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HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Native name
株式会社ハル研究所
Kabushiki gaisha Haru Kenkyūjo
Private
Industry Video games
Genre
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, ,
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
Number of employees
215 (2023)
Subsidiaries Warpstar, Inc. (50%; with Nintendo)

HAL Laboratory, Inc., formerly shortened as HALKEN (derived from its native name), is a Japanese video game developer founded on 21 February 1980. While independent, it has been closely tied with Nintendo throughout its history, and is often referred to as a second-party developer for the company. HAL Laboratory is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and it also has a building at Kai, Yamanashi. The company got its name because "each letter put them one step ahead of IBM". The company is most famous for their work on the Kirby and Mother series, Pokémon Snap, and the first two Super Smash Bros. games.

The logo, dubbed Inutamago, depicts a dog incubating eggs, which has been in use since 1998.

History

HAL Laboratory started off making games for the MSX system and VIC-20. After financial strain brought on from the development of Metal Slader Glory (1991) for the Famicom, Nintendo offered to rescue HAL from bankruptcy on the condition that HAL employee Satoru Iwata was appointed as its president, which he became between 1993 and 2000. Iwata later became president of Nintendo.

The logo 'Inutamago' was commissioned in 1998 by then HAL Laboratory president, Satoru Iwata. This was handled by Shigesato Itoi who went through many different ideas. He went with the theme of 'an unexpected bond...one that brings the birth of something new' which would lead to the idea of a dog incubating eggs in a nest. The actual design was created by Mr. Akiyama of HAL. The design was indoctrinated by HAL Laboratory in 1998, although the reception at first was lukewarm.

In many of its games during the early to mid-1990s, it used the name HALKEN, derived from their Japanese name. Some of its early titles were also released as HAL America Inc. (HAI), a North American subsidiary of the company led by Yash Terakura and based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA.

In August 2001, HAL Laboratory and Nintendo established Warpstar, Inc. in a joint venture (where each part owns 50% of the company) with the objective to manage the Kirby IP along with its copyright, which the decision for the creation of the company was mainly for Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime series. After the end of the anime, the company still exists and now works with license and supervision of the characters in games, merchandise and other media.

For years, the company's development center at Tokyo was located within the eighth floor of the Nintendo Tokyo Prefecture Building which itself is located Nihombashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, but in August 2003, the company announced that a restructuration was happening and that the development center at the building would be relocated to HAL's main office building in Kanda Suda-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. While this change happened on the Tokyo-based company, the Yamanashi part of HAL was unaffected by the changes of the company.

In 2017, HAL Laboratory announced that they would develop and self-publish games for mobile devices with the brand HAL Egg and focusing on completely new characters and franchises, with different types of design than what the developers of the company usually do. The first title launched by them was Part Time UFO. The company released a miniature version of the MZ-80C computer in October 2017 and a miniature version of the PC-8001 in October 2019

In 2020, HAL Laboratory updated their employee numbers from 169 to 195 and the company came back to the new Nintendo Tokyo Building with its main office and the Tokyo development studio being in the same building along with Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo PTD Tokyo, 1-Up Studio and Game Freak like a keiretsu. The studio in Yamanashi was unaffected by that move.

List of games

List of video games developed by HAL Laboratory
Year Title Platform(s)
1984 Pinball NES
Golf
F1 Race Famicom
1985 Mach Rider NES
Balloon Fight
Lot Lot Famicom
1986 Othello NES
Gall Force: Eternal Story Famicom Disk System
Eggerland MSX
1987 Joust NES
Defender II
Air Fortress
Millipede Famicom
1988 Satsui no Kaisou: Power Soft Renzoku Satsujin Jiken Famicom
Fire Bam
Jumbo Ozaki no Hole in One Professional
Vegas Dream NES
Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally Famicom
Eggerland: Meikyū no Fukkatsu
Eggerland: Sōzō e no Tabidachi
Rollerball NES
1989 Adventures of Lolo NES
Revenge of the 'Gator Game Boy
Shanghai
Ghostbusters II
1990 Adventures of Lolo 2 NES
Uchuu Keibitai SDF Famicom
Adventures of Lolo 3 NES
New Ghostbusters II NES
1991 Trax Game Boy
Hal's Hole in One Golf Super NES
Metal Slader Glory Famicom, Super Famicom
HyperZone Super NES
1992 Arcana
Kirby's Dream Land Game Boy
1993 Vegas Stakes Super NES, Game Boy
Kirby's Adventure NES
Kirby's Pinball Land Game Boy
Alcahest Super Famicom
1994 Adventures of Lolo Game Boy
EarthBound Super NES
Kirby's Dream Course
1995 Kirby's Dream Land 2 Game Boy
SimCity 2000 Super NES
1996 Kirby Super Star
1997 Kirby's Star Stacker Game Boy, Super Famicom
Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1 Super Famicom, Nintendo 64DD
Kirby's Dream Land 3 Super NES
1999 Super Smash Bros. Nintendo 64
Pokémon Snap
2000 SimCity 64 Nintendo 64DD
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Nintendo 64
2001 Super Smash Bros. Melee GameCube
2002 Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land Game Boy Advance
2003 Kirby Air Ride GameCube
2004 Kirby & the Amazing Mirror Game Boy Advance
2005 Kirby Canvas Curse Nintendo DS
2006 Pokémon Ranger
Mother 3 Game Boy Advance
Common Sense Training Nintendo DS
Kirby: Squeak Squad
2008 TV no Tomo Channel Wii
Kirby Super Star Ultra Nintendo DS
2009 Picross 3D
2011 Face Raiders Nintendo 3DS
Kirby Mass Attack Nintendo DS
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Wii
2012 Kirby's Dream Collection
2014 Kirby: Triple Deluxe Nintendo 3DS
Kirby Fighters Deluxe
Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe
2015 BoxBoy!
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse Wii U
Picross 3D: Round 2 Nintendo 3DS
2016 BoxBoxBoy!
Kirby: Planet Robobot
2017 Bye-Bye BoxBoy!
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe
Kirby's Blowout Blast
Part Time UFO iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch
Kirby Battle Royale Nintendo 3DS
2018 Kirby Star Allies Nintendo Switch
2019 BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!
Super Kirby Clash
Housuu de Shoubu! Kame Sanpo iOS, Android
2020 Kirby Fighters 2 Nintendo Switch
2022 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby's Dream Buffet
2023 Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Games only published by HAL Laboratory

  • Kabuki: Quantum Fighter (1990)
  • Day Dreamin' Davey (1992)
  • NCAA Basketball (1992)

Cancelled Games

  • EarthBound 64
  • Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2
  • Kirby for Nintendo GameCube
  • Battland
  • Luna Blaze

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

Computer animation

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: HAL Laboratory para niños

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