Overview

The 2020 Nintendo Source Code Gigaleak refers to the unofficial online dissemination of Nintendo development source codes in late July 2020. The leak included unused materials, development tests and long-rumored information on Super Mario 64 (Super Mario 64), Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Some of the biggest discoveries in the leak include Luigi's model in Super Mario 64 (confirming the L Is Real conspiracy theory), beta sprites for Pokémon from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and uncompressed voice lines for Star Fox 64 and SM64, as well as remakes of Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Background

On July 24th, 2020, at around 5 am, an anonymous user on 4chan’s Pokémon board /vp/ made a thread titled "ppg leak time: fuck ganix," which featured links related to a repository leak for Nintendo games.^[1] Ganix could possibly be a reference to user of Glitch City Laboratories Forums who assisted in the distribution of Pokémon Gold and Silver Beta Sprites leak in Spring of 2018^[2]. At 12:30 pm, an anonymous user on the 4chan video game board /v/ made a thread announcing the significance of the leak with a Google Doc documenting the leak (shown below).^[3] The Google Doc was created by Discord user Cosmo#9088 with help from lavacakes#9999.^[4]

Developments

Luigi / L Is Real 2401

"L is real" is a long-running conspiracy theory that the character Luigi exists in the video game Super Mario 64.^[6] The theory stems from an easter egg in the game, a plaque in the game that reads "L is real 2401." Many believe that this stands for "Luigi is real." Following the leak, which featured images and models of a Luigi character for Super Mario 64, many online delighted in the connection to the "L Is Real" theory. Others posted that the numbers 2401 were a reference to the date of the leak. However, it seems that any connection between the numbers and the date of the leak is coincidental (examples below).

Zelda Sequels

Among the leaks were models for unreleased and presumably unfinished sequels to The Legend of Zelda. Twitter user
@Protodude tweeted,^[8] "Presumed "ZELDA 3" scratchpad sprites from recent Nintendo leak. More research to be done" (shown below). They later posted, "So here he is. It is now largely assumed that this particular Link sheet comes from a scrapped BS Zelda 2 remake. (for Satellaview) There's some interesting details here, like the blood or rust on the sword. Fascinating stuff"

So here he is. It is now largely assumed that this particular Link sheet comes from a scrapped BS Zelda 2 remake. (for Satellaview) There's some interesting details here, like the blood or rust on the sword. Fascinating stuff. https://t.co/xPnEiLPI5v pic.twitter.com/FBlvt8TF4A

— Brian (@Protodude) July 25, 2020

Yoshi Beta

One of the most popular leaks included a prototype of the character Yoshi hidden in character models for an early Super Mario video game (shown below, left). The longer, skinnier design of the character inspired fan-art, which circulated widely online (example below, right).

Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Beta

The gigaleak featured beta sprites from the video game Pokémon: Diamond and Pokémon: Pearl. These included unused and never-before-scene beta designs and character models. On July 25th, YouTuber Mixeli posted the video "Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Beta : All Unreleased Gender Comparison." They wrote in the description to the video: "Recently there was some beta leaks shown on the internet. I've decided to show you all these unreleased sprite in the best quality possible, some of them are good and other was in the works. The most important point about that video is also to show you all the Gender that didn't make it to the final release." The post received more than 25,000 views in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Uncompressed Sound Files

Included with the source codes were various sound files that in-game would be compressed in order to save space at the cost of quality. These files included a voice clip of Star Fox 64_'s Peppy Hare saying "Do a barrel roll" (shown below).

Around that time a video of Mario's quote "So Long Gay Bowser" was also spread around as an uncompressed sample but would be later debunked by another Twitter user BulbSound who created the remastered version week earlier^[5]. Twitter user @AShadowLink posted a video of the fanmade version of the "So Long Gay Bowser" file and paired it with footage from the videogame. The post received more than 900,000 views, 107,000 likes and 33,000 retweets in less than two days (shown below).

Criticism

Some online criticized the leaks, stating that it is detrimental to the creators. The video game website Polygon^[6] notes that some of the leaks contained personal information. They wrote:

While fans are ecstatic to learn more about their favorite games, there are a few sticking points that people should be aware of. It seems likely that someone, at some point, broke the law -- this is all proprietary information, after all.

But on a more humane level, none of this stuff was ever meant to be seen. Imagine, if you will, that you are a creator of some sort. Let’s say a writer. And one day you log on, and all of your unpolished janky drafts and ideas get published to the internet. That would suck, right -- losing control over your own work?

Pushing this further into a morally dubious area is that the Gigaleak apparently contains personal information, including a diary and calendar, along with private conversations between developers. One file, for instance, recounts a traumatic childhood experience involving Mr. Potato Head.

Twitter^[8] user @MikeJMika tweeted, "Real talk: this Nintendo leak is bad on so many levels. It hurts them, it hurts fans, and it turns the topic of preservation into a topic of security and tightening the grip on intellectual property regardless of its historical or educational value to history" (shown below).

External References