The legacy of Nintendo is often overshadowed by big names like Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata. Having two charming poster boys serve as international public relations tools often drowns out the fact that there are over a thousand employees working in the development sector of Nintendo in Japan alone. Well, who exactly works at Nintendo? The closest identifiable entity after the big two rock stars is an acronym known as EAD. The three letters stand for Entertainment Analysis & Development, which represent an enormous technology and software development department divided into several semi-independent groups micromanaged by different producers. Shigeru Miyamoto happens to the be the General Manager of Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, managing over five hundred personnel in the Kyoto Branch and Tokyo Branch. Through this channel is where software like Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros., Big Brain Academy, Pikmin, Star Fox 64, Yoshi's Touch N & Go, Steel Diver, Nintendogs, Flipnote Studio, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, Mario Kart, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Play and others are created.
Now that we covered the famous Entertainment Analysis & Development Division (Nintendo EAD), the question is what is the second main arm of development at Nintendo? Is it Retro Studios Inc.? Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd? HAL Laboratory Inc.? The answer is none of the above. In fact all those studios are considered much lower in the totem pole of creative power at Nintendo. There are also other Nintendo branded branches like Nintendo Software Technology Corporation and Nd Cube Inc. but neither are the correct answer.
The Software Planning & Development Division (Nintendo SPD) is the second main development arm of Nintendo Co., Ltd. Company President Satoru Iwata was responsible for creating the department in December 2003, by dissolving and merging much of the Research & Development 1 and Research & Development 2 departments together. Metroid: Zero Mission was the first game released under the department, although it originally began as a Research & Development 1 title. The developer houses about a quarter staff of the EAD Division, thus it splits its focus on developing small scale innovative software and collaborating with partner developers.
Main In-house Development GroupsSoftware Planning & Development Group No.1 is run under Manager and Producer Yoshio Sakamoto and co-manager Katsuya Yamano. This group most resembles the remnants of the old R&D1 staff and is responsible for software like Metroid: Zero Mission, Rhythm Tengoku, WarioWare: Twisted!, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Trade & Battle: Card Hero, Face Training DS, Nintendo DS Digital TV Tuner, Play-Yan, Tomodachi Collection, and Kiki Tricks.
Software Planning & Development Group No. 5 is run by Masaru Nishita. Software Planning & Developemnt Group No. 5 operates alongside the sub-group Software & Development Design, described as a small team that operates on experimental and unusual projects. The group embodies the spirit of the R&D2 team, and transferred over the long time in development project titled Game Boy Music over into the SPD Division where it became Daigasso! Band Bros. The young batch of developers became the forefathers of the Touch Generation series with developing software like Brain-Age, English Training, Kanji Training and How Money and Things Work DS (Mono ya Okane No Shikumi DS).
Software Planning & Development Group No. 2 is run by Hitoshi Yamagami, Software Planning & Development Group No. 3 is run by Kensuke Tanabe, Software Planning & Development Group No. 4 is run by Hiroshi Sato. These three groups differ in from the aforementioned two because they specialize in planning, coordination and production more so than actual development. Hitoshi Yamagami's SPD Group No. 2 probably is involved closer as a developer since they actually developed Tetris DS in-house, and have sometimes significant involvement in several of their co-developed or production involvements. Software Planning & Development Group No. 2 also reprograms the international versions of Pokémon. For a more elaborate illustration, below is a list of highlight software each group is involved with.
Software Planning & Development Group No. 1 - Yoshio Sakamoto / Katsuya Yamano
2004 - Metroid Zero: Mission
2004 - Wario Ware: Touched! (with Intelligent Systems)
2004 - Wario Ware: Twisted! (with Intelligent Systems)
2005 - Rhyhm Tengoku
2005 - Play Yan
2006 - Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (with Intelligent Systems)
2007 - Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero (with Intelligent Systems)
2007 - Nintendo DS Digital TV Tuner
2007 - Face Training DS (with Intelligent Systems)
2008 - Rhythm Tengoku Gold
2008 - Wario Ware: Snapped (with Intelligent Systems)
2009 - Card Hero: Custom Speed Battle Custom (with Intelligent Systems)
2009 - Wario Ware: D.I.Y (with Intelligent Systems)
2009 - Atsumero Egaocho (with Intelligent Systems)
2009 - Tomodachi Collection
2010 - Metroid: Other M (with Tecmo / Team Ninja)
2011 - Rhythm Tengoku Fever
2012 - Kiki Tricks
2012 - Tomodachi Collection 2
Software Planning & Development Group No. 2 - Hitoshi Yamagami
2004 - F-Zero GP Legend (with Suzak)
2005 - Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (with Konami)
2005 - Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (with Intelligent Systems)
2005 - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (with Intelligent Systems)
2005 - Jump Superstars (with Ganbarion)
2005 - F-Zero Climax (with Suzak)
2005 - Advance Wars: Dual Strike (with Intelligent Systems)
2005 - Super Princess Peach (with Tose)
2005 - Drill Dozer (with Game Freak)
2005 - Dr. Mario & Puzzle League (with Tose and Intelligent Systems)
2006 - Jump Ultimate Stars (with Ganbarion)
2006 - Tetris DS
2007 - Endless Ocean (with Arika)
2007 - Planet Puzzle League (with Intelligent Systems)
2007 - Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (with Intelligent Systems)
2007 - Wario: Master of Disguise (with Suzak)
2007 - Picross DS (with Jupiter)
2008 - Glory of Heracles (with Paon)
2008 - Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (with Intelligent Systems)
2008 - Wario Land: Shake it! (with Good Feel)
2008 - Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (with Intelligent Systems)
2008 - Disaster Day of Crisis (with Monolith Soft)
2008 - My Daily Household Diary (with Syn Sophia)
2008 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (with several others)
2009 - Style Savvy (with Syn Sophia)
2010 - Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem (with Intelligent Systems)
2010 - Xeno Blade Chronicles (with Monolith Soft)
2010 - Endless Ocean 2 (with Arika)
2010 - Sin & Punishment: Star Successor (with Treasure)
2011 - The Last Story (with Mystwalker / AQ Interactive)
2011 - Pandora's Tower (with Ganbarion)
2011 - Wii Play Motion (with several others)
2012 - Nintendo 3DS Classics: ExciteBike (with Arika)
2011 - Nintendo 3DS Classics: Urban Champion (with Arika)
2011 - Nintendo 3DS Classics: Kirby's Adventure (with Arika)
2012 - Nintendo 3DS Classics: Kid Icarus (with Arika)
** (All Game Boy Virtual Console, Nintendo 3D Classics and Pokemon games are produced in this division as well)
Software Planning & Development Group No. 3 - Kensuke Tanabe
2002 - Metroid Prime (with Retro Studios)
2003 - Giftpia (with Skip)
2004 - Mario Pinball Land (with Fuse Games)
2004 - Metroid Prime 2 (with Retro Studios)
2005 - Battalion Wars (with Next Level Games)
2005 - Super Mario Strikers (with Next Level Games)
2005 - Geist (with N-Space)
2005 - Chibi-Robo!: Plug into Adventure! (with Skip)
2005 - Metroid Prime Pinball (with Fuse Games)
2006 - Excite Truck (with Monster Games)
2006 - Magical Starsign (with Brownie Brown)
2006 - Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (with Vanpool)
2006 - Custom Robo Arena (with Noise / Studio Fake)
2007 - Metroid Prime 3 (with Retro Studios)
2007 - Theta (with Vitei)
2007 - Battalion Wars 2 (with Next Level Games)
2007 - Chibi-Robo!: Park Patrol (with Skip)
2007 - Mario Strikers Charged! (with Next Level Games)
2008 - Captain Rainbow (with Skip)
2008 - Mystery Case File: MillionHeir (with Big Fish Studios)
2009 - Excite Bots (with Monster Games)
2009 - Metroid Prime Collection (with Retro Studios)
2009 - Punch-Out!! (Nintendo Wii / 2009)
2009 - Rock N' Roll Climber (with Vitei Inc)
2009 - Eco Shooter: Plant 530 (with Intelligent Systems)
2010 - Snowpack Park (with Skip)
2010 - Donkey Kong Country Returns (with Retro Studios)
2011 - Pilotwings Resort (with Monster Games)
Software Planning & Development Group No. 4 - Hiroshi Sato
2004 - Kururin Squash! (with Eighting)
2004 - Polarium (with Michell)
2004 - Mario Party 6 (with Hudson Soft)
2005 - Mario Party Advance (with Mitchell)
2005 - Polarium Advance (with Mitchell)
2005 - Mario Party 7 (with Mitchell)
2006 - Elite Beat Agents (with Inis)
2006 - Magnetica (with Mitchell)
2007 - Mario Party 8 (with Hudson Soft)
2007 - Mario Party DS (with Hudson Soft)
2008 - Soma Bringer (with Monolith Soft)
2010 - Wii Party (with Nd Cube)
2012 - Mario Party 9 (with Nd Cube ?)
Software Planning & Development Group No. 5 - Shinya Takahashi / Masaru Nishita
2004 - Daigasso! Band Brothers
2005 - DS Rakubiki Jiten
2005 - Daigasso! Band Brothers: Request Selection
2005 - Brain Training / Brain-Age
2006 - DS Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten (with Intelligent Systems)
2006 - Brain Training 2 / Brain-Age 2
2006 - English Training
2007 - More English Training
2007 - Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (with Namco / Bandai Games Inc.)
2008 - Daigasso! Band Brothers DX
2009 - How Money and Things Work DS
2010 - Photo Dojo
Alleyway
