Nintendo data leak
[2] Ten main sets of data leaked on 4chan, ranging from game and console source code to internal documentation and development tools.
[12] Beginning in March 2018, information began to spread about a trove of stolen data from Nintendo's servers being leaked by hackers via the anonymous imageboard website 4chan.
The leaks began to gain significant traction in early May 2020, when source code for Nintendo's consoles appeared online.
[3] Another possible source was Zammis Clark, a British Malwarebytes employee and hacker who in 2019 pleaded guilty to hacking charges and received a suspended sentence of 15 months for infiltrating Microsoft and Nintendo's servers between March and May 2018.
[13][5][6] According to reporting by journalist Jeremy Kirk of Bank Info Security, Clark sent the data he stole to several of his acquaintances, who subsequently began leaking the information on 4chan.
The first model appeared to be a hybrid console version of the GameCube similar to the Nintendo Switch, fitted with a built-in display and able to connect to a TV via a docking station.
This repository contained a block diagram for a portable version of the Wii, Verilog files for near-final versions of the Wii components, and a 2003 ATI proposal for a console that would natively render games at HD video resolutions similar to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, include slots for both SD and memory cards, which was tentatively scheduled for a Christmas 2005 release.
The eighth set of information was leaked on October 22, 2020, containing another two split password-protected zip files which they were later found to be a May 2018 debug build of Pokémon Sword.
A ninth set of data was leaked in December 2020, which was primarily focused on early prototype designs of the Nintendo Switch and a prerelease SDK for the unit.
The leak also contained information on Nintendo's surveillance of and attempts to hire one Belgian hacker who was active in the 3DS homebrew scene.
In October 2024, over three years after the last outpour, an eleventh batch of data was leaked, stated by the leaker to be as a result of a separate hack, this time focusing on assets from Game Freak relevant to the Pokémon franchise.
Game Freak confirmed the leak's legitimacy shortly afterwards, stating that their offices were breached the preceding August due to "unauthorized access to our servers by a third party.
[32][33][34][35] The leaked material additionally included alleged codenames for future Pokémon titles[33] and the planned successor to the Nintendo Switch,[34] as well as the personal information of multiple Game Freak staffers.
[47] The leaks included the software that was necessary to run the WorkBoy, a canceled Game Boy accessory that would have added personal digital assistant features to the handheld.
Gach wrote that the leaked information "would be of great interest to emulation enthusiasts, data miners, and anyone curious about" Nintendo's history.
[8] The information could be used to enhance the accuracy of Nintendo console emulators or create clone systems that function identically to the original hardware.
[39][51] Some preservationists that have looked at the data commented on the meticulousness with which Nintendo save its past work, which they wished other video game companies would emulate, as it would greatly assist preservation efforts.
