Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development, commonly known as Nintendo EPD, is Nintendo's largest game-development division. Based primarily in Kyoto, it develops and produces software for Nintendo hardware, mobile devices, and related entertainment platforms. It also oversees selected projects made by outside studios, coordinates production across Nintendo's internal and external development network, and manages or supports the use of important Nintendo intellectual properties. Nintendo EPD was established on September 16, 2015, during a company-wide reorganization carried out after Tatsumi Kimishima became Nintendo's president. The division combined two established software organizations: Entertainment Analysis & Development, commonly called EAD, and Software Planning & Development, commonly called SPD. EAD had been associated with many of Nintendo's internally developed console games, while SPD handled software planning, production, and relationships with outside development partners. Their consolidation gave Nintendo a single large organization capable of combining internal development, production management, software planning, and supervision of partner studios. The division inherited responsibility for many of Nintendo's most important properties. Its production groups are associated with series and projects including Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Mario Kart, Pikmin, Metroid, Paper Mario, Luigi's Mansion, and a range of experimental, lifestyle, and casual software. Nintendo EPD's work is not limited to conventional packaged games. It has also produced or supported smartphone applications, Nintendo Labo, Ring Fit Adventure, Nintendo Switch Sports, Game Builder Garage, and other software or hardware-linked experiences designed to demonstrate distinctive platform capabilities. Nintendo EPD operates through multiple production groups rather than as a single undifferentiated studio. The division also contains programming, design, and sound-management functions. Production groups have their own managers, producers, and project leads, while senior division leadership coordinates resources and priorities across projects. Some groups develop games directly; others produce or supervise titles made by external partners. This structure allows Nintendo to retain creative and production oversight while working with specialist studios such as those involved in selected Kirby, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime, Paper Mario, and Luigi's Mansion projects. Leadership has included Shinya Takahashi as general manager, with senior Nintendo developers such as Yoshiaki Koizumi, Katsuya Eguchi, Eiji Aonuma, Hisashi Nogami, Kensuke Tanabe, Yoshio Sakamoto, and Takashi Tezuka holding senior or deputy roles at different points. By 2023, Takahashi and Koizumi had moved into more senior positions, while Takayuki Shimamura was identified as a deputy general manager and Aonuma and sound designer Koji Kondo as senior officers. Personnel assignments and production-group structures have changed over time, so individual responsibilities should be understood as period-specific. Nintendo EPD is an internal division rather than a separately incorporated company or consumer-facing publisher. Its releases are generally marketed under the Nintendo name, and it does not have an independent stock listing or separately reported financial statements. Its importance comes from its role in Nintendo's software strategy: it develops flagship first-party games, extends established franchises to new formats, experiments with new forms of play, and coordinates the software ecosystem supporting Nintendo platforms.

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development was created on September 16, 2015, as part of Nintendo's reorganization under president Tatsumi Kimishima. The new division merged Entertainment Analysis & Development and Software Planning & Development, two organizations that had previously divided much of Nintendo's internal game creation, software planning, and external-production supervision. The merger brought together the functions associated with Nintendo's internally developed platform games and the functions responsible for planning and coordinating software made with outside partners. Nintendo EPD therefore became responsible not only for direct game development, but also for production management, intellectual-property use, mobile software, and supervision of selected external studios. The division's work supports Nintendo platforms and related devices while allowing Nintendo to apply common production standards across a broad range of projects. Nintendo EPD retained a group-based operating model. Multiple production groups develop particular franchises or categories of software, supported by division-wide programming, design, and sound-management organizations. The structure has changed as projects and staffing priorities have evolved. Production Group No. 1 was absorbed into another group in 2020, and Production Group No. 7 was merged into Production Group No. 4 in 2023. Production Group No. 2 was renamed the Co-Production Group in 2023. The division's known responsibilities span Nintendo's largest entertainment properties. Production Group No. 3 is associated with the main The Legend of Zelda games. Production Group No. 5 is associated with Animal Crossing and Splatoon. Nintendo EPD Tokyo, also identified as Production Group No. 8, develops three-dimensional Super Mario games and three-dimensional Donkey Kong projects. Production Group No. 9 works on Mario Kart and Arms, while Production Group No. 10 works on two-dimensional Super Mario software, including Super Mario Maker, and the Pikmin series. Other groups emphasize production oversight and experimental software. The Co-Production Group handles many projects developed by external studios and published by Nintendo, including titles connected with Mario Tennis, Kirby, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and Mario & Luigi. Production Group No. 6 oversees external projects such as Paper Mario, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion. Production Group No. 7 has been associated with Miitomo and collaborations on two-dimensional Metroid and Famicom Detective Club projects. Production Group No. 4 has worked on software including 1-2-Switch, Miitopia, Nintendo Labo, Ring Fit Adventure, Jump Rope Challenge, Game Builder Garage, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Everybody 1-2-Switch!, as well as the Tomodachi Life series. Nintendo EPD's development model combines long-running franchise stewardship with experimentation. Alongside major action-adventure, platform, racing, simulation, and role-playing properties, it has produced software intended to demonstrate new interfaces, physical activity, social play, construction, and other uses of Nintendo hardware. The division has also worked with Nintendo's Smart Device Production Group on smartphone software and has participated in projects made with other Nintendo development organizations, including work related to Alarmo. Leadership has evolved since the division's creation. Shinya Takahashi initially served as general manager, supported by deputy general managers and senior officers drawn from Nintendo's established development leadership. Eiji Aonuma and Kensuke Tanabe later moved into higher positions, and by 2023 Takahashi and Yoshiaki Koizumi had been promoted to more senior roles. Takayuki Shimamura was identified as a deputy general manager, while Aonuma and sound designer Koji Kondo were identified as senior officers. Because Nintendo EPD is an internal division rather than a separate company, its financial results are not separately disclosed and its products are generally released under the Nintendo corporate and publishing brand.

• 2023

  Production structure and senior roles are revised

  [1]Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Production Group No. 2 is renamed the Co-Production Group, Production Group No. 7 is merged into Production Group No. 4, and updated senior appointments include Takayuki Shimamura and Koji Kondo.

• 2020

  Production Group No. 1 is merged

  [1]Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Staff from Production Group No. 1 are incorporated into the group that later becomes the Co-Production Group.

• 2019

  Further leadership promotions

  [1]Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Eiji Aonuma and Kensuke Tanabe move into higher positions within the division.

• 2017

  Nogami is promoted within the division

  [1]Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Hisashi Nogami receives a higher leadership position within Nintendo EPD.

• 2015

  Nintendo EPD is established

  [1]Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Nintendo creates the division on September 16 by merging Entertainment Analysis & Development with Software Planning & Development during a broader corporate reorganization.

Nintendo's central first-party software organization, combining internally developed flagship games with production oversight, intellectual-property management, platform support, and supervision of external studios.

• Platform games

  Super Mario

  Nintendo EPD's Tokyo-based production group is associated with the development of Nintendo's three-dimensional Super Mario games, while another production group handles two-dimensional Mario software and Super Mario Maker. Together, these activities represent one of the division's central areas of platform-game production.

• Action-adventure games

  The Legend of Zelda

  Production Group No. 3 is responsible for the main line of The Legend of Zelda games. Nintendo EPD's Zelda work forms part of the division's flagship internal development portfolio and covers the planning and production of major Nintendo platform releases.

• Life simulation games

  Animal Crossing

  Production Group No. 5 develops the Animal Crossing series. The group's work reflects Nintendo EPD's role in sustaining long-running software properties built around social interaction, customization, everyday activities, and persistent player communities.

• Action and shooter games

  Splatoon

  Production Group No. 5 also develops Splatoon. The series is part of Nintendo EPD's internally produced portfolio and illustrates the division's involvement in online-enabled competitive software and new Nintendo-owned intellectual properties.

• Racing games

  Mario Kart

  Production Group No. 9 develops the Mario Kart series. Its role includes production of Nintendo's principal character-based racing property within the EPD group structure.

• Strategy and adventure games

  Pikmin

  Production Group No. 10 develops the Pikmin series alongside two-dimensional Super Mario software. The series is part of Nintendo EPD's internally managed portfolio of strategy-oriented and exploration-focused games.

• Sports and motion-control games

  Nintendo Switch Sports

  Nintendo Switch Sports is among the casual and experimental projects associated with Production Group No. 4. It extends Nintendo EPD's work into accessible physical and motion-oriented entertainment designed around platform-specific interaction.

• Interactive hardware-linked software

  Nintendo Labo

  Nintendo Labo is an experimental product line combining Nintendo Switch software with buildable cardboard accessories. Its inclusion in Nintendo EPD's portfolio demonstrates the division's role in exploring alternative interfaces and new ways to connect physical objects with digital play.

• Fitness and role-playing games

  Ring Fit Adventure

  Ring Fit Adventure is associated with Nintendo EPD's experimental and lifestyle-oriented software work. It combines exercise-focused interaction with an adventure-game structure and illustrates the division's interest in applications beyond conventional controller-based play.

• 2023

  Reorganization of production groupsStrategy

  Background

  Nintendo EPD periodically adjusts its internal groups as development responsibilities and staffing needs change.

  Action taken

  In 2023, Production Group No. 2 became the Co-Production Group and the former Production Group No. 7 was merged into Production Group No. 4.

  Aftermath

  The revised structure continued to separate direct franchise development from production oversight and experimental software work, although detailed internal reporting remains limited.

  Source

• 2015

  Consolidation of Nintendo software divisionsStrategy

  Background

  Nintendo's 2015 organizational restructuring brought together Entertainment Analysis & Development and Software Planning & Development, which had previously divided internal development and software-production responsibilities.

  Action taken

  Nintendo established Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development on September 16, 2015, giving the new division responsibility for direct game development, software planning, mobile applications, intellectual-property work, and supervision of selected external studios.

  Aftermath

  The consolidation created Nintendo's principal first-party software organization and preserved a group-based structure for managing franchise development, experimental projects, and partner production.

  Source

1. 1Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Developmenten.wikipedia.org