Nintendo has reportedly suffered a significant legacy console leak
Source code, development documents and more said to have been leaked online
Nintendo has reportedly suffered a significant leak of information related to its legacy consoles.
According to various sources archived on Resetera and Reddit, over 2 terabytes of data was allegedly leaked onto the anonymous forum 4chan over the weekend, including the original source code for Nintendo 64, GameCube and Wii.
The leaks also reportedly contain internal documentation related to GameCube, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64 (and its 64DD add-on), Wii and the China-only iQue, showing how the systems work and the development processes behind them.
Test software for the Nintendo 64, including the ‘Mirror House Cornflakes’ demo featured in the video on this page, were also allegedly included in the leaked data.
Of more interest to gaming archivists will be the suggestion that the full leak could also contain early Spaceworld demos of many N64 titles, however, this data is seemingly yet to surface.
The data could, in theory, be used to create illegal clone hardware able to run software and operate exactly like the original systems.
VGC's Nintendo Features:
History of Mario Kart | Best Wii Games | Best N64 Games | Best GameCube Games | Switch classic games | How to buy Switch games from different regions | Super Nintendo World Stamps guide | Super Nintendo World Keys guide | Pokémon Go free codes
The PC emulation community could also theoretically use the data to improve their software so that it imitates the original systems perfectly. However, since the leaked documentation has been illegally obtained this would put them in murky territory.
This week a fully functioning PC port of Super Mario 64 began circulating online, following a breakthrough last year when fans were able to decompile the game’s code. It’s not clear if the latest data leak had any influence on the port.
The Nintendo console leak is said to include:
- N64, GameCube and Wii source code
- Diagrams and datasheets for every system component
- Documents describing feature planning and implementation
- Full Wii operating system SDK
- Planning docs for implementation of the Wii from 2004-2006
- Spaceworld ’99 demos
The data is said to originate from a server hack related to BroadOn, a company Nintendo had contracted to develop Wii hardware and software.
Since 2018 various Pokémon data has been leaked online, including debug roms for Pokémon Blue, Yellow, Gold and Silver, alongside source code, Spaceworld ’99 demos and an internal GameBoy PC emulator.
The full significance of the latest breach will only likely become apparent as more data appears online. VGC has reached out to Nintendo for comment.
