commonly abbreviated as 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, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

. 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 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 ...

(EAD) and

Software Planning & Development commonly abbreviated as Nintendo SPD, was a Japanese research, planning and development division housed inside the Nintendo Development Center in Kyoto, Japan. The division had two departments: ''Software Planning & Development Department'', wh ...

(SPD) divisions in September 2015.

History

The division was created on September 16, 2015, after the consolidation of two of Nintendo's former software divisions,

(EAD) and

(SPD), as part of a company-wide organizational restructure that took place under Nintendo's then newly appointed president,

Tatsumi Kimishima is a Japanese businessman who served as the 5th president of Nintendo from September 2015 to June 2018. He was formerly the president of Nintendo of America from January 2002, succeeding Minoru Arakawa, until Reggie Fils-Aimé took his place in ...

. The division assumed both of its predecessors' roles, focusing on the

development of games Video game development (or gamedev) is the process of developing a video game. The effort is undertaken by a developer, ranging from a single person to an international team dispersed across the globe. Development of traditional commercial PC a ...

and software for Nintendo platforms and

mobile device A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

s; it also manages and licenses the company's various

intellectual properties Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, alongside producing and supervising development for external studios. Shinya Takahashi, former head of Nintendo SPD, serves as the general manager of the division, with

Yoshiaki Koizumi is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer, and business executive. He is a senior executive officer at Nintendo, where he is known for his work within their ''Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. Since 2013, Koizumi is a ...

Katsuya Eguchi is a Japanese game designer, director and producer, most known for being a creator of the ''Animal Crossing'' series. He was born in 1965 in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in Chiba Prefecture. He began work at Nintendo in 1986 and spent some time do ...

Eiji Aonuma is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He works for Nintendo as the project manager of their ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. Aonuma is also one of the deputy general managers of Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development ...

, and

Hisashi Nogami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer working for Nintendo. Nogami is well-known for working in the '' Animal Crossing'' and '' Splatoon'' series. Biography Nogami was born in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture in 1971. He graduat ...

serving as deputy general managers, and,

Kensuke Tanabe is a Japanese video game producer and designer working for Nintendo, where he currently is Senior Officer at Nintendo EPD. After he had graduated from the Visual Concept Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, he decided to enter the ...

Yoshio Sakamoto (born July 23, 1959) is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He has worked at Nintendo since 1982. He has directed several games in the '' Metroid'' series. He is one of the most prominent members of Nintendo's former Researc ...

and

Takashi Tezuka is a Japanese video game designer, director, and video game producer, producer. He is a senior officer of Nintendo EPD and executive at Nintendo. Career Upon graduating the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined Nintendo in A ...

acting as senior officers. While the others were in such positions since the division's formation, Aonuma, Tanabe and Nogami were promoted into higher positions within the division in 2019.

Development

In addition to external production, Nintendo EPD also creates and develops its own titles internally. ;Notes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development 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