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Recently, Nintendo integrated its videogame console and portable divisions into a single group, dubbed the “Integrated Research & Development Division”. In addition to this, the company completed construction of a new R&D Development Center, which Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says will be occupied this June, after E3.
Once Nintendo’s developers move into the new building, they will be able to communicate more closely with one another than before, as departments that previously worked in different buildings will now share the same headquarters.
Additionally, at a financial results Q&A, Iwata touched upon a new Nintendo division—the “Business Development Department,” which the company established in March. This group will be involved in decisions regarding things like character licensing, new markets and so on, and will report directly to Iwata himself.
“We have gathered experts from a variety of different fields for this department,” Iwata shared with analysts and investors. “By working with others in the R&D divisions, these members have already been acting as contacts for a variety of different business partners, and have been making proposals and planting the seeds for discussion.”
“The Business Development Department will play an important role in our company producing tangible outcomes for the topics we have been discussing recently: the active use of our character IP, future approach for the new markets, future of the new business fields, how we are going to change the definition of our future platforms and how we will take advantage of smart devices.”
One of the new markets Nintendo intends to pursue in the future is the “quality-of-life,” business, starting with a focus on health products that could potentially provide entertainment to users.
