Nintendo Integrated Research & Development

From WE Computers Museum
Nintendo ird logo.png
Nintendo Integrated Research & Development
Type Division of Nintendo
Founded 2003
Headquarters Kyoto, Japan
Key people Genyo Takeda, manager (2003-2015)
Industry Video games
Products Video game consoles and hardware
Number of people
Website http://www.nintendo.com/

Nintendo Integrated Research & Development (統合研究開発, IRD) was formed as a division of Nintendo in 2003.

History

In 2003, the staff of Nintendo Research & Development 3 were reassigned to Nintendo Research & Engineering Development and the newly formed Nintendo Integrated Research & Development. The general manager of Nintendo IRD was Genyo Takeda.

Nintendo IRD originally designed Nintendo's portable and home video game consoles while Nintendo Research & Engineering Development (RED) designed other portable video game consoles.

On February 16, 2012, the month after Nintendo RED's general manager resigned from Nintendo, Nintendo RED was merged into Nintendo IRD effectively combining Nintendo's portable video game console and home video game console development teams into one division.

In 2015, Nintendo's internal development groups were restructured, and Nintendo IRD was merged with Nintendo Software Planning & Development to create Nintendo Platform Technology Development.

Home video game consoles by Nintendo Integrated Research & Development

Title Released Added to Museum Notes
Wii 2006 November 8, 2010 Primary control method was motion controllers called Wiimotes.
Wii U 2012 November 20, 2017 Primary control method was a touch screen gamepad, but also used Wiimotes and standard controllers.

Handheld video game consoles by Nintendo Integrated Research & Development

Title Released Added to Museum Notes
Nintendo DS 2004 Not added yet Successor to the Game Boy , with a stereoscopic 3D screen that doesn't require 3D glasses.
Nintendo DS Lite 2006 Not added yet Lighter, thinner, and has a brighter screen than the original Nintendo DS.
Nintendo DSi 2008 November 3, 2018 Lacks the Game Boy Advance port, has two cameras, supports internal and external storage, is backwards compatible with all Nintendo DS systems except those that used the GBA port, and plays games that use the hardware of the Nintendo DSi.
Nintendo DSi XL 2009 Not added yet Larger and has bigger screens than the Nintendo DSi.
Nintendo 3DS 2011 Not added yet Successor to the Nintendo DS. The lower screen is touch sensitive, and the top screen is a stereoscopic 3D screen that doesn't require 3D glasses.
Nintendo 3DS XL 2012 March 17, 2014 Larger and has bigger screens than the Nintendo 3DS.
Nintendo 2DS 2013 Not added yet Has the same hardware but lacks the 3D screen of the Nintendo 3DS. It has a slate-like design rather than the clamshell design of the Nintendo 3DS line.
New Nintendo 3DS 2014 Not added yet Has faster processors and more RAM than the Nintendo 3DS. It also has an analog pointing stick, two shoulder triggers, face detection to improve the stereoscopic 3D display, and built in near-field communication support.
New Nintendo 3DS XL 2014 Not added yet Larger and has bigger screens than the New Nintendo 3DS

Video game peripherals by Nintendo Integrated Research & Development

Title Released Added to Museum Notes
Game Boy Player 2003 November 6, 2018 Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance player for GameCube.
Wii Remote 2006 Not yet Motion controller for the Wii.
Wii Nunchuk 2006 November 8, 2010 Add-on for a Wiimote with a thumbstick and an additional button.
Classic Controller 2006 November 8, 2010 Controller for Wii modeled after a Super NES Controller.
Wii Zapper 2006 June 20, 2022 Holder for a Wiimote shaped like a gun named after the Zapper.
Classic Controller Pro 2007 November 8, 2010 Controller for Wii modeled after a GameCube controller.
Wii Wheel 2008 Not yet Holder for a Wiimote shaped like a steering wheel.
Wii Balance Board 2008 Not yet A board for Wii that tracks the center of balance.
Wii Speak 2008 Not yet A microphone for Wii.
Motion Plus 2009 Not yet Addon for Wiimote that enhances motion controls for Wii.
Wii Remote Plus 2010 November 8, 2010 Wiimote for Wii with built-in Motion Plus.
Wii U Game Pad 2012 November 8, 2010 Controller for Wii U that combines a standard game pad with a touchscreen.
Wii U Pro Controller 2012 November 20, 2017 A standard game pad controller for Wii U.