abbreviated Nintendo EPD, is the largest division within the Japanese video game company

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

. 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 device A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. ...

s; 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 is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer at Nintendo. He is a senior officer within their Nintendo EPD division and serves as the producer of the ''The Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda'' franchise. Career Aonuma was born as on ...

, 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, Nogami was promoted in 2017, and Aonuma and Tanabe and 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. The division also houses the Programming Management, Design Management, and Sound Management groups. There are currently 10 game production groups within Nintendo EPD: * Co-Production Group, previously known as Production Group No. 2 until 2023, produces most of the games developed by external studios and published by Nintendo, such as the '' Mario Tennis'', '' Kirby'', ''

Xenoblade Chronicles ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' is a series of action role-playing games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The series began with the original '' Xenoblade Chronicles'' game, published for the Wii in 2010 in Japan, and released in ...

'', ''

Fire Emblem is a Video games in Japan, Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently con ...

'' and '' Mario & Luigi'' series. It consists of staff from a former Production Group No. 1 in the department. * Production Group No. 3 develops the main ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

'' series. * Production Group No. 4 develops casual and experimental games such as '' Miitopia'', '' 1-2-Switch'', ''

Nintendo Labo is a series of toys-to-life video games developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. Gameplay consists of players constructing Toy-Cons from kits that include cardboard cut-outs and other materials in combination with the consol ...

'', '' Ring Fit Adventure'', '' Jump Rope Challenge'', '' Game Builder Garage'', '' Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain'', '' 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 is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. It was created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. The player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals and can ...

'' and ''

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in the far future on a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Earth that has been repopulat ...

'' series. * Production Group No. 6 oversee and produce games developed by external studios and published by Nintendo, such as the ''

Paper Mario ''Paper Mario'' is a video game series and part of the ''Mario'' franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It combines elements from the role-playing, action-adventure, and puzzle genres. Players control a ...

'', '' Metroid Prime'' and '' Luigi's Mansion'' series. * Production Group No. 7 developed ''

Miitomo ''Miitomo'' was a freemium social networking service, social networking mobile app developed by Nintendo for iOS and Android (operating system), Android devices. The app, Nintendo's first, allowed users to converse with friends by answering vari ...

'' and co-develops 2D ''

Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic M ...

'' games with MercurySteam and '' Famicom Detective Club'' games with MAGES. * Production Group No. 8, also known as Nintendo EPD Tokyo, develops 3D ''

Super Mario (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...

'' games. * Production Group No. 9, develops the ''

Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games based on the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up item (game terminology), items. It features Characters in ...

'' series and ''

Arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

''. * Production Group No. 10 develops 2D ''

'' games (including the '' Super Mario Maker'' series) and the '' Pikmin'' series. * Smart Device Production Group, with group manager Hideki Konno, develop

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

games alongside other EPD groups as well as produce games by external studios.

Games developed

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development Companies based in Kyoto First-party video game developers Japanese companies established in 2015 Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries Video game companies established in 2015 Video game development companies