Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (abbreviated as Nintendo EAD) was a former internal software division of Nintendo. It was originally known as Nintendo Research & Development No. 4 (Nintendo R&D4) before being renamed in 1989. Nintendo EAD was split into several different development groups and was responsible for the creation of many first party Nintendo titles, including most mainline entries in The Legend of Zelda series.
In 2003, a corporate restructure led to the creation of Nintendo EAD Software Group No. 3, which was dedicated entirely to the production of games in The Legend of Zelda series, with Eiji Aonuma serving as group manager. The developers in this group had previously worked on Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, and all The Legend of Zelda series games developed by Nintendo EAD onward would be made by this group.
In 2015, Nintendo EAD was consolidated with Nintendo SPD to form Nintendo EPD.[1] Nintendo EAD Software Group No. 3 was also restructured into Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 3.
The Legend of Zelda Games[]
| Game | Systems | Release Date | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda | Nintendo Entertainment System | Febuary 21, 1986 | Known at the time as Nintendo R&D4. |
| The Adventure of Link | Nintendo Entertainment System | January 14, 1987 | Known at the time as Nintendo R&D4. |
| A Link to the Past | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | November 21, 1991 | |
| Link's Awakening | Game Boy | June 6, 1993 | |
| Ocarina of Time | Nintendo 64 | November 21, 1998 | |
| Link's Awakening DX | Game Boy Color | December 12, 1998 | |
| Majora's Mask | Nintendo 64 | April 27, 2000 | |
| A Link to the Past & Four Swords | Game Boy Advance | December 2, 2002 | Co-developed by Capcom. |
| The Wind Waker | Nintendo GameCube | December 13, 2002 | |
| Four Swords Adventures | Nintendo GameCube | March 18, 2004 | |
| Twilight Princess | Nintendo GameCube / Wii | November 19, 2006 | |
| Phantom Hourglass | Nintendo DS | June 23, 2007 | |
| Link's Crossbow Training | Wii | November 19, 2007 | |
| Spirit Tracks | Nintendo DS | December 7, 2009 | |
| Skyward Sword | Wii | November 18, 2011 | Additional support by Monolith Soft. |
| The Wind Waker HD | Wii U | September 20, 2013 | Additional support by Hexadrive. |
| A Link Between Worlds | Nintendo 3DS | November 22, 2013 | Additional support by Monolith Soft. |
Nomenclature[]
 Names in Other Regions 
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | |
 |
Japanese | 任天堂情報開発本部 (Nintendō Jōhō Kaihatsu Honbu) |
References
- ↑ Takuya Yoshimura, Notice Regarding Personnel Change of a Representative Director and Role Changes of Directors, www.nintendo.co.jp, published September 14, 2015, retrieved October 5, 2022.
See also: Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development on Wikipedia