In what will be its first major corporate restructuring in about a decade, the Big N has announced plans to merge its handheld and console divisions into a singular unit focused on the Wii U and 3DS. A new, $340 million Kyoto headquarters for the team – which will so far contain 280 engineers (150 handheld, 130 console) – is under construction, to be completed by the end of 2013.
The move is set to be completed by February 16th, and is reportedly meant to speed up quality production in order to compete stronger against the ever-rising tablet and mobile markets. A more cohesive software development core could help reinforce Nintendo’s position in the emerging “next” console generation as well, as a strong and symbiotic first-party lineup could bolster cross-platform sales against the likely more expensive tech from Sony and Microsoft.