Nintendo Software Planning & Development

Nintendo
Software Planning & Development

Native name	任天堂 企画開発
Romanized name	Nintendo Planning and Development
Former type	Division
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo R&D2
Successor	Nintendo EPD
Founded	September 30, 2003
Defunct	September 16, 2015
Headquarters	Kyoto, Japan
Key people	Shinya Takahashi (General Manager) Yoshio Sakamoto (Deputy Manager) Kensuke Tanabe (Executive Officer)
Number of employees	~70[1]
Parent	Nintendo
Divisions	Software Planning & Development Software Development & Design

The Nintendo Software Planning & Development Division (Japanese: 任天堂 企画開発本部 Hepburn: Nintendō Kikaku Kaihatsu Honbu, lit. Nintendo Planning and Development Division) (commonly abbreviated to Nintendo SPD) was a research, planning and development division housed inside the Nintendo Development Center in Kyoto, Japan. The division had two departments: Software Planning & Development Department, which primarily co-produced games with external developers; and Software Development & Design Department, which primarily developed experimental and system software. The division was created during a corporate restructuring on September 30, 2003, with the abolition of the Nintendo R&D1 and Nintendo R&D2 departments.

The group had the task of independently developing innovative games, assisting other development teams on projects, and managing overseas production of first-party franchises.^[2] Both SPD and SDD departments were into four separate groups, which worked concurrently on different projects.^[3]

Nintendo SPD merged with Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development in September 2015, becoming Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development.^[4]

Structural hierarchy

The General Manager of the Nintendo Software Planning & Development Division was Shinya Takahashi, assisted by both Keizo Kato, the Assistant Manager and Kensuke Tanabe, the Executive Officer. The division was split into two different departments: the Software Planning & Development Department, which was split into four separate groups, which was supervised by Deputy Manager Yoshio Sakamoto; and the Software Development & Design Department which was split into three separate groups, supervised by Deputy Manager Masaru Nishita. All of the groups worked concurrently on different projects.^[5]

Software Planning & Development Division

Software Planning & Development Department

Software Development & Design Department

PG No. 1

PG No. 2

PG No. 3

PG No. 4

SDG

UIDG

CDG

Technical Support Group

Sound Group

Software Planning & Development Department

Deputy Manager: Yoshio Sakamoto

Production Group No. 1

Group Manager: Katsuya Yamano

Production Group No. 1's primary focus was the development and co-production of video game software and software applications for Nintendo home and handheld consoles, in cooperation with second-party developers. The Group Manager and main producer was Katsuya Yamano, assisted by Nintendo veteran developer Yoshio Sakamoto, with the directing and planning team including a collective of talented personnel. The group typically had more than one project simultaneously in production, with emphasis on maintaining the Rhythm Heaven and Friend Collection series, along with co-producing the WarioWare series with Intelligent Systems.

List of software developed by Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 1

Title	Genre(s)	Platform(s)	Year	Producer(s)	Director(s)
WarioWare: Twisted![co-developed 1][co-developed 2][6]	Action, puzzle	Game Boy Advance	2004	Yoshio Sakamoto, Ryoichi Kitanishi[lower-alpha 1]	Goro Abe
WarioWare: Touched![co-developed 1][7]	Action, puzzle	Nintendo DS	2004	Yoshio Sakamoto, Ryoichi Kitanishi[lower-alpha 1]	Ryuichi Nakada
Play-Yan[co-developed 2][8]	Audio player	Game Boy Advance	2005	Yoshio Sakamoto, Kazuhiko Taniguchi[lower-alpha 2]	Takuma Matsunaga[lower-alpha 2]
WarioWare: Smooth Moves[co-developed 1][9]	Action, puzzle	Wii	2006	Yoshio Sakamoto, Ryoichi Kitanishi[lower-alpha 1]	Goro Abe
Rhythm Tengoku[co-developed 3][10]	Rhythm	Game Boy Advance	2006	Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku),[lower-alpha 3] Yoshio Sakamoto	Kazuyoshi Osawa
Face Training[co-developed 1][co-developed 2][11]		Nintendo DS	2007	Katsuya Yamano, Toshio Sengoku[lower-alpha 1]	Ryuichi Nakada, Takeshi Ando[lower-alpha 1]
Nintendo DS Digital TV Tuner[12]	Television antenna	Nintendo DS	2007	Katsuya Yamano	Noriyuki Sato
Birds & Beans[13] Pyoro ^EU|AUS		Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2008	Yoshio Sakamoto, Teruki Murakawa	Hiroshi Momose
Paper Airplane Chase[14] Paper Plane ^EU|AUS	Endless running	Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2008	Yoshio Sakamoto, Teruki Murakawa	Hiroshi Momose
Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero[co-developed 1][15]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2007	Yoshio Sakamoto	Hiroshi Momose
Rhythm Heaven[co-developed 3][16]	Rhythm	Nintendo DS	2008	Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku)[lower-alpha 3]	Kazuyoshi Osawa
Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner[co-developed 1]	Instrument tuning	Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Yoshio Sakamoto	Goro Abe
Nintendo DSi Metronome[co-developed 1]	Metronome	Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Yoshio Sakamoto	Goro Abe
WarioWare D.I.Y.[co-developed 1][17]	Action, puzzle	Nintendo DS	2009	Yoshio Sakamoto, Toshio Sengoku[lower-alpha 1]	Goro Abe
WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase[co-developed 1][18]	Action, puzzle	Wii (WiiWare)	2009	Yoshio Sakamoto, Toshio Sengoku[lower-alpha 1]	Goro Abe
Tomodachi Collection[19]	Social simulation	Nintendo DS	2009	Yoshio Sakamoto	Ryutaro Takahashi
Rhythm Heaven Fever[co-developed 3][20]	Rhythm	Wii	2011	Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku)[lower-alpha 3]	Ko Takeuchi, Masami Yone
Wii Relax[21]	Exergaming	Wii	Cancelled	Unknown	Unknown
Kiki Trick[22]	Music	Wii	2012	Katsuya Yamano	Noriyuki Sato
Tomodachi Life[23]	Social simulation	Nintendo 3DS	2013	Yoshio Sakamoto	Ryutaro Takahashi
Game & Wario[co-developed 1][24]	Action, puzzle	Wii U	2013	Yoshio Sakamoto, Toshio Sengoku,[lower-alpha 1] Naoki Nakano[lower-alpha 1]	Goro Abe, Naoko Mori[lower-alpha 1]
Nikki's Travel Quiz	Quiz Game	Nintendo 3DS	2015	Unknown	Unknown
Rhythm Heaven Megamix[co-developed 3][25]	Rhythm	Nintendo 3DS	2015	Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku)[lower-alpha 3]	Ko Takeuchi, Masami Yone

Notes

1. Co-developed by Intelligent Systems.
2. Hardware design by Nintendo Research & Engineering Department.
3. Co-developed by TNX Music Recordings, formerly J.P. Room Recordings.

List of software co-produced by Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 1

Title	Genre(s)	Platform(s)	Year	Producer(s)	Director(s)
WarioWare: Snapped![co-produced 1][26]	Action, puzzle	Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2008	Katsuya Yamano, Toshio Sengoku[lower-alpha 1]	Taku Sugioka[lower-alpha 1]
Atsumeru Egaocho[co-produced 1][27] lit. Smile Collection Book		Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Katsuya Yamano, Takeshi Ando[lower-alpha 1]	Ryuichi Nakada, Takeshi Ando[lower-alpha 1]
Card Hero: Speed Battle Custom[co-produced 1][28]	RPG	Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Yoshio Sakamoto	N/A
Face Training Mini[co-produced 1][29]		Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Katsuya Yamano	Ryuichi Nakada
Metroid: Other M[co-produced 2]	Action-adventure	Wii	2010	Yoshio Sakamoto, Yosuke Hayashi[lower-alpha 4]	Takehiko Hosokawa

Notes

1. Development co-operation for Intelligent Systems.
2. Development co-operation for Team Ninja.

Production Group No. 2

Group Manager: Hitoshi Yamagami

Production Group No. 2's primary focus was the production and co-development of video game software for Nintendo home and handheld consoles, in cooperation with Japanese third-party developers. The Group Manager and main producer is Hitoshi Yamagami, with the directing and planning team including a collective of talented personnel. The group typically had more than one project simultaneously in production, with emphasis on maintaining the F-Zero series with Suzak, the The Legendary Starfy series with Tose, the Fire Emblem series with Intelligent Systems, the Dr. Mario and Endless Ocean series with Arika, the Fossil Fighters series with Red Entertainment, the Style Savvy series with Syn Sophia, and the Xenoblade Chronicles series with Monolith Soft.

List of software developed by Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 2

Title	Genre(s)	Platform(s)	Year	Producer(s)	Director(s)
Yakuman DS lit. Mahjong DS	Puzzle (Majhong)	Nintendo DS	2005	Hitoshi Yamagami	Azusa Tajima
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day[co-developed 1][30]	Edutainment	Nintendo DS	2005	Hitoshi Yamagami	Kouichi Kawamoto
Tetris DS[31]	Puzzle	Nintendo DS	2006	Hitoshi Yamagami	Masaki Tawara
Yosuke Ide's Health Mahjong DSi[32]	Puzzle (Majhong)	Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Hitoshi Yamagami	N/A

Notes

1. Co-developed with the Software Development & Design Department.

List of software co-produced by Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 2

Title	Genre(s)	Platform(s)	Year	Producer(s)	Director(s)
Densetsu no Stafy 3[co-produced 1][33] lit. The Legendary Starfy 3	Platform	Game Boy Advance	2004	Yasushiro Minamimoto,[lower-alpha 5] Hitoshi Yamagami	Akio Imai,[lower-alpha 5] Azusa Tajima
Pokémon Emerald[co-produced 2][co-produced 3]	RPG	Game Boy Advance	2004	Hitoshi Yamagami, Hiroyuki Jinnai, Gakuji Nomoto, Hiroaki Tsuru	Shigeki Morimoto (Game Freak)
F-Zero: Climax[co-produced 4][34]	Racing	Game Boy Advance	2003	Hitoshi Yamagami	Yutaka Hirata[lower-alpha 6], Azusa Tajima
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance[co-produced 5]	Tactical RPG	GameCube	2005	Hitoshi Yamagami, Tohru Narihiro[lower-alpha 1]	Masayuki Horikawa[lower-alpha 1]
Dr. Mario & Puzzle League[co-produced 5][co-produced 1][35]	Puzzle	Game Boy Advance	2005	Takehiro Izushi, Ryoichi Kitanishi,[lower-alpha 1] Yasuhiro Minamimoto[lower-alpha 5]	Azusa Tajima, Masaki Tawara, Toshihiro Nishii,[lower-alpha 1] Makoto Uemura[lower-alpha 5]
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix[co-produced 6]	Music, exergaming	GameCube	2005	Hitoshi Yamagami, Hirotaka Ishikawa (Konami)	Yukihiro Yamazaki (Konami)
Jump Superstars[co-produced 7]	Fighting	Nintendo DS	2005	Hitoshi Yamagami	Takao Nakano
Super Princess Peach[co-produced 1]	Platform	Nintendo DS	2005	Hitoshi Yamagami, Yasushiro Minamimoto[lower-alpha 5]	Azusa Tajima, Akio Imai[lower-alpha 5]
Densetsu no Stafy 4[co-produced 1][36] lit. The Legendary Starfy 4	Platform	Nintendo DS	2006	Yasushiro Minamimoto,[lower-alpha 5] Hitoshi Yamagami	Azusa Tajima
Mawashite Tsunageru Touch Panic[co-produced 8]	Puzzle	Nintendo DS	2006	Hitoshi Yamagami
Project Hacker: Kakusei[co-produced 9][co-produced 3] lit. Project Hacker: Awakening	Graphic adventure	Nintendo DS	2006	Hitoshi Yamagami
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl[co-produced 2]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2006	Hitoshi Yamagami Hiroyuki Jinnai Gakuji Nomoto Hiroaki Tsuru	Junichi Masuda (Game Freak)
Jump Ultimate Stars[co-produced 7]	Fighting	Nintendo DS	2006	Hitoshi Yamagami	Takao Nakano
Wario: Master of Disguise[co-produced 4]	Platform	Nintendo DS	2007	Hitoshi Yamagami Masahiro Yonezawa (Suzak)	Azusa Tajima Akira Kinashi Yutaka Hirata (Suzak)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn[co-produced 5]	Tactical RPG	Wii	2007	Hitoshi Yamagami Thoru Narihiro (Intelligent Systems)	Taeko Kaneda (Intelligent Systems)
Ganbaru Watashi no Kakei Diary[co-produced 8] lit. My Household Budget Diary		Nintendo DS	2007	Hitoshi Yamagami
Endless Ocean[co-produced 10]	Adventure, simulation	Wii	2007	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Maski Tawara Yurie Hattori Akira Kurarayashi (Arika)
Zekkyō Senshi Sakeburein[co-produced 4]	Beat 'em up	Nintendo DS	2007	Hitoshi Yamagami	Takehiko Hosokawa
Dr. Mario Online Rx[co-produced 10] Dr. Mario & Germ Buster ^EU|AUS	Puzzle	Wii (WiiWare)	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami	Hiroyasu Hashidate Kazuki Yoshihara Takamasa Hori (Arika)
Fossil Fighters[co-produced 9]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami Ai Ito (Red Entertainment)	Genki Yokota Shunichi Ii (Red Entertainment)
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon[co-produced 5]	Tactical RPG	Nintendo DS	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami Toru Narihiro (Intelligent Systems)	Masaki Tawara Masayuki Horikawa (Intelligent Systems)
Pokémon Platinum[co-produced 2]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) Shusaku Egami Hiroaki Tsuru	Takeshi Kawachimaru (Game Freak)
Disaster: Day of Crisis[co-produced 11]	Action-adventure	Wii	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami Tadashi Nomura (Monolith Soft)	Azusa Tajima Genki Yokota Keiichi Ono (Intelligent Systems)
Style Savvy[co-produced 8]	Simulation	Nintendo DS	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami Syuji Yoshida (Syn Sophia)	Azusa Tajima Yurie Hattori Hideyuki Ikeda (Syn Sophia)
Dr. Mario Express[co-produced 10] A Little Bit of... Dr. Mario ^EU|AUS	Puzzle	Wii (WiiWare)	2008	Hitoshi Yamagami
Ganbaru Watashi no Osaifu Ouendan[co-produced 8]		Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Hitoshi Yamagami
Metal Torrent[co-produced 10]		Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)	2009	Hitoshi Yamagami	Hiroyasu Hashidate Ichirou Mihara (Arika)
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver[co-produced 2]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2009	Hitoshi Yamagami Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) Shusaku Egami Hiroaki Tsuru	Shigeki Morimoto (Game Freak)
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor[co-produced 12]	Shoot 'em up	Wii	2009	Hitoshi Yamagami Masato Maegawa (Treasure)	Atsutomo Nakagawa (Treasure)
Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep[co-produced 10] Endless Ocean 2: Blue World ^NA	Adventure, simulation	Wii	2009	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Maski Tawara Yurie Hattori Akira Kurarayashi (Arika)
Xenoblade Chronicles[co-produced 11]	Action RPG	Wii	2010	Takao Nakano Shingo Kawabata (Monolith Soft)	Genki Yokota Koh Kojima (Monolith Soft)
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem[co-produced 5]	Tactical RPG	Nintendo DS	2010	Hitoshi Yamagami Toru Narihiro (Intelligent Systems)	Hideaki Araki Kouhei Maeda (Intelligent Systems)
Pokémon Black and White[co-produced 2]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2010	Hitoshi Yamagami Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) Shusaku Egami Hiroaki Tsuru	Junichi Masuda (Game Freak)
Fossil Fighters: Champions[co-produced 9]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2010	Hitoshi Yamagami Ai Ito (Red Entertainment)	Genki Yokota Shunichi Ii (Red Entertainment)
The Last Story[co-produced 13]	Action RPG	Wii	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Takao Nakano Yutaka Takehisa (Mistwalker)	Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker)
Pandora's Tower[co-produced 7]	Action RPG	Wii	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Chikako Yamakura (Ganbarion)	Takao Nakano Toru Hoga (Ganbarion)
3D Classics: Excitebike[co-produced 10]	Racing	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Takao Nakano Akira Kurarayashi (Arika)
3D Classics: Xevious[co-produced 10]	Shoot 'em up	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Takao Nakano
3D Classics: Urban Champion[co-produced 10]	Fighting	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Takao Nakano
3D Classics: Twinbee[co-produced 10]	Shoot 'em up	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Takao Nakano
3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure[co-produced 10]	Platform, action	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2011	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Takao Nakano
3D Classics: Kid Icarus[co-produced 10]	Action, platform	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2012	Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara (Arika)	Takao Nakano Shinzi Watanabe (Arika)
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2[co-produced 2]	RPG	Nintendo DS	2012	Hitoshi Yamagami Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) Shusaku Egami	Takao Unno (Game Freak)
Fire Emblem: Awakening[co-produced 5]	Tactical RPG	Nintendo 3DS	2012	Hitoshi Yamagami Toru Narihiro (Intelligent Systems)	Genki Yokota Kouhei Maeda (Intelligent Systems)
HarmoKnight[co-produced 2]	Rhythm	Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo eShop)	2012	Hitoshi Yamagami Tetsuya Watanabe (Game Freak)	James Turner (Game Freak)
Style Savvy: Trendsetters[co-produced 8]	Simulation	Nintendo 3DS	2012	Hitoshi Yamagami Hiromasa Tsujii (Atom Inc.) Syuji Yoshida (Syn Sophia)	Yurie Hattori Kensuke Suzuki
The Wonderful 101[co-produced 14]	Action	Wii U	2013	Hitoshi Yamagami Atsushi Inaba (Platinum Games)	Shingo Matsushita Kaori Ando Hideki Kamiya (Platinum Games)
Pokémon X and Y[co-produced 2]	RPG	Nintendo 3DS	2013	Hitoshi Yamagami Shusaku Egami Takato Utsunomiya Junichi Masuda (Game Freak)	Junichi Masuda (Game Freak)
Dr. Luigi[co-produced 10]	Puzzle	Wii U (Nintendo eShop)	2013	Hitoshi Yamagami	Takao Nakano
Fossil Fighters: Frontiers[co-produced 9]	RPG	Nintendo 3DS	2014	Hitoshi Yamagami Ai Ito (Red Entertainment)	Genki Yokota Shunichi Ii (Red Entertainment)
Devil's Third[co-produced 15]	Third-person shooter, hack and slash	Wii U	2015	Hitoshi Yamagami	Tomonobu Itagaki (Valhalla Game Studios)
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.[co-produced 5]	Tactical RPG, third-person shooter	Nintendo 3DS	2015	Hitoshi Yamagami	Paul Patrashcu (Intelligent Systems)
Xenoblade Chronicles X[co-produced 11]	Action RPG	Wii U	2015	Hitoshi Yamagami Shingo Kawabata (Monolith Soft)	Genki Yokota Tetsuya Takahashi (Monolith Soft)

Notes

1. Development co-operation for Tose.
2. Development co-operation for Game Freak.
3. Co-developed by Creatures Inc..
4. Development co-operation for Suzak.
5. Development co-operation for Intelligent Systems.
6. Co-developed by Konami.
7. Co-developed by Ganbarion.
8. Co-developed by Syn Sophia, formerly Aki Corporation.
9. Co-developed by Red Entertainment.
10. Co-developed by Arika.
11. Co-developed by Monolith Soft.
12. Co-developed by Treasure.
13. Co-developed by Mistwalker and AQ Interactive.
14. Co-developed by Platinum Games.
15. Co-developed by Valhalla Game Studios.

List of software supervised by Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 2

Title	Genre(s)	Platform(s)	Year	Producer(s)	Director(s)
Drill Dozer[developed 1][supervised 1]	Action, platform	Game Boy Advance	2005	Junichi Masuda (Game Freak)	Ken Sugimori (Game Freak)
Pokémon Conquest[developed 2][supervised 2]	Action, platform	Nintendo DS	2005	Hisashi Koinuma (Tecmo Koei) Toshio Miyahara	Osamu Mieda (Tecmo Koei)

Notes

1. Developed by Game Freak.
2. Developed by Tecmo Koei.

1. Supervised by Hitoshi Yamagami and Azusa Tajima.
2. Supervised by Hitoshi Yamagami and Takao Nakano.

Production Group No. 3

Group Manager: Kensuke Tanabe
Production Group No. 3 was responsible for overseeing the development of titles from the Metroid Prime, Battalion Wars, Super Mario Strikers, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Excite, Paper Mario, Fluidity, and Donkey Kong Country series.

Title	Year	Platform(s)	Director	Producer
Metroid Prime^1	2002	GCN	Mark Pacini	Kensuke Tanabe Shigeru Miyamoto
Mario vs. Donkey Kong^5	2004	NDS	Yukimi Shimura	Kensuke Tanabe
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes^1	2004	GCN	Mark Pacini	Kensuke Tanabe Kenji Miki
Battalion Wars^2	2005	GCN	Mat Hart	Kensuke Tanabe
Super Mario Strikers^3	2005	GCN	Mike Inglehart	Kensuke Tanabe
Geist^4	2005	GCN	Dan O'Leary	Kensuke Tanabe Hideki Konno
Metroid Prime Hunters^5	2006	NDS	Masamichi Abe	Kensuke Tanabe
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis^5	2006	NDS	Yukimi Shimura	Kensuke Tanabe
Excite Truck^6	2006	Wii	Richard Garcia	Kensuke Tanabe Keisuke Terasaki
Super Paper Mario^7	2007	Wii	Ryota Kawade	Kensuke Tanabe
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption^1	2007	Wii	Mark Pacini	Kensuke Tanabe
Battalion Wars 2^2	2007	Wii	Tancred Dyke-Wells	Kensuke Tanabe
Mario Strikers Charged^3	2007	Wii	Mike Inglehart	Kensuke Tanabe
Punch-Out!!^3	2009	Wii	Mike Inglehart	Kensuke Tanabe
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!^5	2009	NDS	Yukimi Shimura	Kensuke Tanabe
Excitebots: Trick Racing^6	2009	Wii	Richard Garcia	Kensuke Tanabe
Eco Shooter: Plant 530^7	2009	Wii	Atsushi Ikuno	Kensuke Tanabe
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!^5	2010	NDS	Yukimi Shimura	Kensuke Tanabe
Fluidity^8	2010	WiiWare	Jonathan Biddle	Kensuke Tanabe
Donkey Kong Country Returns^1	2010	Wii	Bryan Walker	Kensuke Tanabe
Pilotwings Resort^6	2011	3DS	Richard Garcia	Kensuke Tanabe
Paper Mario: Sticker Star^7	2012	3DS	Naohiko Aoyama	Kensuke Tanabe
Fluidity: Spin Cycle^8	2012	3DS	Jonathan Biddle	Kensuke Tanabe
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon^3	2013	3DS	Bryce Holiday	Shigeru Miyamoto
Lego City Undercover^9	2013	Wii U	Erin Roberts	Masakazu Miyazaki
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move^5	2013	3DS	Stephen Mortimer	Yukimi Shimura Kensuke Tanabe
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze^1	2014	Wii U	Ryan Harris Vince Joly	Kensuke Tanabe
Metroid Prime: Federation Force^3	2016	3DS		Kensuke Tanabe

• ¹ Co-produced with Retro Studios.
• ² Co-produced with Kuju Entertainment.
• ³ Co-produced with Next Level Games.
• ⁴ Co-produced with n-Space.
• ⁵ Co-produced with Nintendo Software Technology.
• ⁶ Co-produced with Monster Games.
• ⁷ Co-produced with Intelligent Systems
• ⁸ Co-produced with Curve Studios
• ⁹ Co-produced with TT Fusion

Production Group No. 4

Group Manager: Hiroshi Sato
Production Group No. 4 was responsible for overseeing the development of titles from the Mario Party, Donkey Kong, and Wii Party series.

Title	Year	Platform(s)	Director	Producer
Kuru Kuru Kururin^1	2001	GBA	Hiroshi Sato	Shinji Hatano
Mario Party 4^4	2002	GCN	Kenji Kikuchi	Shinji Hatano
Mario Party 5^4	2003	GCN	Kenji Kikuchi	Hiroshi Sato
Kururin Squash!^1	2004	GCN	Miyuki Hirose	Hiroshi Sato
Mario Power Tennis^6	2004	GCN	Haruki Kodera	Shinji Hatano
Mario Party 6^4	2004	GCN	Shuichiro Nishiya	Hiroshi Sato
Mario Party Advance^4	2005	GBA	Shinichi Nakata	Hiroshi Sato
DK: King of Swing^7	2005	GBA	Atsushi Kaneko	Toshiharu Izuno
Mario Party 7^4	2005	GCN	Shuichiro Nishiya	Hiroshi Sato
Elite Beat Agents^5	2006	NDS	Keiichi Yano	Shinya Saito
Hotel Dusk: Room 215^3	2007	NDS	Taisuke Kanasaki	Takuya Miyagawa Satoshi Kira
Mario Party 8^4	2007	Wii	Shuichiro Nishiya	Hiroshi Sato
DK: Jungle Climber^7	2007	NDS	Atsushi Kaneko	Toshiharu Izuno
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast^7	2007	Wii	Kenichi Imaeda	Toshiharu Izuno
Mario Party DS^4	2007	NDS	Koji Matsuura	Hiroshi Sato
Another Code: R^3	2009	Wii	Shigeru Komine	Takuya Miyagawa Satoshi Kira
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West^3	2010	NDS	Taisuke Kanasaki	Takuya Miyagawa Satoshi Kira
Wii Party^2	2010	Wii	Shuichiro Nishiya	Hiroshi Sato
Mario Party 9^2	2012	Wii	Shuichiro Nishiya	Hiroshi Sato
Wii Party U^2	2013	Wii U	Shuichiro Nishiya	Hiroshi Sato
Mario Party: Island Tour^2	2013	3DS	Yukio Uematsu	Miyuki Hirose

• ¹ Co-production with Eighting.
• ² Co-production with Nd Cube.
• ³ Co-production with Cing.
• ⁴ Co-production with Hudson.
• ⁵ Co-production with INiS.
• ⁶ Co-production with Camelot.
• ⁷ Co-production with Paon.
• ⁸ Co-production with AlphaDream.

Software Development & Design Department

Deputy Manager: Masaru Nishita
Nintendo Software Development & Design was an experimental software development team assembled by Nintendo Co., Ltd. president Satoru Iwata.^[37] The team was originally assembled as a System Service Task Force that would develop all the unique internal system software for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii.^[38] The team was responsible for all the additional Wii Channels,^[39] the Nintendo DSi system software and more recently, the Nintendo 3DS system software. Nintendo SDD also went on to develop several innovative retail games. The philosophy behind development was to think out of the box and create unique software in a timely manner with smaller development resources. The development staff was composed of Koichi Kawamoto, who was the original programmer of WarioWare, and Shinya Takahashi, who was a longtime designer at Nintendo EAD. The department was also responsible for developing several subsequent WiiWare and DSiWare software.

Software Development Group

Manager/producer: Kiyoshi Mizuki
Software Development Group was responsible for developing software from the Jam with the Band and Brain Age series, among additional Touch! Generations titles with partner developers.

Title	Year	Platform(s)	Director	Producer
Band Brothers	2004	NDS	Masaru Nishita	Shinya Takahashi
DS Easy Dictionary	2005	NDS	Toshiaki Suzuki	Shinya Takahashi
Band Brothers: Request Selection	2005	NDS	Masaru Nishita	Shinya Takahashi
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!	2005	NDS	Kouchi Kawamoto	Shinya Takahashi
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!	2006	NDS	Kouchi Kawamoto	Shinya Takahashi
English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills!	2006	NDS	Yoichi Ohshima	Shinya Takahashi
Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten DS	2006	NDS	Toshiaki Suzuki	Shinya Takahashi
More English Training	2007	NDS	Yoichi Ohshima	Shinya Takahashi
Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day^1	2008	NDS	Takayuki Shimamura	Shinya Takahashi
Jam with the Band/Band Brothers DX	2008	NDS	Noriko Kitamura	Shinya Takahashi
Band Brothers DX Radio	2008	Wii	Noriko Kitamura	Shinya Takahashi
Brain Age Express	2008	DSi	Kouichi Kawamoto	Shinya Takahashi
Touch Solitaire	2009	DSi
Photo Dojo	2009	DSi	Megumi Kurata	Tomoaki Kuroume
How The Economy Works DS	2009	NDS	Kanako Tsugihashi	Shinya Takahashi
AR Games	2011	3DS	Kouichi Kawamoto	Tomoaki Kuroume
StreetPass Mii Plaza	2011	3DS	Kouichi Kawamoto	Shinya Takahashi
Brain Age: Concentration Training	2012	3DS	Noriko Kitamura	Kouichi Kawamoto
Band Brothers P	2013	3DS	Noriko Kitamura
Rusty's Real Deal Baseball	2014	3DS	Katsuhiko Kanno	Kouichi Kawamoto

• ¹ Co-production with Namco Bandai Games.

UI Development Group

Manager/producer: Kazunobu Shimizu
UI Development Group was responsible for developing additional Wii Channels, and the Nintendo DS/DSi and Nintendo 3DS general interfaces.

Title	Year	Platform(s)	Director	Producer
Nintendo DS General Interface	2004	NDS		Tomoaki Kuroume
Photo Channel	2006	Wii	Kouichi Kawamoto	Tomoaki Kuroume
Forecast Channel	2006	Wii	Kouichi Kawamoto	Tomoaki Kuroume
News Channel	2006	Wii	Kouichi Kawamoto	Tomoaki Kuroume
Internet Channel	2006	Wii		Tomoaki Kuroume
Everybody Votes Channel	2007	Wii		Tomoaki Kuroume
Check Mii Out Channel	2007	Wii		Tomoaki Kuroume
Nintendo DSi General Interface	2009	DSi	Yoshihiro Matsushima	Tomoaki Kuroume
Nintendo 3DS General Interface	2011	3DS	Ryutaro Takahashi	Tomoaki Kuroume
Internet Browser (Nintendo 3DS)	2011	3DS	Tetsuya Sasaki	Tomoaki Kuroume
Internet Browser (Wii U)	2012	Wii U	Munetaka Tsuda	Tomoaki Kuroume

Character Design Group

Manager/producer: Hiroji Kiyotake The Character Design Group was responsible for managing and developing characters for Nintendo SPD/SDD internal and external projects.

Sound Department

Group Manager: Kenji Yamamoto

The Sound Department was responsible for managing and producing music and sound design for Nintendo SPD and SDD projects.

List of composers

• Kenji Yamamoto - Metroid series, Famicom Tantei Club Part II, Excite Truck, Donkey Kong Country Returns
• Minako Hamano - Metroid series, Wario World, Daigasso! Band Brothers, Brain Age series, Donkey Kong Country Returns
• Ryoji Yoshitomi - Metroid II: Return of Samus, Wario Land, Wario Land 4, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!
• Masaru Tajima - F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Excite Truck, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Donkey Kong Country Returns
• Masami Yone - Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Super Mario Advance, Rhythm Heaven series
• Daisuke Shiiba - Tomodachi Collection, Fossil Fighters, Kiki Trick
• Shinobu Nagata (née Tanaka) - Mario Kart DS, Brain Age Express, Brain Age: Concentration Training, Kiki Trick
• Daisuke Matsuoka - Donkey Kong Country Returns, Tomodachi Life

Notes and references

Notes

1. Works for Intelligent Systems.
2. Works for the Nintendo Research & Engineering Department.
3. Works for TNX Music Recordings, formerly J.P. Room Recordings.
4. Works for Team Ninja
5. Works for Tose.
6. Works for Suzak.

References

1. 任天堂の新開発棟が始動　ゲーム機、ソフト生む拠点. http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/ (in Japanese). Kyoto NP. Retrieved 22 June 2014. External link in |website= (help)
2. N-Sider. Nintendo Revolution FAQ
3. Cassidy, Kevin. NCL Team Structure work in progress. June 7, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
4. Kohler, Chris. "Nintendo Consolidates Its Game Development Teams". Wired. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
5. Cassidy, Kevin. NCL Team Structure work in progress. June 7, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
6. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2004-10-14). WarioWare: Twisted!. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo), Ryoichi Kitanishi (Intelligent Systems) / Chief Director: Goro Abe (Nintendo) [...] Hardware Design: Masahiko Ota [...] (Nintendo RED)
7. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2004-12-02). WarioWare: Touched!. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo), Ryoichi Kitanishi (Intelligent Systems) / Chief Director: Ryuichi Nakada (Nintendo)
8. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2005-09-13). Play-Yan. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Kazuhiko Taniguchi (Nintendo RED), Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo) / Director: Takuma Matsunada (Nintendo RED)
9. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2006-12-02). WarioWare: Smooth Moves. Wii. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo), Ryoichi Kitanishi (Intelligent Systems) / Chief Director: Goro Abe (Nintendo)
10. J.P. Room Recordings, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2003-08-03). Rhythm Tengoku. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku) (J.P. Room Recordings), Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo) / Director: Kazuyoshi Osawa (Nintendo)
11. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2007-08-02). Face Training. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Katsuya Yamano (Nintendo), Toshio Sengoku (Intelligent Systems) / Director: Ryuichi Nakada (Nintendo), Takeshi Ando (Intelligent Systems) [..] Hardware Design: Takaki Fujino [...] (Nintendo RED)
12. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2007-11-20). Nintendo DS Digital TV Tuner. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo) / Director: Noriyuki Sato (Nintendo)
13. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2008-12-24). Birds & Beans. Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto, Teruki Murakawa (Nintendo) / Director: Hiroshi Momose (Nintendo)
14. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2008-12-24). Paper Airplane Chase. Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto, Teruki Murakawa (Nintendo) / Director: Hiroshi Momose (Nintendo)
15. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2007-12-20). Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo) / Director: Hiroshi Momose (Nintendo)
16. TNX Music Recordings, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2008-08-31). Rhythm Heaven. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku) (TNX Music Recordings) / Director: Kazuyoshi Osawa (Nintendo)
17. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2009-04-29). WarioWare D.I.Y. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo), Toshio Sengoku (Intelligent Systems) / Chief Director: Goro Abe (Nintendo)
18. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2009-04-29). WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo), Toshio Sengoku (Intelligent Systems) / Chief Director: Goro Abe (Nintendo)
19. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2009-06-18). Tomodachi Collection. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo) / Director: Ryutaro Takahashi (Nintendo)
20. TNX Music Recordings, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2011-08-21). Rhythm Heaven Fever. Wii. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku) (TNX Music Recordings) / Director: Ko Takeuchi, Masami Yone (Nintendo)
21. McWhertor, Michael. "Nintendo Trademarks Wii Relax In The U.S. Too". http://kotaku.com/. Kotaku. Retrieved 3 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)
22. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2012-01-19). Kiki Trick. Wii. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Katsuya Yamano (Nintendo) / Director: Noriyuki Sato (Nintendo)
23. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2013-04-18). Tomodachi Life. Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo) / Director: Ryutaro Takahashi (Nintendo)
24. Nintendo SPD Group No. 1, Intelligent Systems (2013-03-28). Game & Wario. Wii U. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo), Toshio Sengoku, Naoki Nakano (Intelligent Systems) / Director: Goro Abe (Nintendo), Naoko Mori (Intelligent Systems)
25. TNX Music Recordings, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2011-08-21). Rhythm Heaven Fever. Wii. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Mitsuo Terada (Tsunku) (TNX Music Recordings) / Director: Ko Takeuchi, Masami Yone (Nintendo)
26. Intelligent Systems, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2008-12-24). WarioWare: Snapped!. Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Katsuya Yamano (Nintendo), Toshio Sengoku (Intelligent Systems) / Chief Director: Taku Sugioka (Intelligent Systems)
27. Intelligent Systems, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2009-04-22). Atsumeru Egaocho. Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Katsuya Yamano (Nintendo), Takeshi Ando (Intelligent Systems) / Director: Ryuichi Nakada (Nintendo), Takeshi Ando (Intelligent Systems)
28. Intelligent Systems, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2009-07-29). Card Hero: Speed Battle Custom. Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yoshio Sakamoto (Nintendo)
29. Intelligent Systems, Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 (2009-09-09). Kaotore Mini (Face Training Mini). Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Katsuya Yamano (Nintendo) / Director: Ryuichi Nakada (Nintendo)
30. Nintendo SPD Group No. 2, Nintendo Software Design & Development (2009-12-29). Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Shinya Takahashi, Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo SPD) / Director: Kouichi Kawamoto (Nintendo Software Design & Development)
31. Nintendo SPD Group No. 2 (2006-03-20). Tetris DS. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo) / Director: Masaki Tawara (Nintendo)
32. Nintendo SPD Group No. 2 (2009-02-25). Yosuke Ide's Health Mahjong DSi. Nintendo DSi. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo)
33. Tose, Nintendo SPD Group No. 2 (2004-08-05). Densetsu no Stafy 3. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Yasuhiro Minamimoto (Tose), Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo) / Director: Akio Imai (Tose), Azusa Tajima (Nintendo)
34. Suzak, Nintendo SPD Group No. 2 (2004-10-21). F-Zero: Climax. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo) / Director: Yutaka Hirata (Suzak), Azusa Tajima (Nintendo)
35. Nintendo SPD Group No. 2, Intelligent Systems, Tose (2005-09-13). Dr. Mario & Puzzle League. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer: Takehiro Izushi (Nintendo), Ryoichi Kitanishi (Intelligent Systems), Yasuhiro Minamimoto (Tose) / Director: Azusa Tajima, Masaki Tawara (Nintendo), Toshihiro Nishii (Intelligent Systems), Makoto Uemura (Tose)
36. Tose, Nintendo SPD Group No. 2 (2006-04-13). Densetsu no Stafy 4. Nintendo DS. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits. Producer:Yasuhiro Minamimoto (Tose), Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo) / Director: Azusa Tajima (Nintendo)
37. Nintendo. Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS
38. Nintendo Magic. Inoue, Osamu.
39. Nintendo. Iwata Asks: Wii Channels