Opinion: Nintendo finally gets it right with the eShop

Nintendo's 3DS eShop is here, just over two months after the handheld first launched. After the mediocre offering that was the DSiWare store, we were hoping for big things from the Big N.

Last week, we mused about what Nintendo needed to do to make the eShop a success, discussing what went right, and (mainly) what went wrong with DSiWare.

Now that we've finally got our hands on the new downloadable shop, we can safely say that there has definitely been an improvement, and Nintendo has clearly learned from its mistakes.

However, some old issues still rear their ugly heads. Overall, this is a definite step in the right direction, but hopefully we're going to see some problems addressed over the next few months.

One of our main gripes with the DSiWare store was how slowly it loaded. Buying a single game could take up to ten minutes, as you'd boot up the store, go through menu after menu, then try to find the game you were looking for.

Hence, we're happy to report that the Nintendo eShop is speedy all the way. There's some loading time to get into the eShop from the main 3DS menu, mind, but after that, you're laughing.

While it doesn't feel as effortless as the App Store, the eShop is still a breeze to navigate. A single line of options can be scrolled across, and offers everything you need at just a single touch.

We do hope, however, that Nintendo offers the same folding out mechanic that the 3DS main menu has, whereby you can make the icons smaller and see everything on offer at the same time.

Finding what you're looking for is simple. Virtual Console games are packed away in their own area, and can be browsed together in the blink of an eye.

DSiWare titles also have their own area, while current special offers and new releases receive their own block - a move that will surely bring in a host of developers who want to see their products on the eShop front.

Even if a game you're looking for has fallen off the main pages, there's a handy search bar at the bottom which will find whatever you're looking for instantely. Superb stuff.

For the first time, Nintendo has thrown in support for rating products on the store.

You must have downloaded and played a title for over an hour before you can give it a rating, which sounds perfectly reasonable to us.

You're asked a short series of questions, such as your age, what kind of gamer you think the title would appeal to, and your rating out of 5. You can rate any game you've played on your system, including retail titles.

You also have your own wish list, to which you can add titles, and then receive notifications if and when there's a price drop, promotion, or new related release.

We could go on and on about all the new features that Nintendo has packed into the eShop, but instead we'll present some of our highlights to you.

The 'Now In Stores' section allows you to check out what's been released at retail recently, as well as trailers of the latest releases. There are also weekly charts plotting which titles are the most popular in the eShop.

A news ticker along the bottom shows what people are searching for most, newly released titles, and other points of interest. Once you've downloaded a title, it appears on your main 3DS menu as a present, just as it did on the original DSi.

So, there's no doubt we're impressed - but we're also feeling a little miffed.

Pocket Gamer has access to both a US and an EU 3DS, and the differences between the two stores are just incredible. The US store has so much more to offer in terms of flexibility and lower pricing.

While the European store is divided up into DSiWare, new releases ,and Virtual Console, the US store has exponentially more to explore.

There's an area for checking out DSiWare favourites, alongside a Staff Pick of the Week section. Past DSiWare games and new eShop titles have also been split up into nearly a dozen different areas, creating far more breathing space and easier navigation.

There are distinct areas for two-player games, four-player games, Mario games, card games, puzzle games, essential picks... and it goes on. There's even a section titled 'Games that begin with the letter W', which suggests that new sections are set to appear weekly.

Hopefully, the European store will see these added sometime soon, as it gives the store a much beefier feel. Right now, the EU store feels very bare in comparison.

It also doesn't help, of course, that there's barely anything available yet. Apart from three Virtual Console titles, Pokedex 3D, and Excitebike, there are just DSiWare titles to skim through - and there's a reason we didn't really pay much attention to those before.

Finally, and most grudgingly, is the issue of price conversion. We're used to seeing horrible dollar to pound conversion in the UK, but the eShop is one of the worst examples we've ever witnessed.

Take Mighty Milky Way as an example: a great DSiWare game released last month. The original game was 800 DSi Points in the DSiWare store, which translates to $7.99.

Over in the US eShop, the game is indeed $7.99. However, in the UK store, it's an incredible £7.20. You don't need to get your calculator out to know that £7.20 does not equal $7.99 at all.

In fact, at this point in time, it makes more sense to continue to buy DSiWare games on your DSi! You can still pick up 2000 DSi points off the net for around £12, which translates to Mighty Milky Way costing you around £5.

Unfortunately, we can't see Nintendo changing its pricing anytime soon, so it looks like we're going to be stuck with these silly prices. Sure, it's only a couple of quid difference for each game, but those extra pounds will soon add up.

The eShop, then, is a sign that Nintendo is finally catching up with modern living. It's easy to navigate and use, and we can see ourselves browsing regularly for the latest releases.

Let's just hope that Nintendo continues to put effort into it and doesn't leave it rotting as it did with DSiWare. With some promotions and plenty of updates, this could be Nintendo's first real foray into the world of downloadable titles.