Nintendo has launched a new mobile application for its store iOS AND Androidand while The Nintendo Store app does a great job of making it easy to browse and buy games Nintendo switch AND Change 2Perhaps the most interesting feature is the one that shows your Nintendo game history by year.
At the bottom of your profile page (accessible by tapping the Mii icon in the bottom right) is an option called “Game Activity”. At the top, Recent Activity shows which games you last played and for how long. But if you scroll down to All Activities, you’ll find console games and apps going back several years.
It was a shock to me to see Wii U and Nintendo 3DS titles that I had completely forgotten about, such as a game my daughters loved: Art Academy: Home Studio and Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, which I played for ten days in 2015. I don’t remember playing Steel Diver on the Nintendo 3DS, but evidence suggests it happened on March 28, 2011.
Why leisure activities are important
If the feature was just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, that would be one thing, but for anyone with a long track record spanning multiple generations of Nintendo consoles, it’s good information. In an age of remakes and re-releases, it’s useful to know what games you’ve played before, what console you played them on, and if you spent a lot of time with them. My game history is full of games that I only played for less than an hour, like Ridge Racer 3D, and that I abandoned for others.
This reminds me of playing Nintendogs, the cute dog simulator, for four years, from 2011 to 2015. Why hasn’t Nintendo revived this franchise?
It is useful to be able to sort your game history by recently played games, date of first game, total game time and game system. I was surprised by the number of games I played on the Wii U, but it probably pales in comparison to the number of games I played on the GameCube or the original Wii. Game activity doesn’t seem to slow down that much; For me it ends in 2011 with Wii U and 3DS. Games on Switch are shown in more detail, showing how much you’ve played per game session.
But most importantly, it’s nice to have a document that shows your relationship with Nintendo’s systems and software, whether it’s how much time you’ve spent watching Netflix on your Switch or how many hours you’ve logged into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
What else is in the Nintendo Store app?
If Play Activity was the only feature in the Nintendo Store app, it would still be worth downloading for long-time gamers. However, this is just an interesting feature and not the main attraction.
The best reason to download the Nintendo Store app is the store itself, which is much easier to navigate and search than the Switch version, which can be slow and clunky. You can make purchases for your Switch or Switch 2, use Nintendo Points, get GPS recording and see company events, promotions and game news right in the app.
There is also merchandise, including game soundtracks, clothing and toys. It’s useful to quickly know which games have demo versions and be able to send a digital download from your phone to the Switch.
The “Ask a Developer” tab is a great place to explore the “What’s New” section of the app. Today’s stories are about creation. The world of Mario Kart AND Donkey Kong Banana.
To use the Nintendo Store app, you must link your Nintendo Account.
