For years, users on the Switch have been annoyed by the inconsistent and slow shop. Now Nintendo has introduced an official shop app that at least indirectly solves the problem. You can now conveniently purchase games through your phone instead of struggling through the shop. Perfect might be different, but it’s better than before.
What problem is this about? Anyone who wants to buy a game or just browse the shop on the Nintendo Switch knows the issue: The shop is incredibly slow on the Switch, lags, or you are simply sent back to the top of the list. Users have been complaining on Reddit and in other posts for years that the user experience with the internal store of the Switch is very mixed and demand improvements for the slow performance (Reddit.com).
Nintendo has now solved the problem at least in its way: They have introduced the shop as an app for Android and iOS. Our first impression: The shop runs as smoothly here as it should on the Switch.
New app lets you use the Nintendo shop conveniently on your phone
What kind of app is this? Nintendo has introduced the “Nintendo Store” app for Android and iOS (TheVerge.com). It is more or less the mixed shop of the Switch for your phone. On the phone, you can do the same as you could on the Switch: scroll through the shop, buy games and hardware, and edit your wishlist.
However, the app is not yet perfect: The app opens a page in your device’s default web browser when selecting products, instead of allowing you to make purchases within the app. Nevertheless, this is a more convenient way to access the Nintendo eShop than manually visiting the mobile browser store or struggling through the internal shop of the Switch.
Nintendo wants to focus on the Switch 2. In the long term, this also means that the old Switch will have no future. However, Nintendo still wants to sell both the old and new hardware for the time being. And they also do not want to commit to an end date for the Switch 1 just yet. It is clear, though: it is coming to an end for the old Switch: With a single sentence, Nintendo has just made it clear that they will not support the Switch forever
