digital games
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Nintendo seriously needs to fix multi-Switch game sharing
Now that the Switch Lite ($200) is out, Nintendo fans are coming to a sad realization: Sharing digital games between multiple systems stinks. You can set one console as your primary, allowing you to play games anywhere without an internet connection. But to play digital titles on secondary systems, you'll have to be connected to the internet (it's also authenticated every three hours, GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb confirmed over the weekend). Even worse, you can only play games through the account that originally purchased them. That's a problem for families where one parent account typically buys digital games, as writer Gary Whitta learned over the weekend.
Sega Sammy to cut hundreds of jobs in 'Digital' restructure
Sega Sammy is restructuring to prioritize "Digital Games," a reform that'll see it make job cuts including "soliciting voluntary retirement" for around 300 employees; 120 employees are due to be approached about voluntary retirement next month. Sega of America is among those to be hit by layoffs as it relocates from San Francisco to Southern California. Sega Sammy plans to now pursue growth in smartphone and PC online gaming, an area that's seen rising results for the company in recent years. Despite the success of some packaged games such as million-seller Alien: Isolation, Sega Sammy's consistently reported favorable results from the likes of Phantasy Star Online 2, Puyo Puyo Quest and Chain Chronicle.
Sound Off! What are some games and gadgets that are fun for the whole family?
The holidays are here and many of us are traveling to visit families located far and wide. While it's always good to see our relatives, it's not as enjoyable to talk politics with Grandpa all day. We really need some entertaining ways to keep everyone sane. Fortunately there's a variety of games available on our tablets, phones, computers, and digital media streamers that are perfect for groups. What are your favorite standbys? Head over to the Engadget forums and share the games and gadgets you play with your family in order to keep things relaxing and fun. [Image credit: Amit Gupta / Flickr]
The Daily Grind: What does your Steam library say about you?
A weekend or two ago, I was paging listlessly through my Steam account, looking for something to grab me. Like a lot of Steam's members, I've got dozens of games I've purchased cheaply or been gifted but never got around to playing, so you'd think finding something would be easy! As I poked around, I wondered just how much my library reflected my actually gaming interests. I have a lot of MMOs, obviously, but just as many deep RPGs, clicky action-RPGs, sandboxes, and puzzlers. Oddly, I have a bunch of hardcore roguelikes even though I'm terrible at them and rarely play them, but for some reason, I can't stop buying them just to see if maybe this one will satisfy that itch. What about you, Massively folks? What does your Steam library say about you? Bonus question: How many games do you own through Steam and other digital distributors? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Xbox One allows limited sharing of Xbox Live Gold and digital games
Microsoft has announced that perks made available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be accessible to every user of that home's Xbox One console. This means that, so long as the owner of the Xbox One is a Gold subscriber, other people in the household will be able to have their own accounts and Gamertags, without having to sacrifice access to Gold-level services such as online multiplayer, DVR functionality and so forth. Gold privileges will also follow subscribers to other people's Xbox Ones, so if you have a Gold account and visit a friend who doesn't, you'll both be able to use Gold features for as long as you're logged in on their console. Microsoft also announced that similar functionality will be applied to digital versions of Xbox One games. When someone purchases and downloads a game onto their console, every one of that console's users will also have access to that game, regardless of whether the person who purchased it is signed in (Xbox 360 games work similarly now). Similarly, every game you've purchased digitally will be available to you on any Xbox One that you sign in on.
Nintendo to release its first free-to-play game by March 2014
Along with announcing a fresh Wii U lineup at E3 this week, Nintendo shared that it will launch its first free-to-play title during this fiscal year -- that is, by the end of March 2014. Industry analyst David Gibson tweeted the news live from the press event, adding that the move is intended to "boost digital sales," and confirming that the game won't fall under the Mario or Pokemon franchises. Nintendo isn't saying which platform its first free-to-play offering is destined for, but in any case this announcement is a good sign that the company is getting serious about downloadable content.
