Nintendo Development Studios

Started by the-pi-guy, Mar 31, 2020, 04:39 AM

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the-pi-guy

Mar 31, 2020, 04:39 AM Last Edit: Mar 31, 2020, 07:05 PM by the-pi-guy


Nintendo is a lot less transparent about their development than Sony or MS. I think this comes down to wanting Nintendo to be a single cohesive entity, but even there it's a little strange.

Thread is in progress.

Nintendo EPD 1
CABayonetta 3 (TBA)
PAPokemon Sword and Shield (2019)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

Nintendo EPD 2
CANA
PABOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! (2019)
Yoshi's Crafted World (2019)
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn (2019)

Nintendo EPD 3
CDThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 (TBA)
PDThe Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

Nintendo EPD 4
CD
PDRing Fit Adventure(2019)
Nintendo Labo(2018)
1-2 Switch (2017)

Nintendo EPD 5
CD
PDAnimal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
Splatoon 2 (2017)

Nintendo EPD 6
CA
Metroid Prime 4 (TBA)
PALuigi's Mansion 3 (2019)

Nintendo EPD 7
CDFamicom Detective Club Remakes
PDMetroid: Samus Returns (2017)

Nintendo EPD 8
CDNA
PDSuper Mario Odyssey(2017)

Nintendo EPD 9
CDNA
PDArms (2017)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)
Mario Kart 8 (2014)

Nintendo EPD 10
CD
PDSuper Mario Maker 2 (2019)
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (2019)

Nintendo EPD Smart Device
CD
PDMario Kart Tour(2019)
Doctor Mario World(2019)

Monolith Soft
CD
PDXenoblade Chronicles 2(2017)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015)

Retro Studios
CDMetroid Prime 4 (TBA)        
PDDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014/18)
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (2013)

NDCube
CD
PDSuper Mario Party (2018)
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (2017)
Mario Party: The Top 100 (2017)

Nintendo Software Technology Corp
CD
PDThe Stretchers(2019)
 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (2018)
Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (2016)


the-pi-guy

Mar 31, 2020, 04:45 AM Last Edit: Mar 31, 2020, 04:50 AM by the-pi-guy
So just based off what I've seen so far.  

Nintendo's development is very very different from Sony's or MS. They have one cohesive "studio" like entity, that has a lot of teams, and then they have several other teams that are often considered external despite being owned by Nintendo.  They are a lot less public about their studios than the others are.  Imagine if Naughty Dog and Santa Monica and Sony Japan all developed games under a single "Sony Development" label.  That's the bulk of Nintendo.  Wikipedia had nice lists for the others.  They don't here.  

The second thing is that Nintendo's studios are pretty small.  It's more like they have 12 Media Molecules and 3 Sucker Punches.  
 

Those 11 EPD teams apparently have about the same number of employees as just Naughty Dog, Santa Monica and Sucker Punch combined have.  Media Molecule is about the same as the Software Technology Corp.  

Xevross

So just based off what I've seen so far. 

Nintendo's development is very very different from Sony's or MS. They have one cohesive "studio" like entity, that has a lot of teams, and then they have several other teams that are often considered external despite being owned by Nintendo.  They are a lot less public about their studios than the others are.  Imagine if Naughty Dog and Santa Monica and Sony Japan all developed games under a single "Sony Development" label.  That's the bulk of Nintendo.  Wikipedia had nice lists for the others.  They don't here. 

The second thing is that Nintendo's studios are pretty small.  It's more like they have 12 Media Molecules and 3 Sucker Punches. 
 

Those 11 EPD teams apparently have about the same number of employees as just Naughty Dog, Santa Monica and Sucker Punch combined have.  Media Molecule is about the same as the Software Technology Corp. 

You didn't know all this already? I thought it was common knowledge how Nintendo worked. Someone on reddit made this handy image showing what each team has made recently:



Teams 1,2, 6 and Smart Device are Nintendo's external development helper teams while the rest make their own games. Team 3 and 8 are probably the biggest and most famous being the Zelda and 3D mario teams respectively.

the-pi-guy

You didn't know all this already? I thought it was common knowledge how Nintendo worked. Someone on reddit made this handy image showing what each team has made recently:



Teams 1,2, 6 and Smart Device are Nintendo's external development helper teams while the rest make their own games. Team 3 and 8 are probably the biggest and most famous being the Zelda and 3D mario teams respectively.
I mean I did know most of this. :P

the-pi-guy

You didn't know all this already? I thought it was common knowledge how Nintendo worked. Someone on reddit made this handy image showing what each team has made recently:
I was wanting to make this thread for a while, but this is why I was hesitating.  

The only thing that was somewhat surprising to me was how small the studios are.  EPD apparently has ~800 people spread across 11 Teams (according to ERA).  Not terribly surprising, but it makes their library feel that much more impressive.  Their output is less predictable than Sony's or MS's for all of those reasons.  



If anyone sees any corrections to be made or additions, let me know!

Legend

I only really knew about Nintendo EAD back when it was a thing. Very informative thread.

the-pi-guy

So when do people expect the next direct?