formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

based in

Chiyoda, Tokyo , known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008. is a S ...

. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for

home computers Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

of the era, but has since established a strong relationship with

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

, and is often referred to as a second-party developer. In 1991, a second office in

Kai, Yamanashi is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 73,626, and a population density of 1,100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kai is located in central Yamanashi Prefecture, ...

was established. The company is best known for its work on the ''

Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...

'' and ''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' 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 MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

and

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...

. There have been conflicting claims on the origin of the company's name. During a GDC 2005 keynote,

Satoru Iwata Satoru Iwata (; December6, 1959July11, 2015) was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer and producer. Beginning in 2002, he was the fourth president of Nintendo, as well as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo of America from ...

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

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

one step ahead of

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

." In 1984, the company began its business relationship with

. HAL assisted in the development of first-party

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

games such as ''

Pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

'' and ''

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

'', 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 ''Metal Slader Glory'' is an adventure game developed and published by HAL Laboratory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer in 1991. The game is set in 2062 after humans have Moon colonization, colonized the Moon and established ...

'', the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nintendo offered to rescue HAL on the condition that

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 ''

'' 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 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...

* '' Alien'' * ''

Avenger Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sa ...

'' (''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

'' clone) * ''Jelly Monsters'' (''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'' clone) * '' Jupiter Lander'' (''

Lunar Lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a Lander (spacecraft), spacecraft designed to Moon landing, land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing s ...

'' clone) * '' Mole Attack'' * ''Money Wars'' * ''Pin Ball'' ('' Cutie Q'' clone) * ''Poker'' * '' Radar Rat Race'' (''

Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed in Japan and Germany by Namco and released in 1980. In North America, it was distributed by Midway Manufacturing and in Europe by Karateco. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidi ...

'' clone) * ''Road Race'' (''

Night Driver Night Driver, Night Drivers, or, ''variation'', may refer to: Music * ''Night Driver Tour 2017'', a 2017 album concert tour by Busted * The Night Drivers, a band formed by Chris Jones (bluegrass musician), Chris Jones Albums * Night Driver (album) ...

'' clone) * ''Slot Machine'' * ''Star Battle'' (''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of alien ...

'' clone programmed by

; ex-CEO of Nintendo and HAL Laboratory)

MAX Machine MAX Machine (or simply MAX), also known as Ultimax in the United States and Canada and VC-10 in Germany, is a home computer designed and sold by Commodore International in Japan, beginning in November of 1982, a cousin to the popular Commodore 64 ...
/
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

Source: * ''

'' * ''Billiards'' * ''Bowling'' * ''

Clowns A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

'' * '' 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 MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

* ''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 MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Cor ...

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

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

* '' 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)