Nintendo Research & Engineering
Nintendo Research & Engineering Department, commonly abbreviated as Nintendo RED, was a Japanese hardware development department responsible for developing all of Nintendo's major handheld game consoles, and its associated peripherals, from its inception in 1996 all the way to 2012, when it was disbanded. The department was under Nintendo's manufacturing division, and was led by Satoru Okada. The department was created in 1996 following Nintendo Research & Development 1's (R&D1) general manager and Game & Watch and Game Boy creator, Gunpei Yokoi's departure from Nintendo. Most of the department's team originate from R&D1's hardware engineers.
Nintendo's logotype, used since 2006 | |
Exterior of the former Nintendo headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, which housed the department | |
Native name | 任天堂開発技術部 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Nintendō Kaihatsu Gijutsu Bu |
| Company type | Division department |
| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | Handheld game console development |
| Predecessors | Nintendo R&D1 |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Hiroshi Yamauchi |
| Defunct | February 16, 2013 |
| Fate | Merged with Nintendo Integrated Research & Development |
| Successor | Nintendo Integrated Research & Development |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 1 (2012) |
Key people |
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| Owner | Nintendo |
Number of employees | 150 (2012) |
| Parent | Nintendo Manufacturing Division |
The department went on to create some of Nintendo's best-selling handheld game consoles such as the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS. Following the retirement of Okada in early 2012, the department was merged into the Nintendo Integrated Research & Development division, effectively merging Nintendo's handheld and home game console development teams.