How Merging Nintendo’s Development Teams Helped The Switch

Back in 2013, Nintendo decided to merge their internal handheld and home console development teams into the unified Entertainment Planning and Development division (EAD).

While the move may not have made much sense 5 years ago, it has certainly paid off dividends for Nintendo, especially for Nintendo Switch.

Shinya Takahashi, general manager of EAD, says that the reorganization has helped Nintendo to be more flexible and purposeful when it comes to making games. This has also made adjustments much easier, such as pulling developers from another project to one that is lagging behind schedule.

Check out his full comments below.

We think very carefully about how we can assign people to projects in development. What number we can assign, what we can have them working on. And that’s something that we always think about very closely in regards to how we ensure we have a steady release of high-quality titles.