Ahead of the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch, Nintendo said that the eShop would be improved and run more smoothly on the new console. Based on our initial testing at The Verge, it’s immediately apparent that the Switch 2’s eShop is much better.
On the original Switch, the eShop can be extremely sluggish. Even just moving from one section to another can have a lag, and clicking into a game sometimes takes a bit to load before you can even go through the process of buying it. The delays and slow navigation make using the shop a huge pain; I personally often defaulted to buying digital games on Nintendo’s website because it was a better experience.
On the Switch 2, the eShop is way faster. It’s all much more snappy, with much less lag browsing through sections and loading up game pages. Just take a look at this video comparing jumping into the eShop on both consoles, captured by my colleague Tristan Cooper – it’s dramatically faster on the Switch 2:
And how about if you want to search for Deltarune? Again, way quicker on the Switch 2.
“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,” Switch 2 director Takuhiro Dohta said in an interview published in April. “We believe the act of finding the game you want to play is itself part of the game system experience.”
Right now, the eShop feels like one part of the Switch 2 experience that’s a huge upgrade. Hopefully, that will end up making it a better place to find great games.
