Research & Development

Nintendo Research & Development commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D was Nintendo’s oldest video game development team. During the 1970s, when Nintendo was still predominantly a toy company, they decided to expand into interactive entertainment and the video game industry. Several designers were hired to work under the Creative Department, which, at the time, was the only game development department within Nintendo. In 1972, the department was renamed to Research & Development and employed about 20 people.

Nintendo Research & Development 1 commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D1 was a development group that was formed when Nintendo’s oldest video game development team Nintendo Research & Development split into several groups to expand their service offerings as well as for each team to concentrate on particular products and services. Founded around 1977, Gunpei Yokoi was appointed head of R&D1, while Masayuki Uemura was appointed head of Nintendo R&D2.