Nintendo Leaks Reveal Prototype Switch Design

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Back in April of 2020, Nintendo suffered some massive leaks on the forum 4chan, revealing invaluable information such as the Wii's source code, as well as other hardware and software test demos. Following these initial leaks in April, several more leaks have taken place in July, September, and October of this year.

While these Nintendo leaks haven't threatened the personal data of users of Nintendo products and/or games, they have been detrimental to the company, granting dubious hackers deep insights into the inner workings of Nintendo's most prized consoles and games. While Nintendo is known for being highly protective of its properties and seems to always be on high alert when it comes to such data leaks, it appears that hackers have eluded the company's security protocols once again, as new information pertaining to the development of the Nintendo Switch has just been leaked.

While most of the recent Nintendo leaks have been related to Nintendo's older hardware and games, the most recent leaks appear to focus on some of the company's more recent endeavors. On Twitter, Nintendo historian forestillusion documented the latest batch of leaks appearing on 4chan just today, which contain files pertaining to the early design and development of the Nintendo Switch, as well as the hybrid handheld-home gaming console's SDK and security. One particular image reveals the Switch's prototype design as it was in 2014.

Nintendo won't be happy. More stuff leaked just now. Switch private keys and many documents. One document reveals the Switch's design in 2014 and it is eerily similar to that one hoax that was floating around and got traction years back. pic.twitter.com/fFddJvXbpq
— Forest of Illusion (@forestillusion) December 22, 2020

The leaked image the displays different angles and the dimensions of a prototype Nintendo Switch design. The early console design appears to consist of mostly screen, with an indented analog stick on the left, a protruding one on the right, and home, plus, and minus buttons that resemble the current Nintendo Switch's. It is also worth noting that the array of option buttons at the bottom of the early design seem reminiscent of the Nintendo 3DS' start, select, and home buttons along the bottom of the system as well. Forestillusion mentioned that the prototype Switch design depicted in this new leak looks oddly familiar to a rumored leaked NX prototype that was floating around the internet in March of 2016 which turned out to be a hoax.

When directly translated, it seems that the text on the 2014 image only refers to the design's dimensions, and notes that the size and shape of the console are still under heavy consideration. While this leaked image almost certainly depicts a prototype design for the Nintendo Switch, some have theorized that the design could eventually be repurposed into a "Nintendo phone" of sorts, given the company's recent focus on mobile games and that the prototype design takes a sort of all-screen approach.

Although Nintendo executives like Doug Bowser continue to avoid speaking on a revised model of the Switch, it's clear that fans are still very interested in the inner workings of the console given the amount of effort put into the recent leaks on it. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo plans to handle this recent slew of leaks, if at all.