The Nintendo Switch Is Great But There's A Flaw

When it comes to gaming systems one of the hottest on the market right now is the Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch may not yet be the highest sold Nintendo portable console, however, it’s well on its way towards those figures. It’s crystal clear that people love the Switch, however, there is a huge flaw IMO when it comes to the games offered.

Nintendo’s Weak Link For Switch Gaming

When it comes to finding games for the Nintendo Switch you can choose to either buy the physical game or choose to download it. Some games don’t even offer a physical version and you must download them if you want to play them. However, most games have both options and the Switch has a large selection of physical games available for those who prefer dealing with tiny cartridges.

For everyone else, the Nintendo eShop is your one-stop-shop for all your gaming needs. Visiting the eShop, you’ll see there is an even larger amount of games for all ages and in all genres available. After selecting a game, you can find out the memory space required as well as other info. While all the information given is great and fairly useful, there’s still a very important aspect that’s missing.

User Reviews and Ratings

There are a number of ways for gamers to communicate with each other in the community about games. Forums, videos, and chatrooms are highly popular, however, user reviews and ratings are the best gauges of a game’s playability. And yes, there are literally hundreds of online channels and websites specifically offering game reviews.

The disconnect however comes when you’re browsing through the eShop and find something that looks interesting. Rarely do folks ever stop and think, hey I should look up all the reviews on all the games that I’m interested in. Let me get off this thing and do some research.

While game review researching is easy enough to do, it certainly does not make for a seamless shopping experience. Usually what happens is that folks just fork over the money and hope the game is worth it. Instead of making interested players do online research, Nintendo should allow buyers to leave reviews or star ratings at the least. Some may argue that some games might suffer and not sell because of a poor or low rating. I would argue that the game maker then needs to make a better game.

In a way, it’s almost censorship by not having reviews or ratings for the eShop games. With reviews available, users can warn other potential buyers of game issues as well as offering praise about the game. As free-speech faces more and more restriction, criticisms are often now frowned upon. As for the gaming community, things are not different. I can understand why Nintendo may have opted out of game reviews. However, in the end, it does nobody any good and serves as a disservice to the community.

Conclusion

For some folks having the Nintendo Switch is literally a game-changer with its ability to game at home or on-the-go on the same platform. As a top gaming console, there are a lot of things Nintendo did right with the Switch. However, the eShop’s lack of reviews is not one of them. The lack of game ratings can make it difficult to judge how good a game really is. However, even though the eshop may lack game ratings, fun is definitely something the Nintendo Switch doesn’t lack.

How do you feel about the lack of ratings or reviews on Nintendo’s eShop? Leave your comments down below.