Nintendo introduces new lending system for digital Switch games

[Kaz]

 

  Quote

In addition to showing off a bunch of new games including a brief glimpse at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Nintendo also shared some new features coming to the Switch. Coming in an April system update, Nintendo is introducing a new game management system called “virtual game cards.” Virtual game cards are meant to function similarly to physical ones. When the feature goes live, purchases of digital games on the Nintendo eShop will automatically create a virtual game card that you’ll be able to manage from a dedicated screen.

Virtual game cards also make sharing games between consoles simpler. Using a local wi-fi connection, you can use virtual game cards to transfer digital games between Switch 1 and Switch 2 consoles. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this feature is that now, you’ll be able to lend games to members of your Nintendo Switch Family account. You can only lend out one game per person and only for two weeks, but its still very neat that Nintendo has replicated the spirit of renting video games from Blockbuster.

Expand  

 

Nintendo introduces new lending system for digital Switch games

WWW.THEVERGE.COM

---

The children yearn for Blockbuster.

 

It's awesome to see more options for sharing games, something that has really struggled in the digital age of DRM.

 

Steam has a family share option that I highly recommend people look into if they are not already using.  A steam family can have 5 members, allowing anyone to play another person's game as long as that game isn't already in use.  There are some limitations, like only 1 family per account and a 1 year lockout on families if you leave a family after joining one.  It's meant to be for real families, but if you're a gamer and you aren't using it, you should tag up with a few other gamers to massively increase your library at no cost. 

 

My brother in law and I are in a family.  He's plays FPS games and it's significantly increased my game list.  The only downside is that he gets all my humble bundle junk games, so it can be difficult to sort through all the junk to find the gems.