is a Japanese
video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...
best known for developing games published by
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 ...
with the ''
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 ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
WarioWare
is a video game series, a spin-off of the ''Mario'' franchise. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The series began with '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', the first game to feature Wario as a p ...
'', and ''
Wars
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...
'' video game series. The company was headquartered at the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
is one of the eleven Wards of Kyoto, wards in the Municipalities of Japan, city of Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
History
It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Shimogyō-ku. During the years ...
, and moved to a building near Nintendo's main headquarters in October 2013. They were responsible for the creation of various development hardware both first- and third-party developers used to make games for Nintendo systems, such as the IS Nitro Emulator, the development kit for the
Nintendo DS
The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
.
History
Intelligent Systems started when programmer Toru Narihiro was hired by
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 ...
to port
Famicom Disk System
The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) home video game console, released in Japan on February 21, 1986. The system uses proprietary floppy disks called "Disk Cards" for more ...
software to the standard ROM-cartridge format that was being used outside Japan on the
NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
. Similarly to the origins of
HAL Laboratory
formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since establishe ...
, the team became an auxiliary program unit for Nintendo that provided system tools and hired people to program, fix, or port Nintendo-developed software. Much of the team's original work consists of minor contributions to larger games developed by
Nintendo R&D1
(commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D1 and formerly known as before splitting in 1978) was a division of Nintendo, and is its oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game industry, and the original ...
and
Nintendo EAD
commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EAD and formerly known as Nintendo Research & Development No.4 Department (abbreviated as Nintendo R&D4), was the largest software development division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. It was pr ...
.
Narihiro programmed his first video games, ''
Famicom Wars
is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. It was released on August 12, 1988, in Japan. It was later re-released on Virtual Console. It is the first game ...
'' and ''
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light'', towards the end of the Famicom's life cycle, although the game design, graphic design, and music was provided by the Nintendo R&D1 team. Because of Narihiro's success, Intelligent Systems began to hire graphic designers, programmers, and musicians to extend the company from an auxiliary–tool developer to a game development group. The company continued to develop entries in the ''
Wars
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...
'' and ''
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 ...
'' franchises.
In 2000, Intelligent Systems produced ''
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 ...
'' for the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
, which became a surprise hit, leading to five sequels. Three years later, the first entry in the ''
WarioWare
is a video game series, a spin-off of the ''Mario'' franchise. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The series began with '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', the first game to feature Wario as a p ...
'' series was released on the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
, and it too became a successful series.
Not all games developed by Intelligent Systems are published by Nintendo. ''
Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest'' (which was co-developed by Intelligent Systems) was published by
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...
in North America; Intelligent Systems also developed various ''
Dragon Quest
previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing video games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii (Armor Project), character designer Akira Toriyama (Bird Studio), and composer Koi ...
'' games, which were published by
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
.
List of games developed
;Notes
Cancelled
See also
*
OrCAD
OrCAD Systems Corporation was a software company that made OrCAD, a proprietary software tool suite used primarily for electronic design automation (EDA). The software is used mainly by electronic design engineers and electronic technicians to ...
(distributed by Intelligent Systems Japan, KK)
References
External links
*
Official website (English)
{{Authority control
Nintendo
Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries
Video game companies of Japan
Video game development companies
Companies based in Kyoto
Video game companies established in 1986
Japanese companies established in 1986