1 Attachment(s)
Nintendo Wii Prototype Wiimote & Nunchuk Surface In Gigaleak's Latest
The official prototype of the Nintendo Wii's remote and nunchuck control has just been leaked online as part of a recent data breach by hacker Gigaleak a few days ago. This massive leak has involved hundreds of files and documents from Nintendo, detailing everything from unused Pokémon sprites to undeveloped Star Fox sequels, and many are calling it the largest data mine in video game history.
Unfortunately, Gigaleak’s actions are only the latest in a string of online break-ins involving Nintendo over the past few months. Back in May, the source code for several past Nintendo consoles was leaked online, in addition to an N64 test demo titled “Mirror House Cornflakes.” This was only a month removed from a far more dire scenario in which over 160,000 Nintendo Network IDs were compromised by hackers, including an upsetting amount of private information. Sadly, it seems the leaks just keep on coming for the Japanese gaming icon, with the ramifications of the Gigaleak situation still playing out days later.
According to Switcher.gg, Google Doc images depicting a prototype Wii remote, Wii start-up disc source code, and even a Nintendo office floor plan was posted to 4chan a few days ago. While the details regarding who is responsible for this are still being looked at, the popular belief is that they came from the same group as the other Nintendo leaks, or at least a possible member of them. Aside from the remote prototypes and the source code, several other scandalous items were mentioned, such as an unnamed Nintendo employee's porn collection and a schematic for the Nintendo DS, all supposedly provided by a former Microsoft employee named Zammis Clark. Clark was fired and arrested for uploading malware onto Microsoft’s networks back in 2017, then went on to hack into Nintendo’s internal network last March. Insiders believe that he managed to gain access to over 2,365 usernames and passwords, which led to the aforementioned data breach this week.
These numerous hackings are only the start of Nintendo’s 2020 woes, as despite strong showings from new games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons the company found itself in many troubling situations over the past year. Recently, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa was forced to address the Switch’s ongoing Joy-Con controller defect and the resulting lawsuit during a financial Q&A session, after two years of relative silence and inaction. Furthermore, Nintendo also found itself facing sexual assault allegations within the Super Smash Bros. community, and it seems like the company will indeed be affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic after previous claims that they wouldn’t be.
It might be fascinating to see the original Nintendo Wii remote prototype, but the sheer amount of hacking and leaks to hit Nintendo over this past year is troubling, especially the ones dealing with personal information from employees and customers. It’s clear now that Nintendo has serious problems with its network security, and hopefully they can address them before any further problems arise.
