HAL Laboratory

HAL Laboratory, Inc., formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 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 in Kanda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Mitsuhiro Ikeda served as the first president and CEO. The company was formed out of a Seibu Department Store in Ikebukuro, with many of the students who frequented the computer section working part-time. This included Satoru Iwata and Satoshi Matsuoka. HAL initially started out of an apartment in Akihabara, developing hardware peripherals. An early investor was Iwasaki Giken, a company that programmed many of Nintendo's first video games.

In its early years, it developed products like a universal remote, the HAL Fax, which allowed users to fax directly from a computer, and the HAL Catch, a cable that connected an electronic organizer to a PC. Other products included the GSX-8800 sound board for the NEC PC-8001 in 1983, the CAT trackball, and the Hibiki FM tone generator and MIDI interface board in 1986.

There have been conflicting claims on the origin of the company's name: during a GDC 2005 keynote, HAL alumnus and then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that HAL was named after the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, while in a 2012 Iwata Asks interview, he said the company was named HAL because "each letter put [them] one step ahead of IBM."

The company first made games for home computers, such as the MSX and VIC-20. These were initially unlicensed home computer versions of Namco's arcade games, including Pac-Man (Jelly Monsters) Rally-X, and Galaxian. However, HAL managed to be the first company to obtain a license from Namco for developing computer games.

Through its connection to Iwasaki Giken, HAL started its business relationship with Nintendo in 1984. It assisted in the development of first-party Famicom games such as Pinball and Golf, while also creating original titles such as F1 Race. The company's previous experience developing games and its familiarity with the Famicom's CPU helped the developers make games faster than the competition. 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. Between 1987 and 1991, HAL also published several NES titles, including Stargate and Kabuki: Quantum Fighter. Masahiro Sakurai joined the company in 1989.

In 1991, the company moved to an office building overlooking Mount Fuji in Yamanashi. In 1992, HAL spun off its non-Nintendo business as HAL Corporation. It continued to work on computer software and peripherals, including new versions of the universal remote controller. This company continued to operate until around 2002.

However, following the protracted development of Metal Slader Glory, the company was $1.5 billion yen in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Nintendo offered to rescue HAL on the condition that Satoru Iwata were to be appointed its president. In 1992, HAL released Kirby's Dream Land for the Nintendo Game Boy, which was Iwata's first game as president. HAL then found success soon after, releasing Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's Dream Course, and Mother 2.

The company's current logo, Inutamago (literally "dog egg"), 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. The first game to use the logo was Super Smash Bros. In 1999, HAL released Pokemon Snap for the Nintendo 64 and Pokemon Pinball on Game Boy Color and established an R&D center in Tokyo that year.

For a time, HAL struggled to develop a 3D Kirby game. Following the release of Kirby 64 in 2000, Iwata left to work at Nintendo and the company worked on three games that were ultimately cancelled. During this time, HAL also worked on Nintendo's hardware, developing the software library called "sysdolphin" for the GameCube.

On July 31, 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 March 2002, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi retired and named Iwata as his successor. In 2003, the company moved from Nintendo's Tokyo Prefecture Building in Nihonbashi, Chuo to a new office in Kanda Sudacho, Chiyoda. Sakurai also left HAL to become a freelance game designer, though he continued to work on the Super Smash Bros. series. In 2007, HAL worked with Atlus to produce a Kirby-themed medal game for arcades.

The company developed the internet browser and electronic instruction manual for both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. HAL released a Kirby-themed card game in 2015. In August 2016, it teamed with Nintendo to open the Kirby Café chain in Japan. HAL helped to develop software for the Nintendo Switch, creating its internet browser, Mii photo library, and various game development environments and tools. It also released a Kirby-themed board game in 2017.

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 game was a premium title, as the developers at HAL did not want to implement the more exploitative types of monetization that had become common in the industry. The company released miniature versions of the MZ-80C and PC-8001 computers in October 2017 and October 2019, respectively. A second mobile game, Housuu de Shoubu! Kame Sanpo was released in Japan in 2019.

In 2020, HAL relocated its office to Nintendo's new Tokyo building, alongside Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo PTD Tokyo, 1-Up Studio, and Game Freak. At this point, HAL had just under 200 employees. In 2022, the company released Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the first fully 3D game in the series.

In 2025, HAL sold its stake in Warpstar to Nintendo, with it subsequently rebranding to Nintendo Stars Inc., and expanded to include merchandising of film adaptations of Nintendo's properties.

Games

Cancelled games

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

Software

• MAX BASIC
• Mii Studio for Wii U
• Mini BASIC
• Music Composer
• Music Machine
• My Nintendo 3DS & Wii U Memories
• Nintendo 3DS Electronic Manual
• Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser
• Nintendo eShop (Nintendo Switch)
• Nintendo Switch Web Browser
• Nintendo Switch Mii creation and management software
• Sysdolphin
• TV no Tomo Channel
• Welwalk WW-2000 (user interface)
• Wii U Electronic Manual
• Wii U Internet Browser

Hardware

• BoxBoy! amiibo series
• CAT trackball
• GSX-8800 sound board
• HAL Catch
• HALFAX-9600/9600EX
• HAL Mouse Pocket
• HALNote
• HALScan
• Hibiki FM tone generator and MIDI interface board
• JB King
• JB Turbo
• Joyball[jp] - MSX, NES
• Kirby amiibo series
• Kirby's Magic Tower of Medal Land
• Nintendo e-Reader
• PasocomMini MZ-80C
• PasocomMini PC-8001
• Programmable character generators - PCG-700, 1200, 6500, 8000, 8100, 8200, and 8800
• Pokémon Snap Seal print system

Notes

External links