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Nintendo leak reveals Wii source code, N64 test ROMs, GameCube dev tech, & more

This leak could mean emulators are able to improve their tools, which would help the archiving old games.

Sam Chandler

May 4, 2020 6:33 PM

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What appears to be a massive leak of information over a couple of weeks has shed a lot of light on Nintendo’s older consoles. The leak suggests information on the source code of consoles, several demos and debug builds of Pokémon games, as well as design documents.

Earlier leaks were originally reported on by Michael Gwilliam of Dexerto with the latest leaks drawing reports from Kotaku’s Ethan Gach. The source of this information, and all sketchy information on the internet it seems, is the anonymous messaging board, 4Chan. Though the original thread has likely expired, Resetera user Atheerios has put together a post covering some of the leak.

According to the Resetera thread, the Nintendo leak appears to contain a wealth of information regarding source codes for boot0/1/2, the Wii operating system, and the Wii SDK library. There is also information on the GameCube’s various systems.

The post also highlights some of the other critical information that has found its way into the public sphere over the past few weeks. A few demos and debug builds of various games have been revealed including Pokémon Blue and Yellow, Gold and Silver, as well as demos from Space World ’99.

The source code for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube were also allegedly a part of this massive leak. This could mean further advancements for emulation.

Atheerios also comments on where this leak may have originated. They say, “The files seem to come from a server hack related to the BroadOn company, who Nintendo hired for developing most of the Wii hardware and software.” Atheerios closes out by saying that there could be more information coming.

As for what this all means, well, for a lot of people, it’s just interesting to look back at what was and what could have been. For others out there, this information (if they can get their hands on it) could be useful in building and honing emulation tools. With disc rot a constantly looming threat of physical media, having access to source information of Wii and GameCube systems should help preserve some of these for future generations.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler