View source for Nintendo Research & Development 2

{{short description|Former team within Nintendo that developed software and peripherals}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 Department
| logo = Nintendo red logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt = Nintendo's logotype, in red.
| logo_caption = Nintendo's logotype, used during R&D2's existence
| image = Nintendo Kyoto Research Center (Former headquarters) - panoramio.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_alt = Exterior of the former Nintendo headquarters in Kyoto, Japan.
| image_caption = Exterior of the former Nintendo headquarters in [[Kyoto, Japan]], which housed the department
| native_name = 任天堂開発第二部
| native_name_lang = ja
| romanized_name = Nintendō Kaihatsu Daini Bu
| former_name =
| type = Department
| industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| genre = {{Unbulleted list|[[Electronic game]] development|[[Video game console]] development|[[Video game development]]}}
| fate = Absorbed into [[Nintendo Software Planning & Development]]
| predecessor = [[Nintendo Research & Development]]
| successor = [[Nintendo Software Planning & Development]]
| founded = 1978
| founder = [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]]
| defunct = {{End date|2004}}
| hq_location_city = Kyoto
| hq_location_country = Japan
| num_locations = 1 {{small|(Kyoto)}}
| num_locations_year  = 2004
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|[[Masayuki Uemura]] {{small|(General Manager)}}|[[Eiji Aonuma]] {{small|(Director)}}}}
| owner = [[Nintendo]]
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year =
| parent = [[Nintendo Manufacturing Division]]
| divisions =
}}
{{Nihongo foot|'''Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 Department''',|任天堂開発第二部|Nintendō Kaihatsu Daini Bu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} 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''.
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 Software Planning & Development|Nintendo SPD]].<ref name="iwata asks">{{cite web|url=http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/punchout/vol1_page2.jsp |title=Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |date=2011-02-18 |access-date=2018-03-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218022536/http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/punchout/vol1_page2.jsp |archive-date=February 18, 2011 }}</ref>
== History ==
In the 1970s, Nintendo created the R&D2 department.<ref name="Game & Watch - Iwata Asks">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Game-Watch/Iwata-Asks-Game-Watch/1-When-Developers-Did-Everything/1-When-Developers-Did-Everything-222941.html|title=Iwata Asks: Game & Watch: 1. When Developers Did Everything|website=Nintendo of Europe GmbH|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-23}}</ref>
In 2004, the department's general manager Masayuki Uemura retired from Nintendo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-11-19-nintendo-has-always-been-like-that-we-are-like-indies|title=Nintendo has always been like that, we are like indies|website=GamesIndustry.biz|language=en|access-date=2019-01-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2015/achievement/19saa02_UEMURA_Masayuki/|title=UEMURA Masayuki {{!}} Special Achievement Award {{!}} 2015 [19th]|last=Archive|first=Japan Media Arts Festival|website=Japan Media Arts Festival Archive|language=en|access-date=2019-01-24}}</ref> Following his retirement, he became a professor at the [[Ritsumeikan University]] in Kyoto, and served as an advisor to [[Nintendo Research & Engineering]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/4/5|title=Iwata Asks: Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary: The Super Mario Preservation Society|website=iwataasks.nintendo.com|access-date=2019-01-24|quote=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.}}</ref>
== Products developed ==
=== Electronic games ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
|+ List of electronic games developed by the Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 department
! scope="col" | {{Abbr|Year|Year of first release}}
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1977
! scope="row" | ''[[Color TV-Game 6]]'' <!-- June 1, 1977 -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia">{{Cite journal|last=Mago|first=Zdenko|date=April 5, 2018|title=The "Father" Of the Nintendo Entertainment SystemIn Slovakia for The First Time - Interview With Masayuki Uemura|url=https://actaludologica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/05-UEMURA-MAGO-%E2%80%93-AL-1-2018.pdf|journal=Acta Ludogica|volume=1|pages=52–54|quote=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.}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Color TV-Game 15]]'' <!-- June 8, 1977 -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1978
! scope="row" | ''[[Color TV-Game Racing 112]]'' <!-- June 8, 1978 -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1979
! scope="row" | ''[[Color TV-Game Block Breaker]]'' <!-- April 23, 1979 -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1980
! scope="row" | ''[[Computer TV-Game]]''
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|}
=== Video game consoles ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
|+ List of video game consoles developed by the Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 department
! scope="col" | {{Abbr|Year|Year of first release}}
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
| 1983
! scope="row" | [[Family Computer]] <!-- July 15, 1983 (JP) -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1985
! scope="row" | [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] <!-- October 18, 1985 (NA) -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1990
! scope="row" | [[Super Famicom]] <!-- November 21, 1990 (JP) -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1991
! scope="row" | [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] <!-- August 23, 1991 (NA) -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|-
| 1995
! scope="row" | [[Satellaview]] <!-- April 23, 1995 (JP) -->
| <ref name="Masayuki Uemura in Slovakia" />
|}
=== Video games ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
|+List of video games developed by the Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 department
!{{Abbr|Year|Year of first release}}
!Title
!Genre(s)
!Platform(s)
!{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
|1980
! scope="row" |''[[Radar Scope]]''
|
|[[Arcade video game|Arcade]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hirokazutanaka.com/works/nintendo/|title=Nintendo Archive - Works｜Sporadic Vacuum|first=Works｜Sporadic|last=Vacuum|website=Hirokazutanaka.com|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=August 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808171105/http://www.hirokazutanaka.com/works/nintendo/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4" |1983
! scope="row" |''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]''
|
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|<ref name="Iwata Asks">{{Cite web|url=http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/1/0|title=Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Volume 2: It All Began In 1984|website=iwataasks.nintendo.com|access-date=2019-01-25|quote=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.}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]''
|
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|<ref name="Iwata Asks" />
|-
! scope="row" |''Mahjong''
|
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|<ref name="Iwata Asks" />
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Donkey Kong Jr. Math]]''
|
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|<ref name="Iwata Asks" />
|-
|1991
! scope="row" |''[[NES Open Tournament Golf]]''
|
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|<ref name="NES Open Tournament Golf - Staff Credits"/><ref name="Gamespy">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamespy.com/company/762/762781.html|title = GameSpy: Nintendo R&D2}}</ref>
|-
|1996
! scope="row" |''[[Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima]]''
|
|[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/wii-u/marvelous-mhitotsu-no-takarajima |title=Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima |website=Mobygames |access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1997
! scope="row" |''[[Satellaview games from The Legend of Zelda series|BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban]]''
|
|[[Satellaview]]
| <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/bs-zelda-no-densetsu-inishie-no-sekiban |title=BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban |website=Mobygames |access-date=2019-03-28}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" |''[[Sutte Hakkun]]''
|
|[[Satellaview]]
|rowspan="2" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/sutte-hakkun |title=Sutte Hakkun |website=Mobygames |access-date=2019-03-28}} Co-developed together with [[indieszero]].</ref>
|-
|1998
|
|[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]
|-
|1999
! scope="row" |''[[Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Color]]
|<ref name="Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - Staff Credits"/><ref name="Gamespy"/>
|-
|2000
! scope="row" |''[[Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Color]]
|<ref name="Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble - Staff Credits"/>
|-
|rowspan="2" |2001
! scope="row" |''[[Super Mario Bros. 2#Super Mario Advance|Super Mario Advance]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|<ref name="Gamespy"/>
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Super Mario World#Release|Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|<ref name="Gamespy"/>
|-
|rowspan="2" |2002
! scope="row" |''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|<ref name="Gamespy"/>
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Yoshi's Island#Development and rerelease|Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|<ref name="Gamespy"/>
|-
|2003
! scope="row" |''[[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3]]''
|
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|<ref name="Gamespy"/>
|}
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="NES Open Tournament Golf - Staff Credits">{{Cite video game |title=[[NES Open Tournament Golf]] |developer=Nintendo Research & Development 2 |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |date=1991 |scene=Staff Credits |quote='''Producer''': Masayuki Uemura}}</ref>
<ref name="Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - Staff Credits">{{Cite video game |title=[[Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]] |developer=Nintendo Research & Development 2 |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |date=May 1, 1999 |scene=Staff Credits |quote='''Producer''': Masayuki Uemura, Kazuhiko Taniguchi}}</ref>
<ref name="Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble - Staff Credits">{{Cite video game |title=[[Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2]] |developer=Nintendo Research & Development 2 |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |date=August 23, 2000 |scene=Staff Credits |quote='''Producers''': Masayuki Uemura, Kazuhiko Taniguchi}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121026153136/http://www.ign.com/companies/nintendo-rd2 IGN Listing for R&D2]
{{Nintendo developers}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nintendo Research and Development 2}}
[[Category:Defunct video game companies of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese companies disestablished in 2004]]
[[Category:Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Video game companies disestablished in 2004]]
[[Category:Video game development companies]]