A YouTuber known as Gaming Historian, who announced in April he was stepping back from making retro-gaming documentaries due to burnout, has released a full archive of documents from Nintendo's landmark 1983 lawsuit against Universal over Donkey Kong. Universal, which owned the King Kong franchise, had argued that Nintendo's game infringed its rights, but Nintendo successfully defended itself, partly by showing that Donkey Kong originated as a licensed take on Popeye. The case remains a notable moment in gaming history, and is especially resonant now given that Nintendo and Universal have since become close collaborators on the hugely successful Super Mario Bros. films.

The released archive includes original Donkey Kong design documents, early handwritten name lists for what became the Super Mario Bros. franchise, and witness testimony logs, including from Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi. A particular highlight is the deposition of Shigeru Miyamoto, who repeatedly said he could not recall specific details or attribute ideas, often deferring to Yokoi, who in turn deferred back to him, producing circular and sometimes tedious exchanges compounded by a language barrier. The documents also feature colourful courtroom moments, including a lawyer nicknamed "Mr Kirby" (John Kirby, after whom the character is named) and the memorable claim that "you can't have a pronoun for a gorilla."