Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development

Last updated

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development
Native name
任天堂企画制作本部
Romanized name
Nintendō Kikaku Seisaku Honbu
Company type Division
Industry Video games
Predecessors
FoundedSeptember 16, 2015;8 years ago (2015-09-16)
Headquarters,
Japan
Number of locations
2 (Kyoto and Tokyo)
Key people
Brands
Number of employees
700 [1]  (2019)
Parent Nintendo

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division, [lower-alpha 1] commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EPD, is the largest division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. The division focuses on developing and producing video games, mobile apps, and other related entertainment software for the company. EPD was created after merging their Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) and Software Planning & Development (SPD) divisions in September 2015.

Contents

History

The division was created on September 16, 2015, after the consolidation of two of Nintendo's former software divisions, Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) and Software Planning & Development (SPD), as part of a company-wide organizational restructure under Nintendo's newly appointed president, Tatsumi Kimishima. [2] [3] [4]

The division assumed both of its predecessors' roles, focusing on the development of games and software for Nintendo platforms and mobile devices; it also manages and licenses the company's various intellectual properties, alongside producing and supervising development for external studios.

Shinya Takahashi, former general manager of Nintendo SPD, [5] is the general manager of the division, with Yoshiaki Koizumi, Katsuya Eguchi, Eiji Aonuma, and Hisashi Nogami as deputy general managers, and, Kensuke Tanabe, Yoshio Sakamoto and Takashi Tezuka as senior officers. The others had been in such positions since the division's formation, and Aonuma, Tanabe, and Nogami were promoted into higher positions within the division in 2019. [4] [6] By 2023, Takayuki Shimamura was named deputy general manager, Aonuma was promoted to senior officer and Koji Kondo was named senior officer. [7] [8] [9]

Structure

Mainly located in Kyoto, the Nintendo division works similarly to its two predecessors before the merger and is divided into many groups. It has ten production groups responsible for development or production of games, each of them having their own managers, producers and project leads working on specific series and focus, with them using the pool of talents in the division for each project. In the overall division, the general manager, deputy general managers, and senior officers oversee different aspects in those production groups. There are currently 11 production groups in Nintendo EPD, and the known groups in the department are:

Games developed

List of video games developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development
YearTitle Genre(s) Platform(s) Details
2015 The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes [24] Action-adventure Nintendo 3DS Co-developed with Grezzo.
Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival [25] Party Wii U Co-developed with NDCube.
2016 Miitomo [26] Social networking service Android
iOS
Star Fox Zero [27] Scrolling shooter Wii U Co-developed with PlatinumGames.
Star Fox Guard [27] Tower defense
Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo [28] Social simulation Nintendo 3DS
Miitopia [29] Role-playing game
Super Mario Run [30] Platformer iOS
Android
Tank Troopers [31] Action Nintendo 3DS Co-developed with Vitei.
2017 1-2-Switch [32] Party Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [33] Action-adventure Wii U
Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe [34] [35] Kart racing
Arms [36] Fighting, sports
Splatoon 2 [37] Third-person shooter
Metroid: Samus Returns [38] Action-adventure Nintendo 3DS Co-developed with MercurySteam.
Super Mario Odyssey [39] Platformer Nintendo Switch
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp [40] Social simulation Android
iOS
2018 Nintendo Labo [41] [lower-alpha 2] Construction set Nintendo Switch
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker [42] Action puzzle Nintendo 3DS Co-developed with Nintendo Software Technology.
Nintendo Switch
2019 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe [43] Platformer
Super Mario Maker 2 [44] Level editor, platformer
Dr. Mario World [45] Puzzle Android Co-developed with LINE and NHN Entertainment.
iOS
Mario Kart Tour [46] Kart racing Android
iOS
Ring Fit Adventure [47] Exergame, role-playing Nintendo Switch
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch [48] Puzzle Nintendo Switch Co-developed with indieszero.
2020 Animal Crossing: New Horizons [49] Life simulation Nintendo Switch
Jump Rope Challenge [50] Exergame Nintendo Switch
Super Mario 3D All-Stars [51] Platformer Nintendo Switch Co-developed with 1-Up Studio and Nintendo European Research & Development.
2021 Bowser's Fury [52] Nintendo Switch Co-developed with Nintendo Software Technology and 1-Up Studio
Game Builder Garage [53] Programming Nintendo Switch
Metroid Dread [54] Action-adventure Nintendo Switch Co-developed with MercurySteam.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain [55] Puzzle Nintendo Switch Co-developed with indieszero.
2022 Nintendo Switch Sports [56] Sports Nintendo Switch
Splatoon 3 [57] Third-person shooter Nintendo Switch
2023 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom [58] Action-adventure Nintendo Switch
Everybody 1-2-Switch! [59] Party Nintendo Switch Co-developed with NDcube
Pikmin 4 [60] Real-time strategy, puzzle Nintendo Switch Co-developed with Eighting
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Platformer Nintendo Switch

Notes

  1. Japanese: 任天堂企画制作本部, Hepburn: Nintendō Kikaku Seisaku Honbu
  2. Nintendo Labo is a brand of cardboard-based DIY construction sets that use the Nintendo Switch, with included software, and its Joy-Con controllers in a variety of ways.

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