NINTENDO FIRST AND SECOND PARTY SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT GROUPS (all titles for the 7 main EAD groups, since major restructuring in 2004, are listed)



key:

bold = announced title yet to be released

italics = assisting/minor role in development only

(date) = earliest publication date, usually Japan



Software Development Group No. 1 (SDG1) aka EAD Kyoto 1 (Hideki Konno)



nintendogs, DS (April 21, 2005)

Mario Kart, DS (November 14, 2005)

Mario Kart Wii, Wii (April 10, 2008)

nintendogs + cats, 3DS (February 26, 2011)

Mario Kart 7, 3DS (December 1, 2011) *with Retro Studios

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (minor assistance), 3DS (TBA Q1-2 2013) *with Next Level Games & SPD3

???

I'd say Mario Kart Wii U will definitely be shown at E3 2013, possibly again with help from Retro Studios to be released by Holiday 2013, judging by Nintendo's recent impetus to get its evergreen titles out (for 3DS, and also NSMBU) ASAP. I also wonder whether we may get by the end of 2013 hints about a new nintendogs or similar type of game.



Software Development Group No. 2 (SDG2) aka EAD Kyoto 2 (Katsuya Eguchi)



Animal Crossing: Wild World, DS (November 23, 2005)

Star Fox Command, DS (July 14, 2006) *with Q-Games

Wii Sports, Wii (November 19, 2006)

Wii Play, Wii (December 2, 2006)

Wii Music, Wii (October 16, 2008)

Animal Crossing: City Folk, Wii (November 16, 2008)

Wii Sports Resort, Wii (June 25, 2009)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf, 3DS (November 8, 2012) *with Monolith Soft

Nintendo Land, Wii U (November 18, 2012)

???

Surely Wii U Sports/Games is the next release (golf, baseball, possibly games like Reversi, etc. as shown at E3 2011). It was probably largely completed between 2009 and E3 2011. Even if it doesn't sell gangbusters, it will demonstrate the possibilities of the console and look great in ads, and probably form part of a new bundle, likely Q3 or Q4. That pretty much leaves Animal Crossing Wii U to be the next major project, presumably fast-tracked (thanks to crazy sales in Japan), and with lots of online/Miiverse integration (maybe even local or online multiplayer?), and I reckon we'll see a sneak peak of this in a Nintendo Direct later in 2013 in time for holiday sales. Also I believe DLC for Nintendo Land may be announced at E3 (new "episodes" for Luigi's Mansion and Mario Chase, for example, and/or maybe other franchises like Pokemon, Kirby or StarFox) to showcase the system's ultimately robust digital marketplace.



Software Development Group No. 3 (SDG3) aka EAD Kyoto 3 (Eiji Aonuma)



The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, GCN (March 18, 2004)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, GCN/Wii (November 19, 2006)

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, DS (June 23, 2007)

Link's Crossbow Training, Wii (November 19, 2007)

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, DS (December 7, 2009)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Wii (November 18, 2011) *with SPD2 & Monolith Soft

Untitled The Legend of Zelda Game, 3DS (???)

Untitled The Legend of Zelda Game, Wii U (???)

???

Technically the existence of both 3DS and Wii U Zeldas have been announced (such a surprise!) but the question is when we'll get screens/info for each, and whether the speculated Majora's Mask 3D (with Grezzo) or Link to the Past Remake will come before. The last word, though, was that we'll get an original creation first. Since by 2013 it'll have been 4 years since Spirit Tracks, well over 2 years since the last 3DS Zelda, and about 1.5 years since Aonuma hinted at "New Legend of Zelda" for 3DS in SwapNote, Holiday 2013 could be the perfect time for the series to return to the basics, especially now that some "casuals" will be getting a taste for the adventure in the Nintendo Land attraction. Chances are we'll see something of it at E3.



Software Development Group No. 4 (SDG4) aka EAD Kyoto 4 (Hiroyuki Kimura)



Super Mario 64 DS, DS (November 21, 2004)

Yoshi Touch & Go, DS (January 27, 2005)

Big Brain Academy, DS (June 30, 2005)

New Super Mario Bros., DS (May 15, 2006)

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, Wii (April 26, 2007)

New Play Control! Pikmin, Wii (December 25, 2008)

New Play Control! Pikmin 2, Wii (March 15, 2009)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii (November 12, 2009)

New Super Mario Bros. 2, 3DS (July 28, 2012)

New Super Mario Bros. U, Wii U (November 18, 2012)

Pikmin 3, Wii U (Q1 2013)

???

It's hard to see what's next for SDG4, but it can't be too soon, anyway. Pikmin 3 is still undergoing completion (though really only because of the priority that was given to NSMB2 and NSMBU this year), and DLC for NSMB2 (late 2012) and NSMBU (2013) has to be taken into account. I wonder though whether Miyamoto and the core design team haven't been sitting on ideas for their true next-gen game for a while. Once Pikmin is complete, it could conceivably be produced quickly if so desired. Then there's always a potential Super Mario Sunshine 3DS port, or a new Big Brain Academy, or even a Yoshi touch game sequel (perhaps SDG4 is behind the rumored Yoshi's Land Wii U game, maybe an off-shoot of the NSMB engine?), any of which could be announced in 2013.



Software Development Group No. 5 (SDG5) aka EAD Kyoto 5 (Tadashi Sugiyama)



Wii Fit, Wii (December 1, 2007)

Wii Fit Plus, Wii (October 1, 2009)

Steel Diver, 3DS (March 27, 2011) *with Vitei

Star Fox 64 3D, 3DS (July 14, 2011) *with Q-Games

Wii Fit U, Wii U (TBA Q1-2 2013)

???

Wii Fit U has probably been largely complete for a while; in any event it wouldn't have taken the full four years since Wii Fit Plus. Likewise, the development of Steel Diver and Star Fox 64 3D would have been snappy due to the small content and collaborative process with external developers. I think we may see something else from SDG5 at E3 in 2013. It could be anything, really, but I'd suggest something from what I would call Nintendo's "Fresh IP Campaign" (along with new franchises, e.g. Pushmo, Dillon, and The Denpa Men, and neglected oldies like Star Fox, Kid Icarus, F-Zero and Pilotwings), such as Steel Diver - Sugiyama could have been tasked with cultivating this franchise, as it fits the broad "casual" demographic (a slow, simple platformer, basically, with easy touch screen controls), but could appeal to more experienced players. Stab in the dark: Steel Diver 2 for Wii U eShop, with special use of GamePad periscope views.



Tokyo Development Group No. 1 (TDG1) aka EAD Tokyo 1 (Takao Shimizu)



Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, GCN (December 16, 2004)

Super Mario Galaxy, Wii (November 1, 2007)

D.I.Y. Nintendo DS Guide (JP), DSiWare (November 17, 2010)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, 3DS (June 16, 2011) *with Grezzo

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, DSiWare & 3DS eShop (September 28, 2011) *with Grezzo

???

A new Mario is next, and the major and more creative of the two EAD Tokyo teams is undoubtedly hard at work on the speculatively titled Super Mario Universe, and potentially has been since Wii U was first internally developed around 2008, as it's not beholden to the progress of the secondary team: when broken off in 2008, it seems obvious the second team was given the task of Super Mario Galaxy's sequel while the main team was tasked with the more original, more daring new Mario game for the Wii U. Helping Grezzo develop the two Zelda remakes, and the DS guide, throughout the end of 2010 and early 2011, would've been a nice break from proceedings. (I wonder, though, whether this was always planned to be the launch Wii U Mario game but that certain delays or hiccups led to a switch where NSMBU was fast-tracked, which would explain it being oddly hot on the heels of NSMB2.) Either way, by E3 2013, SMU will've surely had a good four years in the oven, so I can easily see a trailer for it then.



Tokyo Development Group No. 2 (TDG2) aka EAD Tokyo 2 (Yoshiaki Koizumi)



Flipnote Studio, DSiWare (December 24, 2008)

New Play Control: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Wii (December 11, 2008)

Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wii (May 23, 2010)

Super Mario 3D Land, 3DS (November 3, 2011) *with Brownie Brown

???

Since EAD Tokyo 2 seems to develop offshoot titles based on existing ideas and engines from Tokyo Group 1, with about an 18 month turnaround, I can imagine that they're currently working on either Majora's Mask 3D with Grezzo or Super Mario 3D Land 2 possibly again with Brownie Brown, but more than likely it's Flipnote Memo, which was announced by Miyamoto in April 2011. This could become a key app that integrates Miiverse functionality on both 3DS and Wii U, although only 3DS was implied at the time. It could be announced and released by E3 2013 but possibly even sooner. The aforementioned Mario and Zelda titles will probably be pushed into 2014, if they exist.



(Below includes recent generations of titles listed only)



Software Planning & Development Group No. 1 (SPD1)



Rhythm Heaven, DS (2008)

WarioWare: Snapped!, DSi (2009) *with Intelligent Systems

WarioWare D.I.Y. DS (2009) *with Intelligent Systems

WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase, WiiWare (2009) *with Intelligent Systems

Tomodachi Collection, DS (2009)

Metroid: Other M, Wii (2010) *with Team Ninja

Rhythm Heaven Fever, Wii (2011)

Wii Play: Motion, Wii (2011) *with Good-Feel, Vanpool, Chunsoft, Arzest, Skip Ltd., Prope & Mitchell Corp.

Kiki Trick, Wii (January, 2012)

Game & Wario, Wii U (Q1 2013) *with Intelligent Systems

Tomodachi Collection 2, 3DS (Q2 2013)

???

With Game & Wario nearly wrapped up, and with the boon in Animal Crossing sales, expect Tomodachi Collection to be a huge priority for SPD1 right now, although by all accounts it's nearly finished with a Spring release date for Japan. With SPD1's strong collaboration with other developers, we could then see a third title announced and possibly released by late 2013 - in other words, either a Wii Play type game (is this where Reversi etc goes?) but maybe a Rhythm Heaven (3DS?) follow-up. Iwata apparently loves the idea of rhythmic game mayhem in a living room situation, but you'd think the franchise would head back to portable this time (SPD1 seems to be working in waves of portable and then console development lasting a couple of years at a time). However, what I think is most likely is that the console-savvy team is hard at work assisting Retro on their Wii U game.



Software Planning & Development Group No. 2 (SPD2) (Hitoshi Yamagami)



Super Princess Peach, DS (2005) *with Tose

Tetris DS, DS (2006)

Endless Ocean, Wii (2007) *with Arika

Fossil Fighters, DS (2008) *with Red Entertainment, M2 & Artdink

Disaster: Day of Crisis, Wii (2008) *with Monolith Soft

Wii Chess, Wii (2008) *with Spice Games

Endless Ocean 2: Blue World, Wii (2009) *with Arika

Style Savvy, DS (2009) *with syn Sophia

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Wii (2009) *with Treasure

Metal Torrent, DSiWare (2010) *with Arika

Xenoblade Chronicles, Wii (2010) *with Monolith Soft

Fossil Fighters: Champions, DS (2010) *with Red Entertainment, M2 & Artdink

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Wii (2011) *with SDG3 & Monolith Soft

Style Savvy: Trendsetters, 3DS (2012) *with syn Sophia

???

SPD2 works with a variety of first, second, and third party developers generally on more hardcore or niche titles. Their known output since the 2008-2010 period looks at this stage relatively empty, so I imagine one or two titles will be on the way. Sin & Punishment 3 developed with Treasure might be in the works, or a new Disaster or Xenoblade with Monolith Soft (discussed later), or a new collaboration with Artdink, syn Sophia, and/or Tose (who is currently developing for both 3DS and Wii U according to their website - possibly Dragon Ball Z, a Capcom or Square Enix title (like Resident Evil or Dragon Quest) or a 2D Nintendo platformer (Kid Icarus? Peach? Legendary Starfy?)).



Software Planning & Development Group No. 3 (SPD3) (Kensuke Tanabe)



Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Wii (2007) *with Retro Studios

Battalion Wars 2, Wii (2007) *with Headstrong

Mario Strikers Charged, Wii (2007) *with Next Level Games

Punch-Out!!, Wii (2009) *with Next Level Games

Excitebots: Trick Racing, Wii (2009) *with Monster Games

Eco Shooter: Plant 5308, Wii (2009) *with Intelligent Systems

Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wii (2010) *with Retro Studios

Pilotwings Resort, 3DS (2011) *with Monster Games

New Art Academy, 3DS (July 2012, DLC through 2013) *with Headstrong

Fluidity: Spin Cycle, 3DS eShop (December 2012) *with Curve Studios

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, 3DS (TBA 2013) *with Next Level Games & SDG1

???

SPD3 is tasked with providing major assistance to key second parties (mostly on action/sport titles), so speculation about games they are working on will be covered below.



Software Planning & Development Group No. 4 (SPD4) (Hiroshi Sato)



Elite Beat Agents, DS (2006) *with INiS

DK: Jungle Climber, DS (2007) *with Paon

Mario Party DS, DS (2007) *with Hudson

Mario Party 8, Wii (2007) *with Hudson

Hotel Dusk: Room 215, DS (2009) *with Cing

Another Code R, Wii (2009) *with Cing

Wii Party, Wii (July 2010) *with Nd Cube

Mario Sports Mix, Wii (November 2010) *with Square Enix

???

Like SPD3, SPD4 provides major assistance to second or third parties (but mostly on party/music/puzzle games); speculation covered below. Note: Cing is now defunct and INiS has potentially moved away from its relationship in 2006 with Nintendo. Brawl co-developer Paon may be working on its fourth Donkey Kong game (after King of Swing, 2005 (GBA), Barrel Blast, 2007 (Wii) and Jungle Climber, 2007 (DS, listed above)), perhaps for the ape's debut on 3DS, or indeed something else, but I wouldn't bet money on it.



Software Planning & Development Group No. 5 (SPD5) (Masaru Nishita / Shinya Takahashi)

aka Nintendo Software Design & Development (SDD)



Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, DS (2005)

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!, DS (2005)

English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills!, DS (2006)

DSi System Software (2006-2008)

Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day, DS (2008)

Jam with the Band, DS (2008)

Brain Age Express, DSi (2008)

Photo Dojo, DSi (2009)

3DS System Software (2009-2011)

Brain Age: Devilish/Concentration Training, 3DS (2012)

Jam with the Band, 3DS (TBA 2013)

???

SPD5 is focused on handheld educational/experimental titles, aka most of the "Touch! Generations" line. They've managed to output about 2 games per year, except when designing DSi and 3DS system software. We may see another interesting handheld app from them this year, after Jam with the Band 3DS. Perhaps a puzzle game involving 3D trickery? Either way, chances are it won't be localised in time for 2013.



Nintendo Network Service Development (NSD) (Masaru Shimomura)



Satellaview & Pokémon Mini (hardware and various softwares) (1995-2003)

Slide Adventure: MAGKID (JP), DS (2007)

Personal Trainer: Walking, DS (2008) *with Creatures, Inc. & Engines

Personal Trainer: Cooking, DS (2008) *with indies zero

???

I'm not sure if this team still operates. Since restructuring they've apparently only made these three DS games. Maybe they are the ones working on Wii U NFC (Near Field Communication) hardware/software, that integrates with Pokemon cards or figurines, or a Wii Fit U pedometer. Or Wii U Panorama View? Or were they involved with the mysterious Wii Vitality Sensor accessory? Who knows, but I thought I'd list them anyway to be safe.



Nintendo Software Technology (NST) (Shigeki Yamashiro)



Wave Race: Blue Storm, GCN (2001)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest & Collector's Edition (ports), GCN (2002)

1080° Avalanche, GCN (2003)

Mario vs. Donkey Kong, GBA (2004)

Ridge Racer DS (port), DS (2004)

Metroid Prime Hunters, DS (2006)

Crosswords, DS (2008) *with Nuevo Retro Games

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, DSiWare (2009)

Mario Clock and Calculator, DSiWare (2009)

Animal Crossing Clock and Calculator, DSiWare (2009)

Aura-Aura Climber, DSiWare (2010)

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem, DS (2010)

Crosswords Plus, 3DS (October 2012)

???

NST, being American and based in Redmond, WA, develops additional content tailor-made to the US market, tending toward portables more recently. They've released nothing since 2010, except for Crosswords on 3DS, which couldn't have taken all that long. I originally thought NST was developing Nintendo TVii but apparently that's almost completely been done in Kyoto. Rumors suggest that between 2010 and 2012 NST may have been assisting Retro with their allegedly delay-riddled Wii U game. They could be hard at work on a new Mario vs. Donkey Kong for either console, a new Wave Race or 1080° type sports game, or something more daring like a Metroid FPS as with Prime Hunters for DS (although if this concept is basically Retro's new game, that's not likely). Or nothing at all, but expect one of these to get announced around E3 time.