Games Offer Positive Mental Wellbeing, Capcom Data Breach

Oxford study finds games are not all bad

A University of Oxford study based on data collected from over 6,500 players suggests that videogames may have a positive effect on mental wellbeing.

Over 3,000 of the respondents shared telemetry data from their time playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville over a two-week period.

Positive play: "Contrary to many fears that excessive game time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between gameplay and well-being," according to the study. The researchers also said that time limits “might not bring the benefits many might expect” either.

Not definitive: "Our results suggest that play can be an activity that relates positively to people's mental health – and regulating games could withhold those benefits from players," but also warned that this is only a single study, and that their results are by no means definitive proof that “game time causally affect well-being.”

Which game was PlayerUnknown’s first battle royale mod made for?

a) ARMA 2
b) Minecraft
c) Counter Strike: Source
d) Day of Defeat

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

8 gold cartridges for 8 Robot Masters

Fans were invited to contribute boss designs for the fourth Mega Man game, and Capcom picked eight lucky winners. Each received a golden cartridge, which is now a rare collector’s item worth around $8,000.

The game also features an unusual bug: If you use Toad Man’s weapon Rain Flush before Doctor Wily escapes from the first battle against him, you will actually kill him – and halt the game in the process. A truly pyrrhic victory.

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

Last week of next-gen launch craze

PlayStation 5 launches in the remaining territories this week, Halo: The Master Chief Collection arrives on Xbox Series X/S, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate hits every platform and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity goes to war on Switch.

Tuesday – November 17th

• Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back for PlayStation 4, Switch
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox Series X
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Switch
• Serious Sam Collection for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch
• Sniper Elite 4 for Switch

Thursday – November 19th

• Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Switch, iOS, Android
• Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back for PlayStation 4
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate for Stadia
• Star Renegades for Xbox One, Switch

Friday – November 20th

• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity for Switch
• Katamari Damacy Reroll for PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Data compromised in Capcom breach

Capcom was recently attacked by hackers, and it turns out that various personal data was compromised, including employee details and customer data.

The attack breached Capcom's computer network infrastructure, and an investigation has finally concluded that the damage went beyond a ransomware attack. Data concerning current and former employees as well as customers appears to have been compromised.

No credit cards: "None of the at-risk data contains credit card information," according to Capcom's statement. The company uses a third-party service for payment processing, and don't store information like that themselves. "Additionally, it is safe for Capcom customers or others to connect to play the company's games online and access its websites.”

Legal retaliation: Capcom has issued its “deepest apologies for any complications or concerns” caused by the data breach, and are treating the incident with the “utmost seriousness.” Capcom will also be working with law enforcement to pursue the hackers.

Big South American PUBG tournament ahead of Global Championship

25 South American teams – including 8 from Brazil – will be participating in the Copa América Poco X3 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile tournament, which starts on on November 21st.

The tournament has a prize pool of $7,000 and the matches will be streamed on Twitch in Spanish and Portoguese. The tournament takes place a few days before the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Global Championship, where 24 teams from around the world compete for a $2,000,000 prize pool.

Adroit Esports disbands over COVID-19

Another Dota 2 team has shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adroit Esports was founded in May last year, and were establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Southeast Asian Dota 2 scene, competing in tier one and two events.

“The pandemic situation has led us to the inevitable,” said Adroit, and all the five players from the team will now be looking to join other teams.

• Customize My Plates are crowd-funding a return after Sony tried to shut them down for infringing on their PlayStation trademark
• THQ Nordic was not serious about a TimeSplitters 2 Remake, saying that the TimeSplitters 2: Remake in-game item from SpellForce 3: Fallen God was just a gag
• Run the Jewels has released a Cyberpunk 2077 music video called No Save Point as December 10th launch date draws closer
• Yakuza producer wants to make Sonic the Hedgehog game with “completely different” feel to the rest of the series
• New PHOGS! trailer shows off sausage dog adventure in a colorful world mixing exploration and arcade fun

To celebrate the start of a new generation of console gaming we've been giving away a new PlayStation 5 to one lucky DailyBits reader, along with some games and Amazon Gift cards.

We're pleased to announce today that the winners have now been selected, and have been named below:

• Dallas Risch – USA – PS5 Console Winner
• Jocelyn Blair – USA – PS5 Game
• Gypsy bader – USA – PS5 Game
• George Wedlake – UK – PS5 Game
• Will Acree – USA – $25 Amazon Gift Card
• Dacia Chorman – USA – $25 Amazon Gift Card
• Jason Schmidt – USA – $25 Amazon Gift Card
• Rianne Mossel – Netherlands – $25 Amazon Gift Card
• Thomas Reichl – Germany – $25 Amazon Gift Card

Thank you to everyone that into our Giveaway, and congratulations to the winners! We'll be running more soon, so stay tuned!

Here’s the Giveaway Code for Week 46: 5577

Which game was PlayerUnknown’s first battle royale mod made for?

ANSWER: ARMA 2!

The Battle Royale craze arguably started with DayZ, an ARMA 2 mod. PlayerUnknown made a mod for the mod called DayZ: Battle Royale, which introduced the concept that would soon revolutionize online multiplayer shooters.

The Battle Royale concept started gaining traction with other developers, and PlayerUnknown worked as a consultant for H1Z1’s Battle Royale mode King of the Kill. Afterwards, he joined Bluehole as Creative Designer and started work on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – and the rest is history.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey.

We hope you've enjoyed today's issue DailyBits! Please feel free to send any feedback over to [email protected]. Thank You!