Is the Switch going to get (or getting) a ton of Shovelware?

[Rick Dangerous]

Now that the Switch is a smash hit I wonder if it will get a nice big pile of shovelware like the Wii (or any successful console of it's generation) did.

 

I have to wonder if it's happening already. I browse through the eshop now and ask myself: What the hell is all this weird crap?

 

But it makes me wonder:

 

-Will game companies continue to port last gen stuff in a lazy effort to cash in (and I don't mean high end stuff like LA Noire or Skyrim)?

 

-Will new and abundant shovelware be making its way to the eshop?

 

-Boatloads of mobile game ports?

 

-Will new switch specific shovelware be created and published on cart to snare consumers, while great games like Worms, Sonic Mania, Yooka Lay-lay and Master Blaster remain download only?

 

What are your thoughts on the impending shovel fest?

[spacecadet]

Let me preface this by saying that I haven't looked at the eshop in a month or two, so some of this might be out of date. Or it might not.

 

But I feel like all the online game stores are full of crap. This is a problem they're all going to have to address in some way.

 

It's nice for indie developers to have a place where they can sell games without worrying about printing costs or jockeying for shelf space, but for every good indie game in one of these electronic stores, there are probably 100 just total pieces of garbage. Either blatant copies of other games, quick cash grabs or occasionally, overly ambitious games from developers who bit off more than they could chew, resulting in an incoherent, buggy mess. And it is really difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

On Steam you can at least sort by rating. But I don't think any of the consoles have a similar thing. (I know PSN *has* ratings, but I don't think you can sort by them. I'm not sure if the Nintendo eshop even has them; I can't remember seeing them.)

 

I think it could be something as simple as just having a couple of new algorithmically generated categories; take the top rated eshop-only games over the past six months and just make a "featured eshop games" category, then make the same category but for games six months or older and call it "eshop hall of fame" or something. I don't know, maybe they already have this, but they didn't last time I checked.

[Keatah]

But I feel like all the online game stores are full of crap. This is a problem they're all going to have to address in some way.

 

 

I don't think eshops will ever want to address that. Why would they want to limit what they stock? It doesn't cost them anything except disk space. And if they make a sale they make a sale. They don't care whether you are fully satisfied or just so-so satisfied.

[godslabrat]

Very few systems manage to find the line between "tons of shovelware" and "not enough good games". Between the two extremes, I'd gladly take a system loaded with shovelware. That puts in alongside the NES, 2600, and Ps1. Good company to be in.

[Tanooki]

Are they going to? Yes

Is this a good thing in the big picture? Yes

 

Why?! -- Because if these people are so happy to shovel so much of their B and C tier garbage as much as the good stuff too to make a fast buck that means they finally now see Nintendo as not only viable but on the same level of demand and respect that the other hardware suppliers get. The more pushed, the more good came come of it around all the turds. You know you're bad when you don't get a lot of the indie junk because if they don't even care, good luck getting actual big and medium fish game makers doing their stuff too. It shows the risk is seen as minimal if more and more appears.

[Mord]

Any console that gets popular ends up getting shovelware. So long as it's relatively easy to find the gems then it shouldn't be a problem.

 

That being said, I'm not sure if I think the eshop is really the best suited for gem finding at the moment.

[Punisher5.0]

I just checked the online store and couldn't believe how many $5 crap games there was.

[Flojomojo]

There are a lot of mobile ports. There are a lot of indie games. I don't see a problem with having lots of choices in the eShop. The level of quality seems a lot higher than that of the 3DS eShop.

 

Unlike with the Wii, none of the physical releases seem to fit the definition of shovelware.

 

I wouldn't worry about having a lot of choices, that's not really a problem and it won't bring down the platform.

[Punisher5.0]

There are a lot of mobile ports. There are a lot of indie games. I don't see a problem with having lots of choices in the eShop. The level of quality seems a lot higher than that of the 3DS eShop.

 

Unlike with the Wii, none of the physical releases seem to fit the definition of shovelware.

 

I wouldn't worry about having a lot of choices, that's not really a problem and it won't bring down the platform.

It's annoying to wade through though.

[Tanooki]

That doesn't make it shovelware. That just makes you lazy and or impatient to deal with it. The real blame isn't the games, it's the god awful irresponsibly half baked and half assed eshop design. I can't stand to use it so unless I know what I want by name I don't even open it up. It's a piece of crap. You look at what even the crappy WiiU has setup to navigate, the 3DS, even what Sony has been doing -- then there's the Switch. It's garbage. And even if it's temporary waiting on their full network to go live, it's still a horrible space and time wasting put off of bad design that's beyond minimalist into barely functional.

[Flojomojo]

I don't shop on the eShop, I read reviews on Tiny Cartridge and Nintendolife then go get what seems interesting.

 

The store is a means to an end. I think the Switch shop is adequate. The games are the thing.

[Rick Dangerous]

I don't shop on the eShop, I read reviews on Tiny Cartridge and Nintendolife then go get what seems interesting.

 

The store is a means to an end. I think the Switch shop is adequate. The games are the thing.

 

Thanks for the tip! Going to check out Tiny Cartridge now.

 

Nintendo life is based out of the UK which is pretty cool, regularly read their reviews rather than IGN these days. IGN was great back in the N64 days but is a mess now. Victim of it's own success IMO.

[Tanooki]

Agreed Tiny Cartridge is an amazing under the radar source for all the great handheld gaming news. I've read that site since it pretty much went online I believe in the DS/PSP era like a decade ago.

[TPA5]

Steam has a powerful amount of shovelware, too. It's an 'issue' nearly as old as gaming itself. Personally, I don't think it's a problem.

Edited February 8, 2018 by TPA5