HAL Laboratory
- "Hal" redirects here. For Dr. Hal Emmerich as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, seeSmash Taunt § Otacon. For the computer fromThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, seeHAL 9001.
| HAL Laboratory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | February 21, 1980[1] |
| FirstSuper Mario game | Golf: Japan Course (1987) |
| LatestSuper Mario game | Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) |
| Current president | Shigefumi Kawase |
HAL Laboratory (HAL Labs for short) is a Japanese game developer partnered withNintendo. It was founded on February 21, 1980, by a small group of friends who shared the desire to create games; among said group wasSatoru Iwata. The group developed games for numerous platforms at first before developing exclusively for Nintendo. The name "HAL" originates from the fictional computerHAL 9000 from2001: A Space Odyssey,[2] as well as each letter being one letter before "IBM."[3]
HAL Laboratory is most notable for developing theKirby series, created by ex-employeeMasahiro Sakurai; however, the company is also responsible for theSuper Smash Bros. series and theEarthBound (Mother) series. HAL Laboratory has also commonly collaborated with other teams within Nintendo.
Notable employees[edit]
- Satoru Iwata (moved toNintendo EAD; President of Nintendo from 2002 to 2015)
- Masahiro Sakurai (left and formedSora Ltd.)
List of games[edit]
- Golf: Japan Course
- Golf: US Course
- Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race (withNintendo EAD)
- Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally (with Nintendo EAD)
- NES Open Tournament Golf (withNintendo R&D2)
- Super Smash Bros.
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (with others; contributions include music arrangements)
- Face Raiders
Notes[edit]
- InSuper Smash Bros. Melee, if the player selects thetrophy collection and zooms in close enough, the television set to the right reads "HAL Laboratory" on it.
References[edit]
- ^November 2, 2020.Our History | COMPANY | HAL Laboratory.HAL Laboratory. Retrieved June 22, 2025. (Archived June 29, 2020 via Wayback Machine.)
- ^Casamassina, Matt (March 10, 2005).GDC 2005: Iwata Keynote Transcript.IGN (English). Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^Madden, Orla (November 30, 2012).Iwata Explains Where The Name HAL Laboratory Came From.Nintendo Life (English). Retrieved August 6, 2018.
External links[edit]
 | Wikipedia has an article onHAL Laboratory. |
