Nintendo Research and Development 1 (R&D1) was Nintendo's oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video games industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi. The development team has created several notable Nintendo series, including Metroid, Kid Icarus, and Mario/Wario Land.
After Yokoi's resignation from Nintendo in 1996, the group was led by Takehiro Izushi. In 2005, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata restructured R&D1, reassigning many of the team members to Nintendo SPD and Nintendo EAD.
