The Nintendo eShop isn't available right now for the Switch and won't be available until tomorrow, March 3rd. The online service was not available for reviewers to peruse while they had the review units, but the general public has been given a sneak peek at what the digital storefront looks like thanks to a new video tour provided by Nintendo.
The video was posted up over on the official Nintendo YouTube account, where they run gamers through the details of the new and improved Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo Switch.
The video starts by explaining that all of the news and updates related to Nintendo products will be available through the "News" feature located on the home menu of the Nintendo Switch's UI. The news is also listed on the side of the main menu once the system is awakened out of sleep mode.
On the home menu screen, the eShop button is located directly next to the news icon, so they made sure it's easy to get to Nintendo's digital storefront. Once you select the eShop option, you'll be able to choose your Nintendo Network ID and then find yourself transported to the shop. The interesting thing here is that allowing users to choose their Nintendo Network ID before entering the shop is a cool way to allow different users to purchase items and add games to their account while using a single Nintendo Switch device.
In previous reports it was mentioned that you can have up to eight different profiles stored on a single Nintendo Switch unit. What they don't say (or haven't said) is whether or not if those profiles are removed with specific games on them, if those games can still be played on the Switch.
What they do explain is that if you have a Nintendo Network ID already and you have funds stored on that account, you can transfer over the funds to combine them into your account profile on the Nintendo Switch. So, in a way, that answers the question as to whether or not any of your previous balance from the Wii U or 3DS Nintendo Network IDs will carry over.
They also explain that search functions and category filters are available on the eShop as well. So, depending on the kind of game you're looking for, you can vary how you'll be able to search in the store.
Some of the filters include being able to find games over or under a certain price, as well as being able to find games within a specific genre.
The Nintendo Switch also takes a move out of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One's playbooks, where you can purchase and download a game even while the system is in sleep mode. So if you're traveling but you want to play a specific game, you can go online, download the game and conserve the battery by putting the system in sleep mode. It's a neat feature.
