Update: TechRadar has contacted Nintendo for comment on this story.
Documents that detail the development of the original Nintendo Switch have reportedly been leaked online. These documents, which have reportedly emerged on 4Chan, allegedly not only detail plans for the console's design but also include private keys that relate to the console's security.
According to Forest of Illusion on Twitter (via VGC), a Nintendo preservation account, this information could have breached the Switch's entire security, allowing anyone who got their hands on the keys to produce their own game cartridges for the console. This would mean that Nintendo could not fix the issue without making all Switch games to date unusable.
Fortunately, the leaked keys reportedly aren't related to the final console, with the keys allegedly changing between the creation of these documents and the Switch launch.
There are multiple documents that were leaked from Nintendo which show some mysterious Nintendo DS evaluation cartridges. If you look closely, one of the cartridges seemed to be sloppily edited out. pic.twitter.com/P1eixUpVKqDecember 20, 2020
The leak also contains some interesting details about the initial development plans for the Switch. As highlighted by Twitter user Kaitlyn Molinas, Nintendo allegedly intended to add support for Streetpass, Spotpass, and Pedometer to the Switch, which were features of Nintendo's previous consoles, and was toying with the idea of making the Switch dual-screen.
In addition, it alleged that the company considered adding Miracast support to the Switch, potentially suggesting that the device would not be docked into a TV but instead would display video wirelessly to a TV.
While many of these ideas didn't come to fruition, it's interesting to see the alleged features Nintendo was considering implementing with the Switch.
Yet another leak
While Nintendo seems to somewhat have dodged a bullet with this leak when it comes to security, this isn't the first leak the company has suffered this year. In 2020 alone, we've seen leaks pertaining to Nintendo DS evaluation cartridges and HD artwork for Nintendo 64 games, to name just a few.
We've also seen plenty of speculation and rumors of a Nintendo Switch Pro (or Nintendo Switch 2).
Forest of Illusion has claimed that another Nintendo Switch leak is rumored to be published on Christmas day (December 25), as many of the leaks had their "last modified date" set to this date.
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