In this time of quarantine and isolation, we all need to keep up both our social interactions and our spirits. Playing video games with friends online is the perfect solution. You don't have to be good at them, that's not the point – online games provide a location to meet up, chat and have experiences together that may or may not involve blowing stuff up. Here is a range of titles that can be learned and enjoyed by both complete beginners and veteran gamers. Whether you have an old laptop or the latest smartphone, there's something here you can play with pals even if they're far away.

Nintendo Co. fell the most in nine months after it missed estimates for quarterly profit and forecast full-year earnings that were short of expectations, raising concern about demand for its Switch game console. The shares fell as much as 4.7 percent in early trading in Tokyo on Friday, the biggest intraday drop since April 26. A day earlier, Nintendo reported operating income of ¥168.7 billion ($1.5 billion) in the three months ended December, but that underwhelmed versus the ¥175.4 billion average projection. The lackluster results may fuel worries about the Switch console's longevity, especially in a year when Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. are preparing to launch new machines for the holidays. Nintendo released a lower-cost Switch Lite in the fall, reaching out to more mainstream users, and that console has sold 5.19 million units to date, the company reported.

It's kind of incredible that a Google-made laptop runs a hobbled version of Google Assistant. We're referring to the Pixelbook Go, which begins shipping on November 15 as a sibling to the original Pixelbook. It's a performant and sleek machine with an exceptional keyboard and all-day battery life, but there's little to recommend it on the software side. When Google Assistant came to Chrome OS alongside the circa-2017 Pixelbook, the assumption was that it would match or best the robustness of Assistant on smartphones, smart displays, and speakers. Nips and tucks continue to arrive two years later, but Google Assistant on Chrome OS is advancing at a snail's pace relative to its counterparts.

Two of the world's biggest video game franchises - Call Of Duty and Mario Kart - are poised to roll out mobile phone and tablet editions. Industry titans Activision and Nintendo are both weeks away from launching app versions of their games which have racked up combined estimated sales of 350million copies on console. Both Mario Kart Tour and Call Of Duty: Mobile will be available on Google's Android and Apple's iOS from September 25 and October 1 respectively. Activision has confirmed that maps, characters and weapons which first-person shooter fans enjoyed on Xbox, Playstation and PC would be featured on the all-new Call Of Duty: Mobile. Company vice president Chris Plummer said: 'We are delivering the definitive first-person action experience on mobile with signature Call Of Duty gameplay in the palms of your hands.' 'We are bringing together some of the best the franchise has to offer, including Modern Warfare maps like Crash and Crossfire, Black Ops maps like Nuketown and Hijacked, and many more, into one epic title.