Kensuke Tanabe
Kensuke Tanabe is a Japanese former video game producer and designer who has worked for Nintendo since 1986.
After he had graduated from the Visual Concept Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, he decided to enter the video game industry, and joined Nintendo in April 1986.
At first, Tanabe was part of the Entertainment Analysis and Development division. He directed the platform games Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2, and worked on the scripts for the action-adventures The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. In 2003, Tanabe moved to the Software Planning and Development division, where he became the manager of Production Group No. 3. Since then, he has become a producer, and has managed and overseen the development of externally developed first party Nintendo video games, such as Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country, Paper Mario, Chibi-Robo and other series.
In January 2026, Tanabe announced that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was his last Nintendo game he will be working on. At the same time, it was also announced that fellow producer Risa Tabata is going to be his successor as a producer on the series he worked on such as Paper Mario, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion.