Nintendo has altered the way it ranks best-selling games in the Switch eShop, which could have big ramifications for both shovelware games and indies alike.
The change comes as part of a major firmware update released yesterday for the older console, in preparation for Switch 2’s release next month.
Previously, the eShop listed best-selling games by total downloads from the past 14 days. That’s now been changed to list games by total revenue from the past three days (spotted by GVG, via Kotaku).
On the one hand, this appears to be a good move to help filter out cheap shovelware games. The eShop has been rife with cheap imitation games and “slop” – back in December, copycat games based on Black Myth: Wukong and Unpacking were both called out.
The change in ranking means cheap games looking to make rapid sales will no longer be prioritised at the top of the charts, meaning studios will be disincentivised to game the charts with cheap knock-offs and sale prices aimed at undercutting bigger releases.
The flip side, though, is that legitimate indie games will likely have a more difficult time being discovered on the store. Instead, the chart will likely be dominated by fully priced AAA games – most notably, Nintendo’s own, considering they’re very rarely discounted.
At the time of the writing, the eShop Charts are dominated by predictable releases: Minecraft is top, followed by Animal Crossing, FC25, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Hogwarts Legacy.
There is at least an option to view download exclusive games in the same format, though it’s not shown by default.
It’s certainly a welcome change, then, that focuses on legitimate games, but it’s not necessarily an ideal solution.
Presumably this change will carry over to Switch 2, when it’s released on 5th June. Nintendo previously stated the digital store will have improved performance on the new console, but it still won’t have any music.
The Switch firmware update arrived yesterday, adding Gameshare, Virtual Game Cards and more.
However, it was soon spotted that sharing Virtual Game Cards means games can no longer be played online simultaneously across two consoles, which users have called a “downgrade”.