Nintendo appears to have suffered a massive data breach. Over 2 terabytes’ worth of internal data has reportedly been leaked online, including source code and documentation for the Wii and other consoles, early N64 tech demos, and more.
As summarized on ResetEra, the leak originated on 4chan and contains “full source code, design files, documentation and pretty much everything used to create” the Wii. The data was reportedly accessed from the servers of BroadOn, a company with which Nintendo worked to develop the Wii hardware.
Among the leaked articles is an internal presentation that illustrates why Nintendo chose to use friend codes for Wii instead of usernames. According to the presentation, usernames were not “simple” enough because of the high probability of duplicate usernames, which would require players to go through multiple attempts to create one that had not yet been claimed.
This leak follows a recent security breach that compromised more than 160,000 Nintendo Network IDs, although there’s no indication that the two are connected. As a result of that breach, some Switch users have reported unauthorized payments made on their accounts. In response, Nintendo has temporarily disabled Nintendo Network ID logins for its services and prompted users to set up two-factor authentication to further secure their accounts.
In a bit of coincidental timing given the recent N64 leaks, fans have released an unofficial PC port of Super Mario 64. Mario 64 is reportedly being remastered for Switch later this year along with Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy to celebrate the series’ 35th anniversary. According to VGC, Nintendo was planning to reveal the remasters “as a physical event” at E3 2020 before the expo was canceled. The Nintendo Direct that traditionally airs each June just ahead of E3 will also reportedly be delayed this year due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
