Nintendo EAD stands for Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development. This most famous of Nintendo's internal development teams at its Kyoto, Japan, headquarters started out as Nintendo R&D4; (Research and Development 4). In 1989, prior to the release of the Super Famicom (SNES), Nintendo retired the R&D4; code name and renamed the team EAD.

Headed up by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, EA (and R&D4; before it) is behind some of Nintendo's biggest franchises and has emerged as the company's premier development team since the 1990s.