Photo of extremely rare 'Nintendo Dolphin' console surfaces online

Hardware developers, which includes consoles, typically apply codenames to any prototypes they are working on. Nintendo is known for having some of the friendliest codenames for its prototypes, and one of them has re-emerged online in a new picture.

The console under the spotlight here is the GameCube, which the social media account Console Variants explains was called the "Nintendo Dolphin" when it was in its early prototype phase. The social media account explains that this version of the GameCube is so rare that it wasn't allowed to share the photos to the internet "until now" and that more pictures of it will be released "soon."

Notably, this version of the GameCube has been spoken about before, and imaged. But, the photographs snapped of it aren't clear enough to clearly see the "Nintendo Dolphin" branding. The Console Variations image is extremely clear, showing the "Nintendo Dolphin" branding and the disc tray. At the moment it remains unclear if Console Variations own the device, or is being sent the images from another source.