HAL Laboratory

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"Hal" redirects here. For Dr. Hal Emmerich as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, see Smash Taunt § Otacon. For the computer from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, see HAL 9001.
HAL Laboratory
Logo of HAL Laboratory
Founded February 21, 1980[1]
First Super Mario game Golf: Japan Course (1987)
Latest Super Mario game Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)
Current president Shigefumi Kawase

HAL Laboratory is a Japanese video game developer founded on February 21, 1980. Among the early employees was Satoru Iwata. The company 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,[2] as well as each letter being one letter before "IBM".[3]

HAL Laboratory is most notable for 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.

List of Super Mario games[edit]

Title Year released Console Notes
Golf: Japan Course 1987 Family Computer Disk System
Golf: US Course 1987 Family Computer Disk System
Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race 1987 Family Computer Disk System Co-developed with Nintendo EAD
Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally 1988 Family Computer Disk System Co-developed with Nintendo EAD
NES Open Tournament Golf 1991 Family Computer, Nintendo Entertainment System Co-developed with Nintendo R&D2
Super Smash Bros. 1999 Nintendo 64
Super Smash Bros. Melee 2001 Nintendo GameCube
Super Smash Bros. Brawl 2008 Wii Co-developed with Sora Ltd., Game Arts, Monolith Soft, Paon, and Intelligent Systems
Face Raiders 2011 Nintendo 3DS

Notable employees[edit]

Notes[edit]

The Trophy Collection screen in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
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.

References[edit]

  1. ^ November 2, 2020. Our History | COMPANY | HAL Laboratory. HAL Laboratory. Retrieved June 22, 2025. (Archived June 29, 2020 via Wayback Machine.)
  2. ^ Casamassina, Matt (March 10, 2005). GDC 2005: Iwata Keynote Transcript. IGN (English). Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Madden, Orla (November 30, 2012). Iwata Explains Where The Name HAL Laboratory Came From. Nintendo Life (English). Retrieved August 6, 2018.

External links[edit]