"Nintendo assures that the eShop will run more smoothly on the Switch 2."

Umar Shakir is a writer specializing in news and passionate about the lifestyle of electric vehicles and USB-C connected devices. After more than 15 years in IT technical support, he joined The Verge.

If you're someone who has avoided the eShop for most of the original Switch's lifespan due to its slowness, Nintendo has taken note and will not repeat that mistake. In the new Switch 2, the eShop channel will feature improved performance, even when displaying a large number of games, according to Takuhiro Dohta, senior director of planning and development at Nintendo, in an Ask the Developer interview.

Dohta explained that the improvements in the Switch 2's eShop speed are “thanks to the system's performance capabilities,” suggesting a significant leap from the aging software of the previous model, which faced difficulties in both menus and games over time. “We believe that the act of finding the game you want to play is part of the system experience,” he stated.

The eShop will also introduce a new feature called “Game Finds for You,” which, according to Kouichi Kawamoto, planning and development producer, will allow users to “quickly see screenshots and watch introductory videos” of various games, eliminating the need to “search every nook and cranny” of the store.

Nintendo has the opportunity to define the next generation of the digital gaming experience if it manages to make the eShop more intuitive and easier to navigate. Additionally, the Virtual Game Card feature will be introduced, allowing users to share digital games locally for a limited time, further enhancing the experience. Whether the $79.99 price tag for some first-party digital games is justified will depend on each user.