Categories: Switch

This Is How Nintendo Organizes Their 800 Strong Development Division

Have you ever wondered how Nintendo allocates resources to developing video games?

The company organizes all of their developers under the EPD, also known as Entertainment Planning Division. The EPD comprises of 11 Production Groups with over 800 developers working hard on the next game.

Out of the 11 Production Groups, 4 Production Groups are in charge of producing the game and overseeing development done by Nintendo subsidiaries and affiliates such as Monolith Soft and Game Freak. The 7 other Production Groups develop their games in-house without external help.

Without further ado, here are the 11 Production Groups and the projects they have/are working on:

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 1 (External R&D)

Manager / Producer – Hitoshi Yamagami

Releases: Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE (developed by Atlus) , Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith), Kirby: Star Allies (Hal Laboratory), Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! (Gamefreak)

Current: Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems)

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 2 (External R&D)

Manager / Producer – Toshiharu Izuno

Releases: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey (Alphadream), Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot), Super Mario Party (Ndcube), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios, Sora ltd)

Current: ??

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 3 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Eiji Aonuma

Project Leads: Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Daiki Iwamoto, Makoto Miyanaga

Releases: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Current: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Breath of the Wild 2

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 4 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Kouichi Kawamoto

Project Leads: Norihiro Ito, Tsubasa Sakaguchi

Releases: Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball, Nintendo Badge Arcade, Miitopia, 1-2 Switch, Nintendo Labo

Current: ??

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 5 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Aya Kyogoku

Project Leads: Yusuke Amano

Releases: Splatoon, Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome Amiibo, Splatoon 2, Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion

Current: Animal Crossing New Horizons

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 6 (External R&D)

Manager / Producer – Yoshihito Ikebata

Project Leads: Akiya Sakamoto, Goro Abe

Releases: Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Next Level Games), Paper Mario: Color Splash (Intelligent Systems), WarioWare Gold (Intelligent Systems)

Current: Metroid Prime 4 (Retro Studios), Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games)

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 7 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Katsuya Yamano

Project Leads: Takehiko Hosokawa, Ryutaro Takahashi, Masami Yone

Releases: Tomodachi Life, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, Miitomo, Metroid: Samus Returns (developed along Mercury Steam)

Current: ??

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 8 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Koichi Hayashida

Project Leads: Kentaro Motokura, Shinya Hiratake, Futoshi Shirai

Releases: Super Mario 3D World, Ultimate NES Remix, Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Current: ??

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 9 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Kosuke Yabuki

Project Leads: Masaaki Iwasaki, Kenta Sato, Kentaro Nishimura

Releases: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS

Current: ??

Nintendo EPD – Production Group No. 10 (Internal R&D)

Manager / Producer – Hiroyuki Kimura

Releases: Pikmin 3, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, Super Mario Run, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Current: Super Mario Maker 2

Nintendo EPD – Smart Device Production Group (External R&D)

Manager / Producer – Hideki Konno

Releases: Fire Emblem Heroes (Intelligent Systems), Dragalia Lost (Cygames)

Current: Mario Kart Tour (DeNA), Dr. Mario World (Line)