HAL Laboratory facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
HAL Laboratory, Inc.

Logo used since December 1998, named "Inutamago" (Dog Eggs), which depicts an "unexpected bond" with a dog incubating three eggs
Native name	株式会社ハル研究所
Romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha Haru Kenkyūjo
Type	Private
Industry	Video games
Genre	Video game development Game engine development Merchandising
Founded	21 February 1980; 45 years ago (1980-02-21) in Kanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Founder	Mitsuhiro Ikeda
Headquarters	Kanda Square, 2-2-1 Kandanishiki-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo , 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	Eggerland series Kirby series Mother series Super Smash Bros. series BoxBoy series
Number of employees	215 (2023)
Subsidiaries	Warpstar, Inc. (50%; with Nintendo)

HAL Laboratory, Inc., is a Japanese company that makes video games. It was started on February 21, 1980. Even though it's an independent company, HAL Laboratory has always worked very closely with Nintendo. Because of this, it's often called a "second-party developer" for Nintendo.

HAL Laboratory's main office is in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. They also have another office in Kai, Yamanashi. The company chose its name because "each letter put them one step ahead of IBM", which was a very big computer company.

HAL Laboratory is most famous for creating the Kirby games and the Mother series. They also worked on Pokémon Snap and the first two Super Smash Bros. games.

The company's logo, called Inutamago, , shows a dog sitting on a nest of eggs. This logo has been used since 1998. It represents an "unexpected bond" that brings new things to life.

How HAL Laboratory Started

HAL Laboratory began by making games for older computer systems like the MSX and VIC-20. The company faced money problems after making a game called Metal Slader Glory in 1991.

Nintendo stepped in to help HAL Laboratory. Nintendo offered to save the company from going out of business. The only condition was that a HAL employee named Satoru Iwata had to become the president of HAL. He became president in 1993 and stayed in that role until 2000. Later, Satoru Iwata became the president of Nintendo itself!

The "Dog Eggs" Logo

The "Inutamago" (Dog Eggs) logo was created in 1998. Satoru Iwata, who was president of HAL Laboratory at the time, asked Shigesato Itoi to help design it. They wanted a logo that showed "an unexpected bond... one that brings the birth of something new." This idea led to the image of a dog hatching eggs in a nest. Mr. Akiyama from HAL Laboratory designed the actual picture. When the logo was first used in 1998, people weren't very excited about it, but it has become well-known since then.

For a while in the 1990s, HAL Laboratory used the shorter name "HALKEN" in many of its games. This name came from their Japanese name. They also had a branch in North America called HAL America Inc. (HAI) that released some early games.

Working with Nintendo

In August 2001, HAL Laboratory and Nintendo teamed up to create a new company called Warpstar, Inc. They each own half of this company. Warpstar was made to manage everything about the Kirby character, including its copyright. This was mainly for the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime TV show. Even after the anime ended, Warpstar still exists. Now, it helps manage the Kirby characters for games, toys, and other media.

For many years, HAL Laboratory's game development office in Tokyo was inside Nintendo's building. But in August 2003, HAL Laboratory moved its Tokyo development team to its main office building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. This change didn't affect their office in Yamanashi.

New Games and Projects

In 2017, HAL Laboratory announced a new plan. They would start making and releasing their own games for phones and tablets. They created a special brand for this called HAL Egg. These games would feature completely new characters and have different designs from their usual games. The first game released under HAL Egg was Part Time UFO.

HAL Laboratory also released miniature versions of old computers. They made a tiny MZ-80C computer in October 2017 and a tiny PC-8001 in October 2019.

In 2020, HAL Laboratory grew, increasing its number of employees from 169 to 195. The company also moved its main office and Tokyo development studio back into a new Nintendo building in Tokyo. Now, they share the building with other game companies like Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo PTD Tokyo, 1-Up Studio, and Game Freak. This helps them work closely together. The studio in Yamanashi was not affected by this move.

Games Made by HAL Laboratory

HAL Laboratory has developed many video games over the years. Here is a list of some of the games they have created:

Games Only Published by HAL Laboratory

HAL Laboratory also helped publish these games, meaning they helped get them ready for sale:

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

Games That Were Planned But Not Released

Sometimes, games are planned but never finished or released. Here are some games HAL Laboratory worked on that were cancelled:

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

Other Projects

HAL Laboratory also worked on computer animation for the movie Pokémon: The Movie 2000. They helped develop the computer graphics tools used in the film.

See also

In Spanish: HAL Laboratory para niños