ports, there's hardly anything left.
 
Manzoli

Manzoli

Member
Oct 27, 2017
333
Brazil
If you're taking about AAA games (specially third parties) then yeah... It could look a little empty (although comparing with Nintendo's last console it's still a night and day difference).

As others have said: the store has discoverability problems, so you have to approach it another way.

I'm always searching for recommendations on "top lists" on YouTube and reading the eShop thread here monthly so to not loose any good games and have right now more than 100 games withlisted (and 40+ on my library), and i only have my Switch since January.

I wouldn't call it empty by any means, however you have to "learn" how to search for games and also learn to enjoy hunting for smaller and different kinds of games.
 
Eoin

Eoin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,103
Typhonsentra said:
Like yeah, I could look up inf about there being no virtual console but is it really unreasonable to assume it'd be there given it's been a part of their platform strategy since the original Wii was launched 13 years ago?
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Well, there's a question for you: do you really want the Virtual Console on Switch in the same way that it was implemented on Wii U? It was a slow drip-feed of games from across various systems and it often seemed like Nintendo got bored of systems and moved on.

What we have on Switch is admittedly all over the place. There's the NES and SNES games on NSO, there's tons of individual Sega Ages and NeoGeo and Arcade Archives releases scattered across the eShop, there's a pile of compilations for various systems/franchises, and there's some remakes or releases in various bundles (or individual games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest).

However, what that means that is that there's about as much retro stuff as there was on Wii U, generally at lower per-game prices, and I'm not entirely sure why you'd prefer a Virtual Console model over what's there, other than for the purpose of having a separate retro section on the storefront.
 
klastical

klastical

Member
Oct 29, 2017
4,712
The OP isnt great but anyone who thinks the eshop isnt a joke is fooling themselves. There is next to zero discoverability on the eshop. There is no curation to highlight games worth looking at and yes, a system not having netflix support in 2019 is pretty shocking.

There are plenty of great games on the eshop but once they fall off the new releases page they are never be surfaced again unless they go on sale and you have to find out about games from word of mouth.
 
cw_sasuke

cw_sasuke

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,342
klastical said:
The OP isnt great but anyone who thinks the eshop isnt a joke is fooling themselves. There is next to zero discoverability on the eshop. There is no curation to highlight games worth looking at and yes, a system not having netflix support in 2019 is pretty shocking.

There are plenty of great games on the eshop but once they fall off the new releases page they are never be surfaced again unless they go on sale and you have to find out about games from word of mouth.
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The notion that a Era users that waited nearly 3 years to buy a console has no idea what kind of games he wants to buy on it or are avaible is hard to believe.

There isn't a week that goes by without recommendation threads or impressions of new interesting games. The monthly eShop ERA thread also highlights the relevant releases.

If you can browse on the internet it take less than 15secs to come up with a solid list of eShop recommendations ...something that most people would do before spending 300 bucks on a console.
 
Jimnymebob

Jimnymebob

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,577
P-MAC said:
The Switch has the best, biggest and broadest library a Nintendo console has ever had and absolutely dwarfs the Wii U's library. Either you don't like Nintendo games at all or you haven't looked properly lol.
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I think VC, and especially the fact it still supported Wii VC and Wii games, pushes the Wii U ahead in my opinion.

Mainline releases I can kind of agree with, even if some of the better Switch games are the Wii U ports, but I'd take the Wii U's massive VC library, and decent indie library, over the quantity over quality Switch eShop content.
 
Reinhardt Schneider

Reinhardt Schneider

Banned
Jun 2, 2019
4,947
Regarding retro, i was an avid VC user and i'm pretty much satisfied.

While it lacks Game boy and N64 stuff, you have general arcade releases and Neo Geo in Hamster's Arcade Archives, Sega covering their own bases with Sega Ages (They even have a few titles on sale) and Capcom/Konami going compilation happy.

It's not bad at all, and price wise certainly better than VC
 
Gnorman

Gnorman

Banned
Jan 14, 2018
2,945
P-MAC said:
The Switch has the best, biggest and broadest library a Nintendo console has ever had and absolutely dwarfs the Wii U's library. Either you don't like Nintendo games at all or you haven't looked properly lol.
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The comparison to previous Nintendo consoles isn't really relevant unless they are the only consoles you buy. It's library should be compared to current options, ps4, xbox and steam.
 
Mexen

Mexen

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,927
I deleted my wishlist because it became so long that I got overwhelmed by it and mentally set myself free. The eShop is why I am finally buying a 512GB SD card.
 

Deleted member 11008

User requested account closure
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
6,627
I can't believe OP say this when I have be buying like more than 15 digital titles those past 6 months and now I'm planning to get this week Curse of the Moon, Castlevania Collection, Turok 1 and 2 and Mario Rabbids. If I I had more money I would be getting some VN games too.
 
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