A newly-updated render of Diddy Kong has appeared on Nintendo's Japanese website, triggering speculation about a new Donkey Kong project of some sort. There are a few possibilities for why the render was updated, though one has more evidence than others.

While the British studio Rare redesigned Donkey Kong for Donkey Kong Country, the first major character Rare created from scratch was Diddy Kong. He quickly blossomed from a supporting role in the first Donkey Kong Country game into the protagonist of the sequel, and part of Donkey Kong 64's ensemble cast. Even after Microsoft acquired Rare, Nintendo has found many ways to incorporate Diddy into games. He's appeared in Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros., not to mention more recent Donkey Kong Country games like Tropical Freeze.

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The Nintendo website used Diddy Kong's render from Mario Party DS up until recently. While the same basic render remains, Diddy's fur now has a much more detailed and realistic-looking appearance. Since this isn't tied to any particular announcement, fans believe that this signals something new relating to Diddy Kong. As Diddy Kong participates in many Mario sub-franchises, as well as the Smash Bros. games, the render could effectively relate to those sub-franchises, or even signal a sixth mainline entry in the Donkey Kong Country series.

One possibility is that Nintendo is simply updating Diddy Kong's render to use in the upcoming game Mario Golf: Super Rush. If Diddy appears as a minor or unlockable character, it may not be worth Nintendo's time to create a fully new render, and therefore they simply recycled one from an older title. Of course, given the render's Mario Party origins, it's possible Nintendo is working on a follow-up to Super Mario Party, in addition to the new Mario Golf game.

Another possibility with some evidence is that the render will be used for the rumored Donkey Kong expansion of Super Nintendo World, the Mario-themed attraction now open in Osaka, Japan. It's possible that Diddy Kong will appear in some form in the park, necessitating renders to appear on attractions, in a connected smartphone app, and other ways. While unlikely, it would be especially exciting to imagine a flight-based attraction themed around Diddy Kong Racing.

Of course, Nintendo could simply be updating the render to ensure it looks modern. Given how realistically Donkey Kong's fur is depicted in games like Mario Kart 8 and Tropical Freeze, it's only natural that Diddy Kong's fur would be due for an update as well. Time will tell whether eagle-eyed fans are simply reading too much into a simple update, or if something related to Diddy Kong is in the works.

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