Nintendo R&D4

Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (Japanese: 任天堂情報開発本部, Hepburn: Nintendō Jōhō Kaihatsu Honbu, lit. Nintendo Information Development Division), or Nintendo EAD, formerly Nintendo Research & Development 4, or Nintendo R&D4, was the largest division inside Nintendo until it merged with Nintendo's other software division Software Planning & Development in September 2015, becoming Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development. It was preceded by the Creative Department (クリエイティブ課, Kurieitibu Ka), a team of designers with backgrounds in art responsible for many different tasks, to which Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka originally belonged. Both served as managers of the EAD studios and were credited in every game developed by the division, with varying degrees of involvement. Nintendo EAD was best known for its work on games in the Donkey Kong, Mario, The Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, Pikmin and Wii series.

During the 1970s, when Nintendo was still predominantly a toy company, it 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. Among these new designers were Makoto Kano, who went on to design various Game & Watch games, and Shigeru Miyamoto, who would create various Nintendo franchises. In 1972, the department was renamed to Research & Development Department; it had about 20 employees. The department was later consolidated into a division and separated into three groups, Nintendo R&D1, R&D2 and R&D3.