Nintendo Research & Development 2

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Nintendo Research & Development 2
Type Division of Nintendo
Founded 1972 (staff members reassigned in 2003)
Headquarters Kyoto, Japan
Key people Masayuki Uemura, manager (1972 - 2003)
Industry Video games
Products Video game consoles
Video game hardware
Video games
Number of people undisclosed
Website http://www.nintendo.com/

Nintendo Research & Development 2 (任天堂開発第二部, Nintendō Kaihatsu Daini Bu, R&D2) was the second video game development group within Nintendo. It was managed by Masayuki Uemura from its creation in 1972 until Nintendo's internal development groups were restructured by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in 2003. Staff members of Nintendo Research & Development 2 were reassigned to Nintendo Software Planning & Development.

Formation of Nintendo Research & Development 2

In 1972, Masayuki Uemura joined Nintendo, after having previously worked at Sharp Corporation. He assisted Gunpei Yokoi of Nintendo Research & Development with solar cell engineering for the Beam Gun line of toys. After this, Uemura was assigned to manage a new division within Nintendo, Nintendo Research & Development 2. This division was in charge of creating hardware and peripherals, although it ported several arcade games to home systems, and it is credited with the creation of several video games as well.

Color TV-Game

In the mid-1970s, several companies sought to capitalize on the popularity of Atari's Pong, and Nintendo was among them. Thus, came the creation of the Color TV-Game series. The first two systems, Color TV-Game 6 and Color TV-Game 15, both released in 1978, were Pong clones, offering variations of tennis, hockey and volleyball, in single and doubles mode. The main difference between the two, other than the different variations of playable games, were that Color TV-Game 6 had its two controllers attached to the system itself, and Color TV-Game 15 had its two controllers attached to cables.

1978 saw the release of Color TV-Game Racing 112, which was a break from the bat and ball mold in that it was a racing game with switches on the side that allowed play of 112 variants of the game. It was playable either with the steering wheel or with two wired controllers for two player games. The final two releases were home versions of arcade games created by Nintendo R&D1. The first, released in 1979, was Color TV-Game Block Breaker, a home release of Block Fever. The final release in the Color TV-Game line was released in 1980. It was titled Computer TV-Game, and was a home release of Computer Othello.

The cases of the Color TV-Game Racing 112 and the Color TV-Game Block Breaker were designed by Shigeru Miyamoto in his first assignments at Nintendo.

Nintendo Entertainment System

Nintendo's second home console, the Nintendo Entertainment System, was created by Nintendo R&D2 as well. When it was released in Japan in 1983, as the Family Computer, Nintendo R&D2 created several games for the system. These games included home versions of the arcade games Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior as well as Mario Open Golf and NES Open Tournament Golf.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Nintendo's third home console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, was also created by Nintendo R&D2. When it was released in Japan in 1990, as the Super Famicom, Nintendo R&D2 created some games for the system. These games included Marvelous: Another Treasure Island and Sutte Hakkun.

Satellaview

Nintendo R&D2 created a satellite add-on for the Super Famicom known as the Satellaview which broadcast games, music, and digital magazines over the Broadcast Satellite network. It was released only in Japan in 1995. Nintendo R&D2 also created a game for the Satellaview, BS Sutte Hakkun.

Arcade games by Nintendo Research and Development 2

Title Platform Released Notes
VS. Baseball VS. System 1984
VS. Mahjong VS. System 1984
VS. Pinball VS. System 1984

Video games by Nintendo Research and Development 2

Title Platform Released Notes
Donkey Kong NES 1983 Port of Nintendo R&D1's arcade game.
Donkey Kong Junior NES 1983 Port of Nintendo R&D1's arcade game.
Mahjong Famicom 1983
Donkey Kong 3 NES 1984 Port of Nintendo R&D1's arcade game.
Mario Open Golf Famicom 1991
NES Open Tournament Golf NES 1991
BS Marvelous: Camp Arnold Satellaview 1996
BS Marvelous: Time Athletic Satellaview 1996
Marvelous: Another Treasure Island Super Famicom 1996
Sutte Hakkun Event Version Satellaview 1997
Sutte Hakkun Super Famicom 1998
Sutte Hakkun BS Version 2 Satellaview 1998
Sutte Hakkun '98 Winter Event Version Satellaview 1998
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe GBC 1999
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble GBC 2000
Super Mario Advance GBA 2001
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 GBA 2001
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords GBA 2002
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 GBA 2002
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 GBA 2003

Video game consoles by Nintendo Research & Development 2

Title Released Notes
Color TV-Game 6 1977 Contains tennis, hockey and volleyball, in single and doubles mode. Its two controllers are connected to the unit.
Color TV-Game 15 1977 Contains two variants of tennis, hockey and volleyball, and two ping pong games, in single and doubles mode. It contains two wired controllers, rather than controllers that connected to the unit.
Color TV-Game Racing 112 1978 Contains a driving game with switches on the side that allows play of 112 variants of the game. It's playable either with the steering wheel or with two wired controllers for two player games.
Color TV-Game Block Breaker 1979 A home version of Nintendo R&D1's arcade game Block Fever, based on Breakout by Atari.
Computer TV-Game 1980 A home version of Nintendo R&D1's arcade game Computer Othello.
Family Computer 1983
Nintendo Entertainment System 1985 International version of the Family Computer.
Super Famicom 1990
Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1991 International version of the Super Famicom.

Video game peripherals by Nintendo Research & Development 2

Title Released Notes
Satellaview 1995 Broadcast Satellite add-on for the Super Famicom.