HAL Laboratory

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"Hal" redirects here. For Dr. Hal Emmerich as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, see List of Smash Taunt characters § Otacon. For the computer from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, see HAL 9001.
HAL Laboratory
Logo of HAL Laboratory
Founded February 21, 1980
First Super Mario game Golf: Japan Course (1987)
Latest Super Mario game Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
Current president Shigefumi Kawase

HAL Laboratory (HAL Labs for short) is a Japanese game developer partnered with Nintendo. It was founded on February 21, 1980, by a small group of friends who shared the desire to create games; among said group was Satoru Iwata. The group developed games for numerous platforms at first before developing exclusively for Nintendo. The name "HAL" originates from the fictional computer HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey,[1] as well as each letter being one letter before "IBM."[2]

HAL Laboratory is most notable for developing the Kirby series, created by ex-employee Masahiro Sakurai; however, the company is also responsible for the Super Smash Bros. series and the EarthBound (Mother) series. HAL Laboratory has also commonly collaborated with other teams within Nintendo.

Notable employees[edit]

List of games[edit]

Trivia[edit]

The television set with the name "HAL Laboratory" on it in Super Smash Bros. Melee (click for bigger view)
  • In Super Smash Bros. Melee, if the player selects the trophy collection and zooms in close enough, the television set to the right reads "HAL Laboratory" on it.

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Casamassina, Matt (March 10, 2005). GDC 2005: Iwata Keynote Transcript. IGN. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Madden, O. (November 30, 2012). Iwata Explains Where The Name HAL Laboratory Came From. Nintendo Life. Retrieved August 6, 2018.