Huge apparent leak unearths Nintendo’s prototype history

Footage from "Super Donkey," a previously unseen prototype included in the recent Nintendo "Gigaleak."

A massive leak of apparent Nintendo source code is giving gamers a rare, unauthorized look at Nintendo's development process dating back to the Super NES era.

The massive trove of files, first posted to 4chan Friday and quickly dubbed the "Gigaleak" by the community, includes compilable code and assets for Super NES, Game Boy, and N64 games in the Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, F-Zero, and Pokemon series. Hidden among that code is a bevy of pre-release art and sound files that have never seen the light of day, as well as fully playable prototype versions of some games.

Nintendo has not responded to a request for comment, but the sheer size and complexity of the leak points to its authenticity-faking this much data in a believable (and workable) way would just be an incredible amount of work. Star Fox Developer Dylan Cuthbert has also publicly confirmed the authenticity of an early Star Fox 2 CAD tool included in the leak. And many of the assets in the leak also match images previously seen in magazine previews, suggesting either authenticity or an incredible level of attention to detail among the leakers.

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