Credit: Nintendo

Oops, all source code.

Usually, when the topic of game industry leaks comes up, one’s first instinct is to cover their eyes and run screaming from the prospect of spoilers. But the latest leak from Nintendo’s sealed vaults is surprisingly not about what’s coming (which is good, because I don’t think I want another Smash Ultimate leak), but rather what once was.

A large swath of information has allegedly leaked from Nintendo and been posted anonymously on 4chan (as well as archived on a forum thread on ResetEra). The topics the leak covers run quite a gamut, including things like early Pokemon designs and debug software, tech demos for the Nintendo 64, and console concept art.

Credit: Sebastian via YouTube

By far, though, the most valuable thing that was leaked was the key files for the OS of the Nintendo Wii. This includes the full source code, design files, documentation, and a whole lot more. How did this leak happen? The current theory is that BroadOn, a company Nintendo hired to help with development of the Wii and its software, had its servers hacked. There is no concrete proof that this is what occurred as of writing, but there aren’t any other viable theories at the moment either.

So what exactly is the big deal, I’m sure you’re wondering. The Wii’s old news, who cares if some old data gets leaked. The thing is, it’s not just data; Verilog files were also leaked, which describe circuit construction via code. What this means is that with that data, as well as the source code and whatnot, a talented tinkerer could, in theory, create an entire Wii console from scratch. If something like that were to begin circulating, it’d be a copyright nightmare for Nintendo. Even before that, the source code data will likely be used to further the cause of Wii console emulation, another sticking point for Nintendo’s legal department.