Nintendo Software Technology Corporation, doing business as Nintendo Software Technology (NST), is an American video game developer. NST was created by Nintendo as a first-party developer to create games for the North American market, though their games have also been released worldwide. The company was founded by Minoru Arakawa, Claude Comair and Scott Tsumura in 1998 and is located inside of Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
NST has developed many games for Nintendo consoles, including the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, Wave Race: Blue Storm, and Metroid Prime Hunters.
History
In 1988, Claude Comair founded DigiPen Corporation in Vancouver, British Columbia. Soon after, he partnered with Nintendo of America on a certification program in video game programming. This partnership would help establish the DigiPen Institute of Technology as a private institute in Redmond. Washington. In 1998, DigiPen and Scott Tsumura's Big Bang Software were merged to form Nintendo Software Technology, consisting mostly of DigiPen personnel. Tsumura served as president and Comair was named chairman. NST was headquartered on DigiPen’s campus until 2010.
NST's first game, Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, was released for the Game Boy Color in 2000 and was a sequel of Capcom's Bionic Commando. Its next game was a Game Boy Color port of action RPG Crystalis, followed by Ridge Racer 64 and Pokémon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64. The company then developed the multiplayer mode for 2001's Mario Kart: Super Circuit on the Game Boy Advance
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. NST started developing Project H.A.M.M.E.R. for the Nintendo Wii in 2003, but several problems landed the project in 'development hell'. By 2005, about 75% of the game was complete before concerns about the game's quality emerged. A large amount of funding was spent on cut-scenes early in development, and so when the project started to fall behind, senior staff didn't want to end it because of the capital already spent. The American developers suggested that the problem was the gameplay, however, the Japanese managers believed the problem was the environments.
The game debuted at E3 2006, but never progressed further. It was later retooled into a more casual title called Wii Crush. By 2009, Nintendo had fired the chief game designer and pulled funding on the title. Soon after, a large number of staff were made redundant.
List of software developed Year Title Platform(s) 2000 Bionic Commando: Elite Forces Game Boy Color Ridge Racer 64 Nintendo 64 Crystalis Game Boy Color Pokémon Puzzle League Nintendo 64 2001 Wave Race: Blue Storm GameCube 2003 Nintendo Puzzle Collection (Panel de Pon) The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition 1080° Avalanche 2004 Mario vs. Donkey Kong Game Boy Advance Ridge Racer DS Nintendo DS 2006 Metroid Prime Hunters Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis 2007 Sin and Punishment (English translation) Nintendo 64(on Wii Virtual Console) 2008 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Masterpiece Mode) Wii Crosswords DS (Co-developed w/ Nuevo Retro Games) Nintendo DS 2009 Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again DSiWare 2010 Aura-Aura Climber Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! Nintendo DS 2012 Crosswords Plus Nintendo 3DS 2013 Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move 2015 Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Wii U / Nintendo 3DS 2016 Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge Wii U / Nintendo 3DS Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS Nintendo 3DS2017Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! (development support) Nintendo Switch 2018 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (port development/DLC content) Nintendo 3DS / Nintendo Switch 2019The Stretchers (development support) Nintendo Switch2020Good Job! (development support)2021Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (co-development)2023F-Zero 992024Mario vs. Donkey Kong (remake)2025Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (port development)
List of applications developed Year Title Platform(s) 2006 Nintendo 64 emulator (Virtual Console) Wii 2009 BBC iPlayer Channel Wii Mario Calculator and Clock DSiWare Animal Crossing Calculator and Clock DSiWare 2011 Kirby TV Channel Wii 2013 Wii Street U Wii U
Cancelled games Title Platform(s) Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Wii
Notes
References
External links Official Site A group interview with NST about 1080º Avalanche Two-part interview with Shigeki Yamashiro, producer of 1080º Avalanche, and Vivek Melwani, lead game designer and director