The Mario Game & Watch has already been hacked, hours before it’s even released

Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch has already been hacked to run custom software, before it’s even officially released.

Thomas Roth, a security researcher and consultant from Germany, received his Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. a day ahead of its November 13 release and quickly got to work tearing it apart.

Under the pseudonym StackSmashing, Roth runs a popular YouTube channel dedicated to circumventing the security of past Nintendo portables, including hacking the original Game Boy’s cartridge protection.

After six hours of exploring the new Game & Watch’s internal components, Roth claimed to have circumvented its security and replaced the device’s default Super Mario Bros. ROM with a modified one.

Roth claimed the process required no soldering and said he’d soon release a video detailing the entire process. He did not say whether the modification could potentially allow the Game & Watch to run game ROMs other than Super Mario Bros.

Set for release on November 13 for $49.99, Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. features a modern d-pad and classic games Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and a special version of Ball with a Mario makeover.

The portable also comes with a digital clock which can play 35 different animations – including some guest appearances from Mario and friends – in tribute to the Nintendo mascot’s 35^th anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4QQ1FhwUQc

Nintendo’s previous classic consoles, the NES and Super NES minis, were also quickly modified by the community and eventually able to run virtually any classic game ROMs.

However, Game & Watch hacker Roth emphasised on Thursday that the new portable had “completely different hardware” to Nintendo’s previous classic consoles and thus similar results are not a foregone conclusion.