Nintendo Hits Milestone as Download Sales Exceed Packaged Goods, eShop Improvements Incoming

Nintendo is gradually getting the hang of the digital marketplace. In a Nindies panel at GDC 2018, the company talked about how its digital sales of its third-party games for the Switch and the Nintendo 3DS are exceeding sales of its traditional "boxed" games in the US. It also went over its plans to (finally) improve navigation of the eShop.

Nintendo outlined the Switch's success with downloadable third-party games before talking about how it plans to improve and upgrade the eShop's UI for "better discoverability" in the face of over-crowding. Currently, navigating the Switch's eShop is tedious, and discovering cool, quirky games you might want to take a chance on can be difficult. It's good to see Nintendo finally wants to take the eShop and digital distribution more seriously, especially in light of the Switch's determination to be a showcase for independent game publishers.

The Nindies panel also offered a shout-out to some of the most successful independent titles on the Switch, including the hugely popular Stardew Valley, Celeste, Golf Story, and Steamworld Dig 2.

[With reporting from Kat Bailey]

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