HAL Laboratory

"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
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, as well as each letter being one letter before "IBM."

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

• Satoru Iwata (moved to Nintendo EAD; President of Nintendo from 2002 to 2015)
• Masahiro Sakurai (left and formed Sora Ltd.)

List of games

• Golf: Japan Course
• Golf: U.S. Course
• Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race (with Nintendo EAD)
• Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally (with Nintendo EAD)
• NES Open Tournament Golf (with Nintendo R&D2)
• Super Smash Bros.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Face Raiders

Trivia

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

• Official website