Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division,[a] 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.
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:
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.[20]
Production Group No. 8, also known as Nintendo EPD Tokyo, develops 3D Super Mario games.[21]
Production Group No. 9, with group manager Kosuke Yabuki, develops the Mario Kart series and Arms.[21]
Smart Device Production Group, with group manager
Hideki Konno, develop
smartphone games alongside other EPD groups as well as produce games by external studios.[23]
Games developed
List of video games developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development
^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.
Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division,[a] 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.
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:
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.[20]
Production Group No. 8, also known as Nintendo EPD Tokyo, develops 3D Super Mario games.[21]
Production Group No. 9, with group manager Kosuke Yabuki, develops the Mario Kart series and Arms.[21]
Smart Device Production Group, with group manager
Hideki Konno, develop
smartphone games alongside other EPD groups as well as produce games by external studios.[23]
Games developed
List of video games developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development
^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.