Gigaleak uncovers Nintendo secrets

More secrets from the Nintendo Gigaleak

Last year a bunch of sensitive data from Nintendo was released in what became known as the Gigaleak. Since then, fans have had their pickaxes out and delved greedily into the data, uncovering ever more secrets.

Some recent highlights include early concepts for the Wiimote, showing how dramatically ideas can evolve over the course of development.

• Nine primary data sets appeared within the leak
• The term Gigaleak came into use after the second, 3GB files appeared online
• The leaks are believed to have come from third-parties working with Nintendo
• Nintendo has yet to make an official statement on the affair

Lost in time: Other revelations include documentation from a bunch of game projects that were in development around 2006, including an action-RPG starring Sheik from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Metroid iced: Another cancelled project was a Metroid game for Wii from original developer Intelligent Systems, which never made it. Did it turn into Metroid Other M, or is it simply lost forever?

Who published the first two games in the Burnout series?

a) Acclaim 
b) THQ
c) Origin
d) Atari

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.

Pokémon Go Ultra Unlock starts July 23rd

The first Pokémon Go Ultra Unlock event starts on July 23rd and lasts until August 3rd. This event will increase the spawn rate of Pokémon from different periods. Pokémon Masters EX also has its own retrospective event, and there will be a greater chance to scout 5 star Steven and 5 star Lyra – both from last summer – between July 19th and August 2nd.

Pokémon GO

• Ultra Unlock Part 1: Time
  • July 23rd at 10:00am until August 3rd at 08:00pm local time
  • Unlocked after 24 community challenges are completed
  • Timed Research and Field Research for various era Pokémon
  • 5 star Raids: Legendary Dialga through August 6, with Shiny Dialga variant
  • 1 star Raids: Unown U, Cranidos, Shieldon, Bronzor, and Klink
  • 3 star Raids: Aerodactyl, Porygon2, and Golurk
  • Wild: Voltorb, Porygon, Omanyte, Kabuto, Baltoy, Cranidos, Shieldon and more
  • 7km Eggs: Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Lileep, Anorith, Cranidos, and Shieldon

Pokémon UNITE

• MOBA-style online game out now for Switch
• Sign up and login before August 31st to receive Zeraora for free

Konami rebrands PES series to eFootball

Konami has retired the Pro Evolution Soccer brand and relaunched it as eFootball, a digital-only free-to-play live game developed in the Unreal Engine and featuring PC, console and mobile crossplay.

They make a big deal about its motion-matching, which “converts the vast range of movements” players can make “into a series of animations, selecting the most accurate one in real-time.”

More to come: Konami will reveal more about eFootball's business model and online modes in late August, but it seems safe to assume that eFootball will be updated regularly and feature some kind of event or season system.

DLC galore: Local matches between clubs will be free to play at launch, but certain modes will be released as optional, paid DLC as the game grows. Check out the roadmap to learn more.

VR user count drops sharply on Steam

There has been a sudden and sharp drop in the number of active virtual reality users on Steam. Sure, the number of VR users has always yo-yo-ed up and down, but this time the drop is more dramatic than before.

Half-Life: Alyx prompted a major surge in VR usage, but the Alyx effect seems to have diminished and Facebook is now the biggest player by far with 60.2% of the active VR market versus Valve's 16.7%.

Rhythm ‘n Bullets Definitive Edition

Rhythm and Bullets Definitive Edition is coming to PlayStation VR on July 22nd, offering a cheerful, old-school wireframe aesthetic that evokes the arcade games of yore. Wave your arms and go pew-pew-pew to the beat of the music, just like … well, every other rhythm-based VR game.

Epic acquires 3D asset market Sketchfab

Sketchfab is one of the biggest markets for 3D assets and also maintains a solid web viewer for 3D models. Now Epic Games has snapped them up and while Sketchfab will keep its branding, you can be pretty sure they're going to contribute to Epic's metaverse efforts. The first big change? Dropping all store fees to 12%.

Secure your online privacy with NordVPN

If you care about online privacy, or just need to pop over to another territory for a bit, have you considered using a virtual private network, or VPN?

NordVPN offers a 3 months free deal at 69% off right now, with over 5,600 servers around the world and unlimited bandwidth. It’s ideal for keeping your data to yourself while you work, watch streams or play games.

Pull off crazy stunts with Crash Drive 3

Grab the wheel and immerse yourself in ridiculous fun in Crash Drive 3, a free-roaming cross-platform online racing extravaganza featuring tank battles, beach ball smashing, and more. Enter here and share DailyBits with friends and family for a chance to win a Steam code!

• Battlefield V out now on Xbox Game Pass with more heavy hitters coming in late July, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Three more SNES games coming to Switch Online on July 28th: Jelly Boy, Claymates and Bombuzal
• Valve developer confirms Big Picture UI overhaul is on the way to provide a facelift for Steam Deck, but there is no release date
• Grab Battlefield 1 expansion They Shall Not Pass for free today on Microsoft Store
• Pokémon Masters EX Summer Superstars event between July 19th and August 2nd, find out more on the official website

Who published the first two games in the Burnout series?

ANSWER: Acclaim!

Burnout is the quintessential 2000s EA IP, but it didn’t start out that way. It was actually owned by Acclaim, but EA picked it up after Acclaim went bankrupt shortly after the second game in the series.

Perhaps uncharacteristically, EA presided over the greatest games in the series such as Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout Paradise. They gave Criterion room to breathe, and it seems unlikely that Acclaim would have been able to do the same. Of course, the Burnout adventure ended over a decade ago now, but we can still dream of a Takedown remaster, can’t we?

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!