Vash

From a recent IGN Insider article:

Nintendo's Super Secret System We're Not Supposed to Talk About: So we have a way for Nintendo to send us digital copies of games, but we're not allowed to tell you what it's called or describe it in detail. Not making that up. Without getting into specifics, it's a Wii without a DVD drive connected to a computer, and games get distributed to that system digitally. This is what allowed us to gain access to Super Mario Galaxy 2 weeks before retail copies were available. The system also features a rewriteable DS cartridge and files are "burned" from the system to the cart, which can then be played on any DS system within arm's reach of the console. It's intended to allow us to play a game early and only in the office. We've already said too much. Nintendo's ninjas have probably been dispatched to deal with us…

Nintendo also has debug systems with a green face plate that comes with an installation disc (exactly like homebrew) that allows media outlets to install .wad files onto their systems. This is how media outlets test early versions of WiiWare titles directly from publishers.