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HAL Laboratory, Inc.

Logo since December 1998
Native name	株式会社ハル研究所
Romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha Haru Kenkyūjo
Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Genre	Video game development Game engine development Merchandising
Founded	21 February 1980; 44 years ago (1980-02-21) in Kanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Founder	Mitsuhiro Ikeda
Headquarters	Kanda Square, 2-2-1 Kandanishiki-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Number of locations	2 studios (2019)
Key people	Masayoshi Tanimura (chairman of the board) Shigefumi Kawase (president and CEO) Shinya Kumazaki (director of the board)
Products	Eggerland series Kirby series Mother series Super Smash Bros. series BoxBoy series
Number of employees	242 (2024)
Subsidiaries	Warpstar, Inc. (50%; with Nintendo)
Website	www.hallab.co.jp
Footnotes / references

HAL Laboratory, Inc., formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer founded on February 21, 1980, in Chiyoda, Tokyo by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since established a strong relationship with Nintendo, and is often referred to as a second-party developer. In 1991, a second office in Kai, Yamanashi was established. The company is best known for its work on the Kirby and Mother series, and the first two Super Smash Bros. games.

Its logo, Inutamago, which depicts a dog incubating eggs, is meant to represent "an unexpected bond one that brings the birth of something new."

History

HAL Laboratory was founded on February 21, 1980, and originally developed games for home computers, such as the MSX and VIC-20. There have been conflicting claims on the origin of the company's name. During a GDC 2005 keynote, Satoru Iwata stated that HAL was named after the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, in a 2012 Iwata Asks interview, he said the company was named HAL because "each letter put one step ahead of IBM."

In 1984, the company began its business relationship with Nintendo. HAL assisted in the development of first-party Famicom games such as Pinball and Golf, while also creating original titles such as F1 Race. In the west, some titles were published under HAL America Inc. (HAI), a North American subsidiary of the company led by Yash Terakura and based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA.

In 1992, following the protracted development of Metal Slader Glory, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nintendo offered to rescue HAL on the condition that Satoru Iwata were to be appointed its president, a role he took from 1993 to 2000.

The company's current logo, Inutamago, was created in 1998 by Shigesato Itoi. The imagery is meant to represent "an unexpected bond one that brings the birth of something new". Reception was reportedly lukewarm at first.

In August 2001, HAL Laboratory and Nintendo jointly established Warpstar, Inc., a company created to oversee Kirby merchandising and outside media, such as the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime series.

In 2017, HAL Laboratory announced that the company would start developing games for mobile devices under the brand name HAL Egg, in order to clearly differentiate them from the company's usual output. The first title released under the brand name was Part Time UFO. The company released miniature versions of the MZ-80C and PC-8001 computers in October 2017 and October 2019, respectively.

Games developed

This list related to video games is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2024)

Cancelled Games

• Kirby's Air Ride (Nintendo 64)
• EarthBound 64 (Nintendo 64DD, Nintendo 64)
• Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2 (GameCube)
• Battland (Game Boy Advance)
• Luna Blaze (Game Boy Advance)
• Kirby for Nintendo GameCube (GameCube)

Other systems

VIC-20

• Alien
• Avenger (Space Invaders clone)
• Jelly Monsters (Pac-Man clone)
• Jupiter Lander (Lunar Lander clone)
• Mole Attack
• Money Wars
• Pin Ball (Cutie Q clone)
• Poker
• Radar Rat Race (Rally-X clone)
• Road Race (Night Driver clone)
• Slot Machine
• Star Battle (Galaxian clone programmed by Satoru Iwata; ex-CEO of Nintendo and HAL Laboratory)

MAX Machine/Commodore 64

Source:

• Avenger
• Billiards
• Bowling
• Clowns
• Gorf
• Jupiter Lander
• Kickman
• Le Mans
• Max Basic
• Mini Basic Max
• Mole Attack
• Money Wars
• Music Composer
• Music Machine
• Omega Race
• Pinball Spectacular (an adaptation of Bomb Bee)
• Poker
• Radar Rat Race
• Road Race
• Ski (aka Slalom)
• Super Alien
• Wizard of Wor

MSX

• Balance
• Butamaru Pants
• Cue Star
• Dunk Shot
• Eggerland Mystery
• Eggerland 2
• Fruit Search
• Gall Force
• Heavy Boxing
• Hole in One
• Hole in One Professional
• Inside the Karamaru
• Inspecteur Z
• Mobile Planet Stillus/The Roving Planet Stillus
• Mr. Chin
• Pachipro Densetsu
• Picture Puzzle
• Rollerball
• Space Maze Attack
• Space Trouble
• Step Up
• Super Billiards
• Super Snake
• Swimming Tango
• Tetsuman

MSX2

• Dragon Attack
• Hole in One Special
• Zukkoke Yajikita Onmitsudoutyuu
• Mr. Ninja – Ashura's Chapter

Windows

• Eggerland Episode 0: Quest of Rara
• Egger Land for Windows 95
• Revival! Eggerland

Games published

Computer animation

• Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (CG Tool Development)

Notes

1. Tokyo R&D Center and Yamanashi R&D Center
2. Japanese: 株式会社ハル研究所, Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Haru Kenkyūjo
3. Japanese: 犬たまご, "Dog Eggs"
4. Co-developed with Ape
5. ^ Co-developed with Flagship
6. Co-developed with Creatures
7. Co-developed with Brownie Brown
8. ^ Co-developed with Vanpool
9. ^ Developed by Human Entertainment
10. ^ Developed by Sculptured Software
11. Japanese publishing only

References

1. "Company Profile | COMPANY | HAL Laboratory". 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
2. "Our History | COMPANY | HAL Laboratory". 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
3. "Inutamago | COMPANY | HAL Laboratory". 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
4. Fahey, Mike (21 February 2015). "The Studio Behind Smash Bros. And Kirby, HAL Laboratory Turns 35 Today". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
5. ^ "Corporate Info". HAL Laboratories. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
6. "What Was Japan for Commodore?". commodore.ca. 16 February 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
7. ^ Casamassina, Matt (10 March 2005). "GDC 2005: Iwata Keynote Transcript". IGN. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
8. Madden, Orla (30 November 2012). "Iwata Explains Where The Name HAL Laboratory Came From". nintendolife.com. Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
9. "Yash Terakura Joins Throwback Entertainment As Chief Technology Officer". GamesIndustry.biz. 11 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
10. "Satoru Iwata – 1999 Developer Interview". Used Games (in Japanese). 1999. (Translation Archived 12 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
11. Crimmins, Brian (21 November 2017). "Why Does HAL Laboratory Only Make Nintendo Games?". Waypoint. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
12. "Satoru Iwata Wasn't Hot on the Earthbound Creator's Logo for HAL Labs". USGamer.net. 17 April 2020. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
13. "How Inutamago came to be". HAL Laboratory. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
14. "Iwata Asks: Kirby's Epic Yarn". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
15. Wong, Alistair (19 November 2017). "HAL Labs, On HAL Egg And Their First Published Game In 25 Years". Siliconera. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
16. Romano, Sal (22 August 2017). "HAL Laboratory launches smartphone game brand HAL Egg, first title due out this fall in Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
17. "社長の夢から生まれた1／4サイズのマイコン名機「PasocomMini MZ-80C」 開発秘話と今後をハル研究所三津原社長に聞いた". Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
18. "ハル研「PasocomMini PC-8001」の単体販売が決定". 28 September 2019. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
19. "Battland [GBA – Cancelled]". Unseen64. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
20. "Luna Blaze [GBA – Cancelled]". Unseen64. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
21. "The Ultimax Collection". Commodore 64 Preservation Project. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2012.

External links

• Official website

v t e Kirby series
Nintendo HAL Laboratory
Main series	Kirby's Dream Land Adventure Dream Land 2 Super Star Ultra Dream Land 3 64: The Crystal Shards The Amazing Mirror Squeak Squad Return to Dream Land Triple Deluxe Planet Robobot ‎Star Allies The Forgotten Land
Spin-offs	Pinball Land Dream Course Avalanche Block Ball Star Stacker Tilt 'n' Tumble Air Ride Canvas Curse Epic Yarn Mass Attack Rainbow Curse Blowout Blast Battle Royale Super Kirby Clash Fighters 2 Dream Buffet
Collections	Dream Collection
Characters	Kirby Meta Knight
Media	Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episodes Kirby of the Stars
People	Masahiro Sakurai Makiko Ohmoto Satoru Iwata Shigeru Miyamoto Shinya Kumazaki John Kirby Jun Ishikawa
Related	Super Smash Bros. NES Remix Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Kirby Café
Category

v t e Mother series
Nintendo Ape HAL Laboratory
Games	Mother (EarthBound Beginnings) Mother 2 (EarthBound) Mother 3 development fan translation
People	Shigesato Itoi Satoru Iwata Keiichi Suzuki Hirokazu Tanaka Nobuyuki Inoue Marcus Lindblom
Characters	Giygas Ness Porky Minch
Related	Fandom Megalovania Music Super Smash Bros.
Category

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• Nintendo
• Video game companies of Japan
• Video game development companies
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