Nintendo Software Technology

Nintendo Software Technology Corporation, commonly known as NST, is an American video game development studio owned by Nintendo. It was established in 1998 in the Seattle-area technology community of Redmond, Washington, and operates from Nintendo of America's headquarters. Nintendo created NST as a first-party development group with a particular interest in producing software for the North American market, although the studio's games have also been distributed internationally. NST grew out of relationships among Nintendo of America, DigiPen Corporation, and Big Bang Software. Claude Comair had founded DigiPen in Vancouver in 1988 and subsequently worked with Nintendo of America on a video-game programming certification program. That relationship contributed to DigiPen's relocation and development as a private technology institute in Redmond. In 1998, DigiPen and Scott Tsumura's Big Bang Software were merged to form Nintendo Software Technology. The new studio initially consisted largely of personnel connected with DigiPen. Scott Tsumura became president, while Claude Comair served as chairman; Nintendo of America co-founder Minoru Arakawa was also identified as one of NST's founders. The studio's early work concentrated on adapting or extending established Nintendo and third-party properties for Nintendo hardware. Its first released game was Bionic Commando: Elite Forces for the Game Boy Color in 2000, a sequel to Capcom's Bionic Commando. NST then produced a Game Boy Color version of Crystalis, followed by Nintendo 64 projects including Ridge Racer 64 and Pokémon Puzzle League. It also contributed the multiplayer mode for Mario Kart: Super Circuit on the Game Boy Advance. These projects established NST as a technically oriented platform studio capable of working with Nintendo-owned properties, licensed brands, and externally originated franchises. NST subsequently became associated with several original or Nintendo-directed projects. It developed Wave Race: Blue Storm for the Nintendo GameCube and worked on the 1080° Avalanche snowboarding game. The studio also developed Metroid Prime Hunters for the Nintendo DS, a first-person action game that used the handheld's touch-screen controls and supported multiplayer play. Its most enduring internal association has been the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, which translated puzzle-platforming concepts linked to Nintendo's Mario and Donkey Kong characters into multiple handheld and console releases. The studio also experienced a highly publicized troubled development effort with Project H.A.M.M.E.R., a planned Wii action game begun in 2003. Development reportedly suffered from disagreements about the source of the game's quality problems, substantial early spending on cinematic material, and increasing schedule and production difficulties. The project was shown at E3 2006 but did not proceed to commercial release. It was later reworked under the name Wii Crush before Nintendo withdrew funding in 2009. The cancellation was followed by the dismissal of the chief game designer and substantial staff redundancies. NST's public profile is smaller than that of Nintendo's Japanese development divisions, but its role reflects Nintendo's international development structure. The studio has served as a North American-based producer of first-party software, worked with Nintendo hardware across several generations, and supplied development expertise for established franchises and platform-specific features. Publicly available sources provide limited current information about its staffing, leadership, and present project portfolio, so its contemporary operations are best described cautiously as an active Nintendo-affiliated development studio rather than through an unsupported list of current releases.

Nintendo Software Technology emerged from Nintendo of America's educational and development relationships in the Pacific Northwest. Claude Comair founded DigiPen Corporation in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1988. DigiPen later partnered with Nintendo of America on a programming certification initiative, helping establish DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington. This relationship created a local pool of game-programming expertise and helped set the context for Nintendo's creation of a dedicated American software studio. In 1998, DigiPen and Scott Tsumura's Big Bang Software were merged to form Nintendo Software Technology. The new organization was founded by Minoru Arakawa, Claude Comair, and Scott Tsumura and initially drew heavily on DigiPen-associated personnel. Tsumura became president and Comair chairman. NST was headquartered on the DigiPen campus until 2010 and was located within or alongside Nintendo of America's Redmond headquarters thereafter. Nintendo's stated purpose was to maintain a first-party development presence in North America and create software for Nintendo systems, especially projects with potential appeal in the region. NST's first release was Bionic Commando: Elite Forces for the Game Boy Color in 2000. The game continued Capcom's Bionic Commando line rather than representing a wholly original Nintendo property. NST followed it with a Game Boy Color port of the action role-playing game Crystalis. The studio then worked on Nintendo 64 software, including Ridge Racer 64 and Pokémon Puzzle League. Its early portfolio demonstrated a mixture of licensed-property development, ports, and projects built around Nintendo's established brands. The studio also contributed to Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance by developing the game's multiplayer mode. On the Nintendo GameCube, NST developed Wave Race: Blue Storm and 1080° Avalanche, continuing Nintendo's interest in racing and sports-oriented games. It later produced Metroid Prime Hunters for the Nintendo DS. The title used the handheld's touch-screen and dual-screen capabilities and included competitive multiplayer features. NST became particularly identified with the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, a line of puzzle-platform games that brought together two of Nintendo's oldest characters and became one of the studio's most recognizable bodies of work. The most difficult project in NST's documented history was Project H.A.M.M.E.R., a Wii game that entered development in 2003. By 2005, a substantial portion of the game was reportedly complete, but Nintendo and the development team had become concerned about its quality and direction. Development had placed significant resources into cut scenes early in production, while the gameplay and environments remained contested areas. American developers reportedly considered the core gameplay the primary problem, whereas Japanese management placed greater emphasis on the environments. The project entered a prolonged period of stalled development and was shown publicly at E3 2006 without reaching release. Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was later reworked as the more casual Wii Crush. By 2009, Nintendo had dismissed the project's chief game designer and stopped funding it. The cancellation was followed by substantial redundancies at NST. The episode illustrates the production and managerial risks faced by a geographically distributed first-party studio, but it should not be treated as a corporate scandal: the available accounts describe a troubled and ultimately cancelled game project rather than a legal or ethical controversy. Public documentation after this period gives limited detail about NST's current management, staff, and unreleased projects. The studio nevertheless remains associated with Nintendo's international development network. Its historical contribution has been to create and support software for Nintendo hardware from a North American base, including franchise games, ports, competitive modes, and experiments shaped by the features of specific consoles and handhelds.

• 2010

  Move from the DigiPen campus

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  NST's period of being headquartered on the DigiPen campus ended by 2010.

• 2009

  Project H.A.M.M.E.R. is cancelled

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  After a reworking known as Wii Crush, Nintendo withdrew funding, the chief designer was dismissed, and many NST staff were made redundant.

• 2006

  Project H.A.M.M.E.R. is shown at E3

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  The planned Wii title was publicly demonstrated at E3 but did not advance to release.

• 2003

  Project H.A.M.M.E.R. begins

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  NST began development of a planned action game for the Wii that later entered prolonged development difficulties.

• 2001

  Contribution to Mario Kart: Super Circuit

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  NST developed the multiplayer mode for Mario Kart: Super Circuit on Game Boy Advance.

• 2000

  First commercial release

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  NST released Bionic Commando: Elite Forces for the Game Boy Color.

• 1998

  Nintendo Software Technology is established

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  DigiPen and Big Bang Software were merged to create Nintendo Software Technology, with Scott Tsumura as president and Claude Comair as chairman.

• 1988

  DigiPen is founded

  [1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  Claude Comair founded DigiPen Corporation in Vancouver, a later institutional predecessor to the development and education relationships surrounding NST.

A North American Nintendo first-party development studio focused on software for Nintendo platforms, franchise-based games, and hardware-specific gameplay features.

• Game Boy Color action game · 2000

  Bionic Commando: Elite Forces

  NST's first released game, Bionic Commando: Elite Forces was developed for the Game Boy Color as a sequel to Capcom's Bionic Commando. Its release established NST as a Nintendo-affiliated studio capable of handling licensed and externally originated properties on Nintendo hardware.

• Game Boy Color action role-playing game

  Crystalis

  NST developed a Game Boy Color port of Crystalis, an action role-playing game. The project extended the studio's early role in adapting existing software for Nintendo handheld systems.

• Nintendo 64 racing game

  Ridge Racer 64

  Ridge Racer 64 was one of NST's early Nintendo 64 projects. It brought the Ridge Racer racing property to Nintendo's console and helped broaden the studio's work beyond handheld adaptations.

• Nintendo 64 puzzle game

  Pokémon Puzzle League

  NST developed Pokémon Puzzle League for Nintendo 64. The title applied a Nintendo and Pokémon presentation to a competitive tile-matching format, reinforcing the studio's work with major platform properties.

• Game Boy Advance multiplayer feature · 2001

  Mario Kart: Super Circuit multiplayer mode

  NST developed the multiplayer mode for Mario Kart: Super Circuit. This contribution showed the studio working as a specialist partner within a larger Nintendo production rather than only delivering complete games under its own development credit.

• Nintendo GameCube racing game

  Wave Race: Blue Storm

  Wave Race: Blue Storm is a water-racing game developed by NST for Nintendo GameCube. It continued a Nintendo racing property and used the console's graphics and hardware capabilities for weather and water-focused competition.

• Nintendo GameCube snowboarding game

  1080° Avalanche

  1080° Avalanche is a snowboarding title developed by NST for Nintendo GameCube. It belongs to Nintendo's 1080° series and is among the studio's notable original development assignments for a home console.

• Nintendo DS first-person action game

  Metroid Prime Hunters

  Metroid Prime Hunters was developed by NST for Nintendo DS. The game adapted the Metroid Prime identity to a handheld first-person action format and incorporated touch-screen controls and multiplayer play.

• Puzzle-platform video game series

  Mario vs. Donkey Kong series

  The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series is NST's most prominent long-running association. The games use Nintendo's Mario and Donkey Kong characters in puzzle-platforming and related challenge formats, and were released across multiple Nintendo systems.

• 2009

  Cancellation of Project H.A.M.M.E.R.Other

  Background

  The planned Wii action game had experienced extended development problems, internal disagreement about its main design weaknesses, and a later reworking under the name Wii Crush.

  Action taken

  Nintendo withdrew funding for the project, dismissed the chief game designer, and the project was not released.

  Aftermath

  A large number of NST staff were made redundant after the project's cancellation.

  Source

• 2009

  Project H.A.M.M.E.R. funding is withdrawn[1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Leadership change

  After development difficulties and a later reworking under the name Wii Crush, Nintendo withdrew funding for the project. The chief game designer was dismissed and a substantial number of staff were made redundant.

• 2006

  NST's Project H.A.M.M.E.R. appears at E3[1]Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Nintendo Software Technology presented Project H.A.M.M.E.R., a planned Wii action title, at E3. The game did not subsequently progress to commercial release.

1. 1Nintendo Software Technologyen.wikipedia.org