Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (任天堂 情報開発本部 Nintendō Jōhō Kaihatsu Honbu), commonly abbreviated as EAD, is the largest division inside Nintendo. Famed developers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka serve as heads of the EAD studios and are credited in each game released from EAD, with varying degrees of involvement. EAD is best known for its work on games in the Mario, The Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, Star Fox, and Pikmin franchises.
In 1997, Miyamoto explained that twenty to thirty employees were devoted to each EAD title during the course of its development.[1] He also disclosed the existence of a programming group within the division called SRD, a group of about two-hundred employees with proficiency in hardware development.[1]
In 2004 Nintendo underwent a corporate restructuring, in which several members of the Nintendo Research & Development 1 and Nintendo Research & Development 2 were reassigned under the EAD banner.[2] Nintendo EAD is itself split into five separate teams in Kyoto who work concurrently on different projects in addition to a sister group in Tokyo.[3]
EAD Software Development Department[ | ]
Comprehensive Software Development Group[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Takao Sawano
Not necessarily responsible for a specific franchise or genre
Games developed:
| Title | Platform | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Roll-O-Rama | - | Unreleased |
| Mario Kart: Double Dash!! | GC | November 7, 2003 (JP) |
| Pac-Man Vs. | GC | December 2, 2003 (NA) |
| Super Mario 64 DS | NDS | November 21, 2004 (NA) |
| Steel Diver | N3DS | March 2011 |
| Star Fox 64 3D | N3DS | June 2011 |
Software Development Group No. 1[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Hideki Konno
Responsible for Nintendogs and new Mario Kart games
Games developed:
| Title | Platform | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Luigi's Mansion | GC | September 14, 2001 (JP) |
| Nintendogs | NDS | April 21, 2005 (JP) |
| Mario Kart DS | NDS | November 14, 2005 (NA) |
| Mario Kart Wii | Wii | April 10, 2008 (JP) |
| Nintendogs + Cats | 3DS | February 26, 2011 (JP) |
| Mario Kart 7 | 3DS | December 1, 2011 (JP) |
Software Development Group No. 2[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Katsuya Eguchi
Responsible for all Wii branded games and the Animal Crossing series.
Games developed:
| Title | Platform | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Crossing | N64 | April 14, 2001 (JP) |
| Animal Crossing: Wild World | NDS | November 23, 2005 (JP) |
| Wii Sports | Wii | November 19, 2006 (NA) |
| Wii Play | Wii | December 2, 2006 (JP) |
| Wii Music | Wii | October 16, 2008 (JP) |
| Animal Crossing: City Folk | Wii | November 16, 2008 (JP) |
| Wii Sports Resort | Wii | June 25, 2009 (JP) |
| Wii Party | Wii | July 8, 2010 (JP) |
| Animal Crossing 3DS | 3DS | 2012 |
| Pilotwings Resort | N3DS | March 2011 |
Software Development Group No. 3[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Eiji Aonuma
Primarily responsible for the Zelda series
Games developed:
| Title | Platform | Released |
|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64 | May 27, 2000 (JP) |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | GBA | December 3, 2002 (NA) |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | GC | December 13, 2002 (JP) |
| The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures | GC | March 18, 2004 (JP) |
| The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | GC/Wii | November 19, 2006 (NA) |
| The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | NDS | June 23, 2007 (JP) |
| Link's Crossbow Training | Wii | November 19, 2007 (NA) |
| The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks | NDS | December 7, 2009 (NA) |
| The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Wii | November 19, 2011 (EU) |
| The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D | N3DS | June 16, 2011 (JP) |
Software Development Group No. 4[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Hiroyuki Kimura
Responsible for remakes and ports of older titles, and the Pikmin series
- Games developed:
| Title | Released | |
|---|---|---|
| Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 | GBA | September 20, 2002 (JP) |
| Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 | GBA | September 27, 2003 (JP) |
| Yoshi Touch and Go | NDS | January 27, 2005 (JP) |
| Big Brain Academy | NDS | June 30, 2005 (JP) |
| New Super Mario Bros. | NDS | May 15, 2006 (NA) |
| Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree | Wii | April 26, 2007 (JP) |
| New Play Control! Pikmin | Wii | December 25, 2008 (JP) |
| New Play Control! Pikmin 2 | Wii | March 15, 2009 (JP) |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Wii | November 12, 2009 (AUS) |
| Pikmin 3 | Wii U | 2013 |
Software Development Group No. 5[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Tadashi Sugiyama
Responsible for developing games that attract casual gamers.
Games developed:
| Title | Released | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage Debut | - | Unreleased |
| Wii Fit | Wii | December 1, 2007 (JP) |
| Wii Fit Plus | Wii | October 1, 2009 (JP) |
Tokyo Development Group[ | ]
Manager/Producer: Takao Shimizu, Yoshiaki Koizumi
Mainly responsible for the Mario series
- Games developed:
| Title | Released | |
|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Sunshine | GC | August 16, 2002 (JP) |
| Donkey Kong Jungle Beat | GC | December 16, 2004 (JP) |
| Super Mario Galaxy | Wii | November 1, 2007 (JP) |
| New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat | Wii | December 11, 2008 (JP) |
| Flipnote Studio | NDSi | December 24, 2008 (JP) |
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 | Wii | May 23, 2010 (NA) |
Developer hierarchy[ | ]
| Chief Production Officer |
|---|
| Satoru Iwata |
| General Managers |
|---|
| Shigeru Miyamoto - Takashi Tezuka - Takao Sawano |
| Development Group Managers |
|---|
| Hideki Konno - Katsuya Eguchi - Eiji Aonuma Hiroyuki Kimura - Takao Shimizu |
| Creative Directors |
|---|
| Yasuyuki Oyagi - Toshiaki Suzuki - Kiyoshi Mizuki Mitsuhiro Takano - Hisashi Nogami - Shigefumi Hino Yoshiaki Koizumi - Kenta Usui - Hiroshi Matsunaga Motoi Okamoto - Koichi Hayashida - Hidemaro Fujibayashi Daiki Iwamoto - Shigeyuki Asuke - Tomoaki Yoshinobu - Takaya Imamura |
Games developed[ | ]
| Title | Producer | Director | Music | Year | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devil World | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Akito Nakatsuka | 1984 | NES |
| Excitebike | Shigeru Miyamoto | Minoru Maeda | Soyo Oka | 1984 | NES |
| Super Mario Bros. | Shigeru Miyamoto | Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka |
Koji Kondo | 1985 | NES |
| Ice Climber | Shigeru Miyamoto | Kenji Miki | Akito Nakatsuka | 1985 | NES |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 (The Lost Levels) | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Koji Kondo | 1986 | FDS |
| Nazo no Murasame Jō (Riddle of Murasame Castle) | Keizo Kato | Minoru Maeda | Koji Kondo | 1986 | FDS |
| The Legend of Zelda | Shigeru Miyamoto | Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka |
Koji Kondo | 1987 | NES |
| Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (Dream Factory Throb-Throb Panic) | Shigeru Miyamoto | Kensuke Tanabe | Koji Kondo | 1987 | FDS |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 (based on Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic) | Shigeru Miyamoto | Kensuke Tanabe | Koji Kondo | 1987 | NES |
| Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | Shigeru Miyamoto | Tadashi Sugiyama | Akito Nakatsuka | 1987 | NES |
| Ice Hockey | Shigeru Miyamoto Masayuki Uemura |
Hideki Konno | Soyo Oka | 1988 | NES |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Koji Kondo | 1988 | NES |
| Super Mario World | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Koji Kondo | 1990 | SNES |
| F-Zero | Shigeru Miyamoto | Isshin Shimizu | Yumiko Kanki, Naoto Ishida |
1990 | SNES |
| Pilotwings | Shigeru Miyamoto | Tadashi Sugiyama | Soyo Oka, Koji Kondo |
1990 | SNES |
| SimCity | Shigeru Miyamoto | Hideki Konno | Soyo Oka | 1991 | SNES |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Koji Kondo | 1991 | SNES |
| Wave Race | Shigeru Miyamoto | Masayuki Kameyama | Taisuke Araki | 1992 | GB |
| Super Mario Kart | Shigeru Miyamoto | Hideki Konno, Tadashi Sugiyama |
Soyo Oka | 1992 | SNES |
| Super Mario All-Stars | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Koji Kondo, Soyo Oka |
1993 | SNES |
| Star Fox (assisted by Argonaut Games) | Shigeru Miyamoto | Katsuya Eguchi | Hajime Hirasawa | 1993 | SNES |
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka | Kazumi Totaka, Minako Hamano, Kozue Ishikawa |
1993 | GB |
| Donkey Kong | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takao Shimizu | Taisuke Araki | 1994 | GB |
| Stunt Race FX (assisted by Argonaut Games) | Shigeru Miyamoto | Tatsuya Hishida | Shinobu Amayake | 1994 | SNES |
| Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takashi Tezuka, Toshihiko Nakago, Shigefumi Hino, Hideki Konno |
Koji Kondo | 1995 | SNES |
| Mole Mania | Shigeru Miyamoto | Masayuki Kameyama | Taro Bando | 1996 | GB |
| Super Mario 64 | Shigeru Miyamoto | Shigeru Miyamoto | Koji Kondo | 1996 | N64 |
| Pilotwings 64 (with Paradigm Entertainment and Nintendo IRD) | Shigeru Miyamoto | Makoto Wada | Akito Nakatsuka | 1996 | N64 |
| Wave Race 64 | Shigeru Miyamoto | Katsuya Eguchi, Shinya Takahashi |
Kazumi Totaka | 1996 | N64 |
| Mario Kart 64 | Shigeru Miyamoto | Hideki Konno | Kenta Nagata | 1996 | N64 |
| Star Fox 64 | Shigeru Miyamoto | Takao Shimizu | Koji Kondo, Hajime Wakai |
1997 | N64 |
| Yoshi's Story | Takashi Tezuka | Hideki Konno | Kazumi Totaka | 1997 | N64 |
| F-Zero X | Shigeru Miyamoto | Tadashi Sugiyama | Taro Bando, Hajime Wakai |
1998 | N64 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Shigeru Miyamoto | Toru Osawa, Yoichi Yamada, Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi |
Koji Kondo | 1998 | N64 |
| 1080° Snowboarding | Shigeru Miyamoto | Masamichi Abe, Mitsuhiro Takano |
Kenta Nagata | 1998 | N64 |
| Pokémon Stadium (Japan only) | Shigeru Miyamoto, Kenji Miki, Tsunekazu Ishihara, Satoru Iwata |
Takao Shimizu | Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, Mitsuhiro Hikino |
1998 | N64 |
| Pokémon Stadium (Pokémon Stadium 2 in Japan) | Kenji Miki, Tsunekazu Ishihara, Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Takao Shimizu | Hajime Wakai, Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi |
1999 | N64 |
| Mario Artist: Paint Studio | Lorraine Starr, Takao Sawano |
Hirofumi Matsuoka | Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall, Suddi Raval, Kazumi Totaka |
1999 | 64DD |
| Mario Artist: Communication Kit | Takao Sawano | Kazunobu Eri | Hideaki Shimizu | 2000 | 64DD |
| Mario Artist: Polygon Studio | Takao Sawano | Hirofumi Matsuoka | Kazumi Totaka | 2000 | 64DD |
| Mario Artist: Talent Studio | Takao Sawano | Hiroyuki Kimura | Kazumi Totaka, Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi |
2000 | 64DD |
| F-Zero X Expansion Kit | Shigeru Miyamoto | Tadashi Sugiyama | Taro Bando, Hajime Wakai |
2000 | 64DD |
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | Shigeru Miyamoto | Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi |
Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi |
2000 | N64 |
| Pokémon Stadium 2 (Pokémon Stadium Kin Gin in Japan) |
Kenji Miki, Tsunekazu Ishihara, Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Takao Shimizu | Kenta Nagata | 2000 | N64 |
| Luigi's Mansion | Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka |
Hideki Konno | Kazumi Totaka, Shinobu Tanaka |
2001 | GCN |
| Pikmin | Shigeru Miyamoto | Shigefumi Hino, Masamishi Abe |
Hajime Wakai | 2001 | GCN |
| Animal Crossing | Takashi Tezuka | Katsuya Eguchi, Hisashi Nogami |
Kazumi Totaka, Shinobu Tanaka, Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi |
2001 | N64, GCN |
| Super Mario Sunshine | Shigeru Miyamoto | Yoshiaki Koizumi, Kenta Usui |
Koji Kondo, Shinobu Tanaka |
2002 | GCN |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka |
Eiji Aonuma | Koji Kondo, Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi |
2003 | GCN |
| Pokémon Box | Shigeru Miyamoto, Kenji Miki, Hiroaki Tsuru |
Tatsuya Hishida, Kenta Usui, Junichi Masuda |
Kenta Nagata, Tōru Asakawa |
2003 | GCN |
| Mario Kart: Double Dash!! | Shigeru Miyamoto | Kiyoshi Mizuki | Shinobu Tanaka, Kenta Nagata |
2003 | GCN |
| Pac-Man Vs. | Shigeru Miyamoto | 2003 | GCN | ||
| The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures | Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Toshiaki Suzuki | Asuka Ōta, Koji Kondo |
2004 | GCN |
| Pikmin 2 | Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka |
Shigefumi Hino, Masamishi Abe |
Hajime Wakai | 2004 | GCN |
| Super Mario 64 DS | Shigeru Miyamoto | Shinichi Ikematsu | Koji Kondo, Kenta Nagata |
2004 | NDS |
| Yoshi Touch & Go | Takashi Tezuka | Hiroyuki Kimura | Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ōta |
2005 | NDS |
| Big Brain Academy | Hiroyuki Kimura | Tomoaki Yoshinobu | Kenta Nagata | 2005 | NDS |
| Nintendogs | Hideki Konno, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Kiyoshi Mizuki | Hajime Wakai | 2005 | NDS |
| Mario Kart DS | Hideki Konno, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Makoto Wada | Shinobu Tanaka | 2005 | NDS |
| Donkey Kong Jungle Beat | Takao Shimizu | Yoshiaki Koizumi | Mahito Yokota | 2005 | GCN |
| Animal Crossing: Wild World | Katsuya Eguchi, Takashi Tezuka |
Hisashi Nogami | Kazumi Totaka | 2005 | NDS |
| New Super Mario Bros. | Hiroyuki Kimura, Takashi Tezuka |
Shigeyuki Asuke | Asuka Ōta, Hajime Wakai |
2006 | NDS |
| The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | Shigeru Miyamoto | Eiji Aonuma | Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ōta |
2006 | GCN, Wii |
| Wii Sports | Katsuya Eguchi, Kiyoshi Mizuki, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Keizo Ohta, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshikazu Yamashita |
Kazumi Totaka | 2006 | Wii |
| Wii Play | Katsuya Eguchi | Motoi Okamoto | Shinobu Tanaka, Ryo Nagamastsu |
2006 | Wii |
| Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree | Hiroyuki Kimura | Tomoaki Yoshinobu | Ryo Nagamatsu | 2007 | Wii |
| The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Daiki Iwamoto | Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi |
2007 | NDS |
| Super Mario Galaxy | Shigeru Miyamoto, Takao Shimizu |
Yoshiaki Koizumi | Mahito Yokota Koji Kondo |
2007 | Wii |
| Link's Crossbow Training | Eiji Aonuma | Makoto Miyanaga | Kenta Nagata | 2007 | Wii |
| Wii Fit | Tadashi Sugiyama, Shigeru Miyamoto, Takao Sawano |
Hiroshi Matsunaga | Toru Minegishi, Manaka Tominaga, Shiho Fujii |
2008 | Wii |
| Mario Kart Wii | Hideki Konno, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Yasuyuki Oyagi | Asuka Ōta, Ryo Nagamatsu |
2008 | Wii |
| Wii Music | Takashi Tezuka, Katsuya Eguchi |
Kazumi Totaka | Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, Mahito Yokota |
2008 | Wii |
| Animal Crossing: City Folk | Katsuya Eguchi | Hisashi Nogami | Manaka Tominaga, Shiho Fujii |
2008 | Wii |
| Flipnote Studio | Yoshiaki Koizumi | Hideaki Shimizu | 2008 | Nintendo DSi | |
| New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat | Yoshiaki Koizumi | Futoshi Shirai | Mahito Yokota | 2008 | Wii |
| New Play Control! Pikmin | Hiroyuki Kimura | Shigefumi Hino | Hajime Wakai | 2008 | Wii |
| New Play Control! Pikmin 2 | Hiroyuki Kimura | Shigefumi Hino | Hajime Wakai | 2008 | Wii |
| Wii Sports Resort | Katsuya Eguchi | Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshikazu Yamashita |
Ryo Nagamatsu | 2009 | Wii |
| Wii Fit Plus | Tadashi Sugiyama, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Hiroshi Matsunaga | Ryoji Yoshitomi, Asuka Ōta |
2009 | Wii |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Takashi Tezuka, Hiroyuki Kimura, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Shigeyuki Asuke | Shiho Fujii, Ryo Nagamatsu |
2009 | Wii |
| The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks | Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma |
Daiki Iwamoto | Toru Minegishi, Manaka Tominaga, Asuka Ōta, Koji Kondo |
2009 | NDS |
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 | Yoshiaki Koizumi, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto |
Kōichi Hayashida | Mahito Yokota, Ryo Nagamatsu, Koji Kondo |
2010 | Wii |
References[ | ]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Takao Imamura, Shigeru Miyamoto (1997). Nintendo Power August, 1997 - Pak Watch E3 Report "The Game Masters". Nintendo. pp. 104–105.
- ↑ N-Sider. Nintendo Revolution FAQ
- ↑ Cassidy, Kevin. NCL Team Structure work in progress. June 7, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2007.