Misplaced Pages

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development

Exterior of the Nintendo Development Center in Kyoto
Native name	任天堂企画制作本部
Romanized name	Nintendō Kikaku Seisaku Honbu
Company type	Division
Industry	Video games
Predecessors	Nintendo EAD Nintendo SPD
Founded	September 16, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-09-16)
Headquarters	Kyoto, Japan
Number of locations	2 (Kyoto and Tokyo)
Key people	Executive General Manager Shinya Takahashi Senior General Manager Yoshiaki Koizumi Deputy General Managers Katsuya Eguchi Hisashi Nogami Takayuki Shimamura Senior Officers Takashi Tezuka Yoshio Sakamoto Kensuke Tanabe Eiji Aonuma Koji Kondo
Brands	Animal Crossing Big Brain Academy Brain Age Mario Kart Metroid Pikmin Splatoon Star Fox Super Mario The Legend of Zelda
Parent	Nintendo

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division, abbreviated 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. Nintendo EPD was established in September 2015 after merging their Entertainment Analysis & Development and Software Planning & Development divisions.

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.

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, has the same title in EPD, 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. By 2023, Takahashi and Koizumi were promoted to more senior positions, with Takayuki Shimamura being named deputy general manager and Aonuma and sound designer Koji Kondo named senior officers.

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 10 production groups in Nintendo EPD, and the known groups in the department are:

• Production Group No. 3 develops the main The Legend of Zelda series.
• Production Group No. 4 develops casual and experimental games such as 1-2-Switch, Nintendo Labo, Ring Fit Adventure, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain, Jump Rope Challenge, Game Builder Garage, Nintendo Switch Sports and Everybody 1-2-Switch!. The division also co-developed Alarmo with Nintendo PTD.
• Production Group No. 5, with group manager Aya Kyogoku, develops the Animal Crossing and Splatoon series.
• Production Group No. 6 oversee and produce games developed by external studios and published by Nintendo, such as the Paper Mario, Metroid Prime and Luigi's Mansion series.
• Production Group No. 7 co-develops 2D Metroid games with MercurySteam and Famicom Detective Club games with MAGES.
• Production Group No. 8, also known as Nintendo EPD Tokyo, develops 3D Super Mario games.
• Production Group No. 9 develops the Mario Kart series and also worked on Arms.
• Production Group No. 10 develops 2D Super Mario games (including the Super Mario Maker series) and the Pikmin series.
• Co-Production Group (formerly Production Group No. 2 until 2023) oversee and produce games developed by external studios and published by Nintendo, such as the Kirby, Xenoblade Chronicles, Fire Emblem, Pikmin, and Mario & Luigi series.
• Smart Device Production Group, with group manager Hideki Konno, develop smartphone games alongside other EPD groups as well as produce games by external studios.

Games developed

Nintendo EPD 4 also co-developed Alarmo alongside Nintendo PTD.

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.

References

1. Yoshimura, Takuya (September 14, 2015). "Notice Regarding Personnel Change of a Representative Director and Role Changes of Directors" (PDF). www.nintendo.co.jp. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
2. Kohler, Chris (September 14, 2015). "Nintendo Consolidates Its Game Development Teams". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
3. ^ Rad, Chloi; Otero, Jose (September 14, 2015). "Nintendo Reveals Restructuring Plans". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
4. Totilo, Stephen (September 14, 2015). "Some Inside Baseball For Nintendo Fans As EAD Transforms". Kotaku. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
5. Doolan, Liam (June 15, 2019). "Eiji Aonuma And Multiple Others Have Been Promoted At Nintendo". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
6. "Ask the Developer Vol. 5, Nintendo Switch Sports–Part 1 - News - Nintendo Official Site". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
7. "Ask the Developer Vol. 9, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—Part 1 - News - Nintendo Official Site". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
8. "Ask the Developer Vol. 11, Super Mario Bros. Wonder—Part 1 - News - Nintendo Official Site". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
9. "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). www.nintendo.co.jp. July 8, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
10. "Ask the Developer Vol. 9, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Chapter 1". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
11. "Ask the Developer Vol. 3, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
12. "Ask the Developer Vol. 1, Game Builder Garage". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
13. "Ask the Developer Vol. 5, Nintendo Switch Sports". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
14. "Ask the Developer Vol. 14, Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo – Chapter 1". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
15. "Ask the Developer Vol. 7, Splatoon 3 – Chapter 1". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
16. "Nintendo Director Shigeru Miyamoto on Wii U's Future". Mashable. June 14, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
17. "Eiji Aonuma And Multiple Others Have Been Promoted At Nintendo". Nintendo Life. June 15, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
18. "Eiji Aonuma And Multiple Others Have Been Promoted At Nintendo". Nintendo Life. June 15, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
19. ^ "Ask the Developer Vol. 10, Pikmin 4 – Chapter 2". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
20. "Ask the Developer Vol. 11, Super Mario Bros. Wonder—Part 1 - News - Nintendo Official Site". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
21. "Ask the Developer Vol. 8, Fire Emblem Engage – Chapter 1". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
22. "Ask the Developer Vol. 4, Kirby and the Forgotten Land". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
23. "Ask the Developer Vol. 6, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Chapter 1". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
24. "Ask the Developer Vol. 15, Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Chapter 1". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
25. "スマホ版『ファイアーエムブレム ヒーローズ』 配信前に気になるアレコレを開発者に聞いてみた！ | ファミ通App【スマホゲーム情報サイト】". ファミ通App (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2024.
26. Otero, Jose (June 16, 2015). "E3 2015: The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes Revealed for 3DS". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
27. Sarkar, Samit (June 16, 2015). "Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival coming to Wii U, plus four new Animal Crossing amiibo". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
28. Otero, Jose (March 31, 2016). "5 Things We Learned About Miitomo and Nintendo's Digital Future". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
29. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (March 3, 2016). "Star Fox Guard Announced, Star Fox Zero Amiibo Functionality Revealed". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
30. Frank, Allegra (November 2, 2016). "Animal Crossing: New Leaf's big amiibo update is available now". Polygon. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
31. "Miitopia Interview With Nintendo Kawamoto now". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved November 2, 2016.
32. Peckham, Matt. "5: Time Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto on Super Mario Run". Time. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
33. "Tank Troopers – developed by Vitei, how the game came to be, voice acting from Nintendo staff". nintendoeverything.com. December 31, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
34. Sanchez, Miranda (January 13, 2017). "1-2 Switch Announced for Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
35. McIlroy, Shaun (April 27, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda will release in 2017 for NX, Wii U". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
36. Sanchez, Miranda (January 13, 2017). "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Announced for Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
37. Schwartz, Terri. "Famitsu Interview with Kosuke Yabuki". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved February 6, 2017.
38. Schwartz, Terri (January 13, 2017). "Arms Announced for Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
39. Dornbush, Jonathon (January 13, 2017). "Splatoon 2 Announced for Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
40. "Metroid Dread announced for Switch". June 15, 2021.
41. Sanchez, Miranda (January 13, 2017). "Super Mario Odyssey Announced for Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
42. Frank, Allegra (October 24, 2017). "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile out next month". Polygon. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
43. Webster, Andrew (January 17, 2018). "Nintendo is making a bunch of weird DIY cardboard toys for the Switch and they're awesome". The Verge. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
44. "Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". www.nintendo.com.
45. Morgan, Thomas (January 9, 2019). "How New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe on Switch improves over Wii U". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
46. Bankhurst, Adam (May 15, 2019). "Super Mario Maker 2 Features Story Mode, Online Multiplayer, Co-Op Creation Mode". IGN. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
47. McWhertor, Michael (July 8, 2019). "Dr. Mario World has some fun twists on a classic puzzler, with a few mobile game gotchas". Polygon. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
48. Bankhurst, Adam (August 26, 2019). "Mario Kart Tour Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
49. Romano, Sal (September 12, 2019). "Nintendo announces exercise adventure game Ring Fit Adventure for Switch with dedicated accessories". Gematsu. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
50. Romano, Sal (September 30, 2019). "Brain Age: Nintendo Switch Training announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
51. Doolan, Liam (June 15, 2019). "Tom Nook Will Be Reinvesting Back Into The Local Island Community In Animal Crossing: New Horizons". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
52. "Jump Rope Challenge for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". Nintendo. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
53. Nintendo of America (September 3, 2020). "Three Mario adventures in one collection jump on to #NintendoSwitch! With HD visuals, take Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy on the go in #SuperMario3DAllStars. Arriving 9/18 as a limited release until the end of March 2021. https://t.co/zo0Y2TC80N https://t.co/0c74C23f1j" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
54. Nintendo of America (August 5, 2020). "Prepare yourselves, brave explorers! Set-off for the lush planet PNF-404 when #Pikmin 3 Deluxe lands on 10/30! This version features multiple difficulty modes, new side-story missions featuring Olimar & Louie, and all the DLC from the original release. https://t.co/UbljqJUQjX" (Tweet). Retrieved July 18, 2024 – via Twitter.
55. Donlan, Christian (February 23, 2021). "In Bowser's Fury, Mario's world and open worlds breathe new life into each other". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
56. Naoki, Masuda; Teshima, Kosuke. "Ask the Developer, Vol. 1: Game Builder Garage". Nintendo.com. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
57. "Metroid Dread release date revealed and it's a sequel to Metroid Fusion". June 15, 2021.
58. "Pre-order available! Flex your brawny mind in Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain". Nintendo.com. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
59. "Nintendo Switch Sports is the Long-Awaited Sequel to One of the Wii's Most Popular Games". IGN. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
60. Notis, Ari (February 17, 2021). "Nintendo Announces Splatoon 3, Out 2022". Kotaku. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
61. Shea, Brian (June 11, 2019). "Breath Of The Wild's Director Is Returning For The Sequel". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
62. Romano, Sal (June 2, 2023). "Everybody 1-2-Switch! announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
63. Dinsdale, Ryan (September 13, 2022). "Pikmin 4 Has Finally Been Revealed". IGN. Retrieved September 13, 2022.

• Video games
• Japan
• Tokyo

• First-party video game developers
• Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries
• Video game development companies
• Video game companies established in 2015
• Japanese companies established in 2015
• Companies based in Kyoto