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, 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 hemone 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

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

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:HAL Laboratory

Nintendo
Video game companies of Japan
Video game development companies
Video game publishers
Video game companies established in 1980
Super Smash Bros.
Kirby (series)
Mother (video game series)