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Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EPD) is a Nintendo software division formed in September 2015 that consolidates the Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development with Nintendo Software Planning & Development into a single division. It is lead by Executive General Manager Shinya Takahashi, former General Manager of SPD.
History[]
Nintendo was starting to consolidate its software development for a while prior to new division. In 2013, Nintendo moved all of its Kyoto staff into a single building. With the new president in 2015, there was sweeping reorganization that affected both software and hardware with Nintendo Integrated Research & Development turning into Nintendo Platform Technology Development and Nintendo EAD with Nintendo SPD uniting to form this division. The lack of internally developed games gives vagueness to structure of the new division but, it looks structured similarly to former divisions.
Important Members[]
Hierarchy[]
Shinya Takahashi, previously the general manager of Nintendo Software Planning & Development, is the current general manager of Nintendo EPD since 2015, succeeding Shigeru Miyamoto as the head of Nintendo game development and production after Miyamoto was in the position for more than 20 years in Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development before the merger of the divisions EAD and SPD. On September 16, 2015, he left his managerial position as head of EAD and became a Creative Fellow for Nintendo (changed as Fellow in 2017 and as Executive Fellow in 2024), being less involved on games and more directly involved on non-game business like movies and theme parks.
Katsuya Eguchi, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Hisashi Nogami and Takayuki Shimamura are deputy general managers under Takahashi and supervise more directly at their respective sites, in Kyoto and Tokyo. Some deputy general managers like Kensuke Tanabe, Takashi Tezuka, and Eiji Aonuma are considered senior officers and have larger jurisdiction. The known groups and their respective group managers are as followed.[1]
By 2023, Koizumi was promoted from Deputy General Manager to Senior General Manager, Takahashi was promoted from General Manager to Executive General Manager, Takayuki Shimamura was named deputy general manager, Aonuma was promoted from Deputy General Manager to Senior Officer and sound designer Koji Kondo was named senior officer.[2][3][4]
Structure[]
| Group | Formerly | Development type | Manager | Works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPD2 | External | Unknown (since 2020) | Production and overseeing of external developed games published by Nintendo (2015-2020). Seemingly merged with EPD2 since 2020 |
| 2 | SPD4
EPD1 |
External | Toyokazu Nonaka | Most Mario spinoffs, Super Smash Bros. series (2015-2020)
Production and overseeing of most external developed games published by Nintendo (2020-present) |
| 3 | EAD3 | Internal | Makoto Miyanaga | The Legend of Zelda series |
| 4 | EAD2 EAD5 SDD |
Internal | Kouichi Kawamoto, Takayuki Shimamura | Experimental and casual-oriented games |
| 5 | EAD2 | Internal | Aya Kyogoku | Animal Crossing series, Splatoon series |
| 6 | SPD3 | External | Masakazu Miyazaki | Production and overseeing of external developed series published by Nintendo specifically the Metroid Prime series, Paper Mario series, WarioWare series and Luigi's Mansion series |
| 7 | SPD1 | Internal | Katsuya Yamano | 2D Metroid series, Famicom Detective Club series, Tomodachi series, Rhythm Heaven series |
| 8 | EAD Tokyo | Internal | Atsushi Yamaguchi | 3D Super Mario |
| 9 | EAD1 | Internal | Kosuke Yabuki | Mario Kart series, ARMS |
| 10 | EAD4 | Internal | Hiroyuki Kimura | 2D Super Mario Bros., Pikmin series |
| Smart Device Production Group | N/A | External | Hideki Konno | Production and overseeing of Nintendo external and internal developed mobile games |
See Also[]
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-11-super-mario-bros-wonder-part-1/
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-5-nintendo-switch-sports-part-1/
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-9-the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-part-1/
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2024/annual2403e.pdf