Nintendo Cube

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Nintendo Cube Co., Ltd.
Native name
ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社
Kabushiki gaisha Nintendōkyūbu
FormerlyNd Cube (2000–2012)
NDcube (2012–2024)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedMarch 1, 2000; 25 years ago (2000-03-01) in Tokyo, Japan
HeadquartersAgriSquare 12F, ,
Japan
Number of locations
2 studios[a] (2020)
Key people
  • President & CEO
  • Shūichirō Nishiya
  • Executive Vice President
  • Kenji Kikuchi
  • Directors
  • Kazuhiko Nonaka
  • Toyokazu Nonaka (Nintendo)
  • Auditor & Supervisory Board Member
  • Keisuke Kondo (Nintendo)
  • Former President & Chairman
  • Hidetoshi Endo
ProductsGames
Brands
Number of employees
120 (2024)
ParentNintendo[b]
Websitenintendo-cube.co.jp
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

Nintendo Cube Co., Ltd.,[c] formerly known as Nd Cube and later NDcube, is a Japanese video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo, headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo with an additional office in Sapporo. They are best known as the developers of the Mario Party series since Mario Party 9 when they took over the series from the original developer Hudson Soft.

History

[edit]

The company was founded on March 1, 2000, as Nd Cube, as a joint venture between Nintendo and the biggest advertising firm in Japan called Dentsu, hence the "ND" (Nintendo-Dentsu) in the name. Nintendo had 78% of the shares of the company at the time, while 13.3% of the shares were owned by Dentsu and the rest of the 8.7% were owned by other shareholders.[3]

In the years after Mario Party 8's 2007 release, many employees from Hudson Soft migrated to Nd Cube[4] including former Hudson Soft president Hidetoshi Endo who became president of Nd Cube around 2009.[5]

In 2010, Nintendo decided to buy out the company's shares from Dentsu and the other shareholders, being then the major shareholder on the company, with its changing from 78% to 96% initially, to 97% in 2015, and since 2023, to 99% of the shares.[6][7][8]

In 2012, Nd Cube rebranded to NDcube. In the same year, the company released Mario Party 9 for the Wii — the company's first Mario Party.[9][10]

In 2019, the director of the Mario Party series from Mario Party 6 to Super Mario Party, Shuichiro Nishiya, replaced Hidetoshi Endo as the company's president. Endo had served as president of NDcube for almost ten years.[11][5]

In 2024, NDcube rebranded to Nintendo Cube.[12]

Games

[edit]
List of video games developed by Nintendo Cube
YearTitlePlatform(s)
2001F-Zero: Maximum VelocityGame Boy Advance
EZ-Talk Shokyuuhen series
Dokodemo Taikyoku Yakuman Advance
2002Card Party
Pool EdgeGameCube
2003Tube Slider
2010Wii PartyWii
2011Wii Play: Motion
2012Mario Party 9
2013Wii Party UWii U
Mario Party: Island TourNintendo 3DS
2015Mario Party 10Wii U
Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival[d]
2016Mario Party: Star RushNintendo 3DS
2017Mario Party: The Top 100
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp[d]Android, iOS
2018Super Mario PartyNintendo Switch
2020Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
2021Mario Party Superstars
2023Everybody 1-2-Switch![d]
2024Super Mario Party Jamboree
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp CompleteAndroid, iOS
2025Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour[d][13]Nintendo Switch 2
Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Sapporo Head Office and Tokyo Head Office
  2. ^ 2000-2010: 78%
    2010-2015: 96%
    2015-2023: 97%
    2023-present: 99%
  3. ^ Japanese: ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社, Hepburn: NintendōKyūbu Kabushiki Gaisha
  4. ^ a b c d Co-developed with Nintendo EPD

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "COMPANY". エヌディーキューブ株式会社 (in Japanese). January 11, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "Company profile". August 30, 2010. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "Nd Cube flatline". IGN. August 22, 2000. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  4. ^ "Hudson's Ashes: A Tale of Nd Cube's Party Past - Feature". Nintendo World Report. Over the intervening years, Nd Cube's staff mostly moved on to other companies, mostly Nintendo and Square Enix. After Mario Party 8's 2007 release, a number of longtime Mario Party developers left Hudson to join Nd Cube. While we likely won't know exactly why there was a Hudson exodus to Nd Cube, it is extremely likely that the writing was on the wall for Hudson, and the powers that be at Nintendo and Nd Cube smartly snapped up most of the key leads of the Mario Party team to continue the Party brand.
  5. ^ a b "Mario Party Dev NDcube Has Officially Changed Its Name". September 2, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2025. The studio is formed of many former Hudson Soft employees, the studio behind the Mario Party series before Nintendo Cube took over. Hidetoshi Endo, former president at Hudson Soft, was president of the company for ten years before being replaced by Mario Party series director Shuichiro Nishiya in 2019. Hudson Soft was absorbed by Konami in 2012.
  6. ^ Pearson, Dan (August 26, 2010). "ND Cube now officially a subsidiary of Nintendo". Gamesindustry. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  7. ^ NE, Brian (June 29, 2015). "Latest listing of Nintendo subsidiaries and affiliated companies". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "COMPANY". エヌディーキューブ株式会社 (in Japanese). January 11, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "Mario Party Developer Changes Its Name". September 3, 2024. Archived from the original on June 2, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025. the studio was formed by many Hudson Soft employees, who were responsible for the entire Mario Party series prior to Mario Party 9.
  10. ^ "The rise, fall and return of Mario Party". November 8, 2024. Archived from the original on February 1, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025. Behind the scenes, Hudson Soft had been having some trouble for some time. Important members of the studio had been exiting the company, including those who had worked there for decades... While Hudson Soft's days were over, the same could not be said for the hugely popular Mario Party franchise. By 2011, many of Hudson Soft's employees had moved over to Nintendo's subsidiary Nintendo Cube (then NDcube), so it made complete sense to hand the keys to the franchise over to the revised development team.
  11. ^ "COMPANY". エヌディーキューブ株式会社. January 11, 2018.
  12. ^ Scullion, Tom (September 2, 2024). "Mario Party developer NDCube has changed its name". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "開発協力 | ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社 | Nintendo Cube". ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 13, 2025.
[edit]

    Nintendo Cube Co., Ltd.
    Native name
    ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社
    Kabushiki gaisha Nintendōkyūbu
    FormerlyNd Cube (2000–2012)
    NDcube (2012–2024)
    Company typeSubsidiary
    IndustryVideo games
    FoundedMarch 1, 2000; 25 years ago (2000-03-01) in Tokyo, Japan
    HeadquartersAgriSquare 12F, ,
    Japan
    Number of locations
    2 studios[a] (2020)
    Key people
    • President & CEO
    • Shūichirō Nishiya
    • Executive Vice President
    • Kenji Kikuchi
    • Directors
    • Kazuhiko Nonaka
    • Toyokazu Nonaka (Nintendo)
    • Auditor & Supervisory Board Member
    • Keisuke Kondo (Nintendo)
    • Former President & Chairman
    • Hidetoshi Endo
    ProductsGames
    Brands
    Number of employees
    120 (2024)
    ParentNintendo[b]
    Websitenintendo-cube.co.jp
    Footnotes / references
    [1][2]

    Nintendo Cube Co., Ltd.,[c] formerly known as Nd Cube and later NDcube, is a Japanese video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo, headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo with an additional office in Sapporo. They are best known as the developers of the Mario Party series since Mario Party 9 when they took over the series from the original developer Hudson Soft.

    History

    The company was founded on March 1, 2000, as Nd Cube, as a joint venture between Nintendo and the biggest advertising firm in Japan called Dentsu, hence the "ND" (Nintendo-Dentsu) in the name. Nintendo had 78% of the shares of the company at the time, while 13.3% of the shares were owned by Dentsu and the rest of the 8.7% were owned by other shareholders.[3]

    In the years after Mario Party 8's 2007 release, many employees from Hudson Soft migrated to Nd Cube[4] including former Hudson Soft president Hidetoshi Endo who became president of Nd Cube around 2009.[5]

    In 2010, Nintendo decided to buy out the company's shares from Dentsu and the other shareholders, being then the major shareholder on the company, with its changing from 78% to 96% initially, to 97% in 2015, and since 2023, to 99% of the shares.[6][7][8]

    In 2012, Nd Cube rebranded to NDcube. In the same year, the company released Mario Party 9 for the Wii — the company's first Mario Party.[9][10]

    In 2019, the director of the Mario Party series from Mario Party 6 to Super Mario Party, Shuichiro Nishiya, replaced Hidetoshi Endo as the company's president. Endo had served as president of NDcube for almost ten years.[11][5]

    In 2024, NDcube rebranded to Nintendo Cube.[12]

    Games

    List of video games developed by Nintendo Cube
    YearTitlePlatform(s)
    2001F-Zero: Maximum VelocityGame Boy Advance
    EZ-Talk Shokyuuhen series
    Dokodemo Taikyoku Yakuman Advance
    2002Card Party
    Pool EdgeGameCube
    2003Tube Slider
    2010Wii PartyWii
    2011Wii Play: Motion
    2012Mario Party 9
    2013Wii Party UWii U
    Mario Party: Island TourNintendo 3DS
    2015Mario Party 10Wii U
    Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival[d]
    2016Mario Party: Star RushNintendo 3DS
    2017Mario Party: The Top 100
    Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp[d]Android, iOS
    2018Super Mario PartyNintendo Switch
    2020Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
    2021Mario Party Superstars
    2023Everybody 1-2-Switch![d]
    2024Super Mario Party Jamboree
    Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp CompleteAndroid, iOS
    2025Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour[d][13]Nintendo Switch 2
    Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV

    Notes

    1. ^ Sapporo Head Office and Tokyo Head Office
    2. ^ 2000-2010: 78%
      2010-2015: 96%
      2015-2023: 97%
      2023-present: 99%
    3. ^ Japanese: ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社, Hepburn: NintendōKyūbu Kabushiki Gaisha
    4. ^ a b c d Co-developed with Nintendo EPD

    References

    1. ^ "COMPANY". エヌディーキューブ株式会社 (in Japanese). January 11, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
    2. ^ "Company profile". August 30, 2010. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
    3. ^ "Nd Cube flatline". IGN. August 22, 2000. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
    4. ^ "Hudson's Ashes: A Tale of Nd Cube's Party Past - Feature". Nintendo World Report. Over the intervening years, Nd Cube's staff mostly moved on to other companies, mostly Nintendo and Square Enix. After Mario Party 8's 2007 release, a number of longtime Mario Party developers left Hudson to join Nd Cube. While we likely won't know exactly why there was a Hudson exodus to Nd Cube, it is extremely likely that the writing was on the wall for Hudson, and the powers that be at Nintendo and Nd Cube smartly snapped up most of the key leads of the Mario Party team to continue the Party brand.
    5. ^ a b "Mario Party Dev NDcube Has Officially Changed Its Name". September 2, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2025. The studio is formed of many former Hudson Soft employees, the studio behind the Mario Party series before Nintendo Cube took over. Hidetoshi Endo, former president at Hudson Soft, was president of the company for ten years before being replaced by Mario Party series director Shuichiro Nishiya in 2019. Hudson Soft was absorbed by Konami in 2012.
    6. ^ Pearson, Dan (August 26, 2010). "ND Cube now officially a subsidiary of Nintendo". Gamesindustry. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
    7. ^ NE, Brian (June 29, 2015). "Latest listing of Nintendo subsidiaries and affiliated companies". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
    8. ^ "COMPANY". エヌディーキューブ株式会社 (in Japanese). January 11, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
    9. ^ "Mario Party Developer Changes Its Name". September 3, 2024. Archived from the original on June 2, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025. the studio was formed by many Hudson Soft employees, who were responsible for the entire Mario Party series prior to Mario Party 9.
    10. ^ "The rise, fall and return of Mario Party". November 8, 2024. Archived from the original on February 1, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025. Behind the scenes, Hudson Soft had been having some trouble for some time. Important members of the studio had been exiting the company, including those who had worked there for decades... While Hudson Soft's days were over, the same could not be said for the hugely popular Mario Party franchise. By 2011, many of Hudson Soft's employees had moved over to Nintendo's subsidiary Nintendo Cube (then NDcube), so it made complete sense to hand the keys to the franchise over to the revised development team.
    11. ^ "COMPANY". エヌディーキューブ株式会社. January 11, 2018.
    12. ^ Scullion, Tom (September 2, 2024). "Mario Party developer NDCube has changed its name". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
    13. ^ "開発協力 | ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社 | Nintendo Cube". ニンテンドーキューブ株式会社 (in Japanese). Retrieved June 13, 2025.
    • Official website
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