Nintendo merging its console and handheld divisions in company shuffle

Nintendo plans to merge its console and handheld divisions into a single unit in the coming month, the first major shift at the company since 2004, reports Nikkei.

By shuffling the company's internal structure, Nintendo intends to streamline development on its current consoles, the handheld 3DS and recently-released Wii U home console, and to allow members of these previously separated divisions to create a knowledge pool for techniques and technological information.

Nintendo will also invest 30 billion yen (about $340 million) to open a new development facility in Kyoto by the end of the year, according to Nikkei.

Polygon has reached out to Nintendo for more details and will update this story with more information as we have it.