What exactly is Nintendo's 1st party development studio structure? - Blu-ray Forum

Steelmaker · 02-12-2023, 10:48 PM

We hear so much about PlayStation's and Xbox's 1st party studios. But what about Nintendo's? I never really hear anything about their individual 1st party dev studios. I'm not even sure I can name any of them. Who are they and how many studios does Nintendo have?

dyne · 02-13-2023, 02:10 AM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...elopment_teams

bradnoyes · 02-13-2023, 04:14 PM

EAD, EPD, and Intelligent Systems are the ones I pay attention to. I'd also include Retro but they release so few games that there's no point in following them too closely. Hard to believe it's been nearly ten years since we've had a new game from them.

Lum · 02-15-2023, 08:58 AM

Nintendo tends to be cautious about mergers and acquisitions. Many of their closest associates remain *officially* independent. (HAL Laboratory, Intelligent System, Game Freak, etc).

ChadFL · 02-27-2023, 12:06 AM

Nintendo is a bizarre company, top to bottom. I've mentioned it in other threads, but it seems like they have an irrational fear of growth/expansion. The company has a very confusing network of subsidiaries and nominally independent studios that work exclusively or semi-exclusively for Nintendo. I've mentioned it in other threads, but it seems like the entire company is driven by the odd personality of people like Shigeru Miyamoto (severe OCD, probably high functioning autism, perfectionist to a fault). Ironic considering as brilliant as Miyamoyo it, he can sometimes waste years on games that still turn out to be garbage, like Star Fox Zero.

Nintendo is famously secretive and hostile to corporate and industry change. Even with hindsight, I have no idea what many of their offices do for prolonged periods of time.

Retro studios was mentioned by someone else, and it is a great example. That studio allegedly has 200 employees, but has created and launched ZERO new games since since 2014. The only things they've completed in that time are a re-release of DK Tropical Freeze and a Metroid Prime 1 remaster. They are supposedly working on Metroid Prime 4, but that game seems to have been in development hell for over half a decade.

Another good example of Nintendo weirdness is AlphaDream. It was a strong partner of Nintendo going back to 2000. It was one of the most productive developers for Nintendo, putting out new Mario & Luigi games about every other year. It was a terrific game franchise, but the company hit a rough patch and Nintendo... just let them go bankrupt. It was a company that would have been well placed to create a hit Mario RPG on the Switch, but nah, Nintendo cut them loose.

This isn't even getting into all the beloved franchises Nintendo abandoned decades ago, like F-Zero and Wave Race. It simply defies belief that Nintendo doesn't put out more first party games on the Switch despite no longer needing to support multiple systems, like they did in past generations.

I know this post may come across as borderline hatred of Nintendo, but that isn't intended. I am simply pointing out the glaring flaws in the bizarre (even by Japanese corporation standards) structure of Nintendo. Nintendo is still my favorite game company, but man, are there ever a thousand ways they could make their company even better.

02-12-2023, 10:48 PM	#1
Steelmaker Blu-ray Duke Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Chattanooga, TN Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:1	What exactly is Nintendo's 1st party development studio structure? We hear so much about PlayStation's and Xbox's 1st party studios. But what about Nintendo's? I never really hear anything about their individual 1st party dev studios. I'm not even sure I can name any of them. Who are they and how many studios does Nintendo have?

02-13-2023, 02:10 AM	#2
dyne Blu-ray Baron Member since:Feb 2011 4K collection:77 Blu-ray collection:508 Trading Score:7	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...elopment_teams

02-13-2023, 04:14 PM	#3
bradnoyes Blu-ray Knight Member since:Dec 2016 4K collection:775 Blu-ray collection:816 Trading Score:255	EAD, EPD, and Intelligent Systems are the ones I pay attention to. I'd also include Retro but they release so few games that there's no point in following them too closely. Hard to believe it's been nearly ten years since we've had a new game from them.

02-15-2023, 08:58 AM	#4
Lum Special Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2014 4K collection:8 Blu-ray collection:435 DVD collection:455 Trading Score:1	Nintendo tends to be cautious about mergers and acquisitions. Many of their closest associates remain officially independent. (HAL Laboratory, Intelligent System, Game Freak, etc).

02-27-2023, 12:06 AM	#5
ChadFL Blu-ray Archduke Member since:Dec 2009 Location:Daytona Beach, FL Blu-ray collection:556 DVD collection:5	Nintendo is a bizarre company, top to bottom. I've mentioned it in other threads, but it seems like they have an irrational fear of growth/expansion. The company has a very confusing network of subsidiaries and nominally independent studios that work exclusively or semi-exclusively for Nintendo. I've mentioned it in other threads, but it seems like the entire company is driven by the odd personality of people like Shigeru Miyamoto (severe OCD, probably high functioning autism, perfectionist to a fault). Ironic considering as brilliant as Miyamoyo it, he can sometimes waste years on games that still turn out to be garbage, like Star Fox Zero. Nintendo is famously secretive and hostile to corporate and industry change. Even with hindsight, I have no idea what many of their offices do for prolonged periods of time. Retro studios was mentioned by someone else, and it is a great example. That studio allegedly has 200 employees, but has created and launched ZERO new games since since 2014. The only things they've completed in that time are a re-release of DK Tropical Freeze and a Metroid Prime 1 remaster. They are supposedly working on Metroid Prime 4, but that game seems to have been in development hell for over half a decade. Another good example of Nintendo weirdness is AlphaDream. It was a strong partner of Nintendo going back to 2000. It was one of the most productive developers for Nintendo, putting out new Mario & Luigi games about every other year. It was a terrific game franchise, but the company hit a rough patch and Nintendo... just let them go bankrupt. It was a company that would have been well placed to create a hit Mario RPG on the Switch, but nah, Nintendo cut them loose. This isn't even getting into all the beloved franchises Nintendo abandoned decades ago, like F-Zero and Wave Race. It simply defies belief that Nintendo doesn't put out more first party games on the Switch despite no longer needing to support multiple systems, like they did in past generations. I know this post may come across as borderline hatred of Nintendo, but that isn't intended. I am simply pointing out the glaring flaws in the bizarre (even by Japanese corporation standards) structure of Nintendo. Nintendo is still my favorite game company, but man, are there ever a thousand ways they could make their company even better.

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