In his most recent column in Famitsu Weekly, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai shared his views on digital services in gaming; his comments suggest that he feels console stores - by extension including the eShop platforms - could learn a lot from PC gaming.
Sakurai-san said the following:
It's become mandatory that each platform has its own built-in [digital] shop. So among those, which online shop is superior and offers the most incentive to buy from it? I would answer, Steam.
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Sakurai-san specifically praised Steam's rating and feedback system, which discourages people from voting down a game simply out of spite; only those who have purchased a game are allowed to rate it, paving the way for more constructive feedback. On top of this, he also touched upon Steam's genre tags, accessible and user-specific search functions and recommendations, online rankings, achievements, wish lists and bundles. After these claims Sakurai continued to shower the service with praise, saying, "I write this because on varying levels, I have complaints with every other online shopping format."
