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HAL Laboratory, Inc.,[b] formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since established a strong relationship with Nintendo, and is often referred to as a second-party developer.[4] In 1991, a second office in Kai, Yamanashi was established.[5] The company is best known for its work on the Kirby and Mother series, and the first two Super Smash Bros. games.
Its logo, Inutamago,[c] which depicts a dog incubating eggs, is meant to represent "an unexpected bond [...] one that brings the birth of something new."
HAL Laboratory was founded on February 21, 1980, and originally developed games for home computers, such as the MSX and VIC-20.[6] There have been conflicting claims on the origin of the company's name: during a GDC 2005 keynote, HAL alumnus and then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that HAL was named after the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey,[7] while in a 2012 Iwata Asks interview, he said the company was named HAL because "each letter put [them] one step ahead of IBM."[8]
In 1984, the company began its business relationship with Nintendo. HAL assisted in the development of first-party Famicom games such as Pinball and Golf, while also creating original titles such as F1 Race.[7] In the west, some titles were published under HAL America Inc. (HAI), a North American subsidiary of the company led by Yash Terakura and based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA.[9]
In 1992, following the protracted development of Metal Slader Glory, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nintendo offered to rescue HAL on the condition that Satoru Iwata were to be appointed its president, a role he took from 1993 to 2000.[10][11]
The company's current logo, Inutamago, was created in 1998 by Shigesato Itoi. The imagery is meant to represent "an unexpected bond [...] one that brings the birth of something new". Reception was reportedly lukewarm at first.[12][13]
On July 31, 2001, HAL Laboratory and Nintendo jointly established Warpstar, Inc., a company created to oversee Kirby merchandising and outside media, such as the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime series.[5][14] In 2025, HAL sold its stake in the company to Nintendo, with it subsequently rebranding to Nintendo Stars Inc., and expanded to include merchandising of film adaptations of Nintendo's properties.[15]
In 2017, HAL Laboratory announced that the company would start developing games for mobile devices under the brand name HAL Egg, in order to clearly differentiate them from the company's usual output.[16] The first title released under the brand name was Part Time UFO.[17] The company released miniature versions of the MZ-80C and PC-8001 computers in October 2017 and October 2019, respectively.[18][19]
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