Nintendo Implements Silent eShop Change To Prevent Shovelware From Trending

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Summary

  • Nintendo’s latest Switch update changes eShop charts to prevent shovelware games from appearing frequently by tracking revenue.
  • Titles with low prices previously exploited sales charts. Nintendo’s update now excludes these to highlight quality games.
  • The change benefits indie developers while disadvantaging low-priced games. Shovelware, often AI-driven, faces a discouragement.

It’s generally beneficial for independent developers to publish their games on digital platforms, but occasionally, certain firms appear to overstep the mark by exploiting this opportunity excessively.

For over a year now, marketplaces such as the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Steam, and the Nintendo eShop have been flooded with numerous low-quality or “shovelware” games. It’s concerning that, despite this ongoing issue, platform owners haven’t taken any significant steps to address it. Unlike other platforms, Nintendo appears to still allow these shovelware games on their store, the eShop. However, they have recently made adjustments to ensure such games aren’t prominently displayed.

Shovelware And AI Games’ Sales Exploit To Appear In Sales Charts Nuked By Nintendo’s Latest Update

A few days ago, Nintendo introduced an update for their Switch console, which eliminated a popular feature that left many fans displeased. This upgrade also brought about significant alterations to the Nintendo eShop, with the primary aim of minimizing the visibility of low-quality games, often referred to as “shovelware.

Typically, these shovelware titles are sold at extremely low prices with the intention of increasing their visibility in online stores by boosting their rankings. This increased visibility can give potential buyers the misconception that the game is popular and well-received, leading to further sales. (Via VGC)

Nintendo has made a change in how they present sales charts on the eShop following a system software update. Instead of determining rankings based on the number of games sold over the past two days (48 hours), they now monitor and rank according to the total revenue generated over the last three days (72 hours).

As a gaming enthusiast, here’s my take: From now on, budget games with incredibly low prices won’t make it onto the top charts. For instance, a game priced at a dollar needs to be sold 60 times to equal the sales of a game priced at sixty dollars.

Perhaps, this adjustment should be sufficient to keep such games labeled as “shovelware” – those that some believe are created using AI due to their frequent incorporation of AI-generated images within the game – from dominating the top listings on our storefront.

This recent decision by Nintendo may help in curbing the popularity of low-quality games, referred to as “shovelware.” However, it could potentially set back games that are not priced fully, which often include high-quality indie titles, at a notable disadvantage.

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2025-05-02 02:38