Nintendo Research & Development 2

Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 Department,[a] commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D2, was a Japanese team within Nintendo that developed software and peripherals. While usually occupied in system operating software and technical support, the team would come back to early development in the 1990s where several new designers got their start at game development, the most famous being Eiji Aonuma who developed Marvelous: Another Treasure Island.

Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 Department
Native name
任天堂開発第二部
Nintendō Kaihatsu Daini Bu
Company typeDepartment
IndustryVideo games
Genre
PredecessorNintendo Research & Development
Founded1978
FounderHiroshi Yamauchi
Defunct2004 (2004)
FateAbsorbed into Nintendo Software Planning & Development
SuccessorNintendo Software Planning & Development
Headquarters
Kyoto
,
Japan
Number of locations
1 (Kyoto) (2004)
Key people
OwnerNintendo
ParentNintendo Manufacturing Division

R&D2 was originally led by Masayuki Uemura, who previously worked for Sharp Corporation, using an idea of Sharp's solar technology Uemura's department went on to develop the popular Nintendo beam gun games, selling over 1 million units. Kazuhiko Taniguchi took Uemura's position in 2004. Nintendo R&D2 was later merged into Nintendo SPD.[1]

History

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In the 1970s, Nintendo created the R&D2 department.[2]

In 2004, the department's general manager Masayuki Uemura retired from Nintendo.[3][4] Following his retirement, he became a professor at the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, and served as an advisor to Nintendo Research & Engineering.[5]

Products developed

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Electronic games

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List of electronic games developed by the Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 department
Year Name Ref.
1977 Color TV-Game 6 [6]
Color TV-Game 15 [6]
1978 Color TV-Game Racing 112 [6]
1979 Color TV-Game Block Breaker [6]
1980 Computer TV-Game [6]

Video game consoles

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List of video game consoles developed by the Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 department
Year Name Ref.
1983 Family Computer [6]
1985 Nintendo Entertainment System [6]
1990 Super Famicom [6]
1991 Super Nintendo Entertainment System [6]
1995 Satellaview [6]

Video games

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List of video games developed by the Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 department
Year Title Genre(s) Platform(s) Ref.
1980 Radar Scope Arcade [7]
1983 Donkey Kong Nintendo Entertainment System [8]
Donkey Kong Jr. Nintendo Entertainment System [8]
Mahjong Nintendo Entertainment System [8]
Donkey Kong Jr. Math Nintendo Entertainment System [8]
1991 NES Open Tournament Golf Nintendo Entertainment System [9][10]
1996 Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima Super Famicom [11]
1997 BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban Satellaview [12]
Sutte Hakkun Satellaview [13]
1998 Super Famicom
1999 Super Mario Bros. Deluxe Game Boy Color [14][10]
2000 Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble Game Boy Color [15]
2001 Super Mario Advance Game Boy Advance [10]
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 Game Boy Advance [10]
2002 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords Game Boy Advance [10]
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Game Boy Advance [10]
2003 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Game Boy Advance [10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: 任天堂開発第二部, Hepburn: Nintendō Kaihatsu Daini Bu

References

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  1. ^ "Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii". Nintendo. 2011-02-18. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  2. ^ "Iwata Asks: Game & Watch: 1. When Developers Did Everything". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  3. ^ "Nintendo has always been like that, we are like indies". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  4. ^ Archive, Japan Media Arts Festival. "UEMURA Masayuki | Special Achievement Award | 2015 [19th]". Japan Media Arts Festival Archive. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  5. ^ "Iwata Asks: Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary: The Super Mario Preservation Society". iwataasks.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2019-01-24. Masayuki Uemura: [...] Currently, he has a seat at Nintendo as an advisor in the Research and Engineering Department, and as a professor at Ritsumeikan University he researches video games and teaches students.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mago, Zdenko (April 5, 2018). "The "Father" Of the Nintendo Entertainment SystemIn Slovakia for The First Time - Interview With Masayuki Uemura" (PDF). Acta Ludogica. 1: 52–54. Due to the growing demand for development, he was in charge of the management of the Research & Development 2 Division in which they worked on the development of several hardware devices such as games for colour televisions, Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System or BS-X Satellaview.
  7. ^ Vacuum, Works|Sporadic. "Nintendo Archive - Works|Sporadic Vacuum". Hirokazutanaka.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d "Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Volume 2: It All Began In 1984". iwataasks.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25. I worked on a wide variety of titles together with R&D2, including Donkey Kong, which was released at the same time as the Famicom, Donkey Kong Jr., Mahjong and Donkey Kong Jr. Math.
  9. ^ Nintendo Research & Development 2 (1991). NES Open Tournament Golf. Nintendo. Scene: Staff Credits. Producer: Masayuki Uemura{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "GameSpy: Nintendo R&D2".
  11. ^ "Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima". Mobygames. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  12. ^ "BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban". Mobygames. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  13. ^ "Sutte Hakkun". Mobygames. Retrieved 2019-03-28. Co-developed together with indieszero.
  14. ^ Nintendo Research & Development 2 (May 1, 1999). Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. Nintendo. Scene: Staff Credits. Producer: Masayuki Uemura, Kazuhiko Taniguchi{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Nintendo Research & Development 2 (August 23, 2000). Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2. Nintendo. Scene: Staff Credits. Producers: Masayuki Uemura, Kazuhiko Taniguchi{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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