

In August 2001, HAL Laboratory and Nintendo established Warpstar, Inc. ( HAI), a North American subsidiary of the company led by Yash Terakura and based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. Some of its early titles were also released as HAL America Inc. In many of its games during the early to mid-1990s, it used the name HALKEN, derived from their Japanese name. The design was indoctrinated by HAL Laboratory in 1998 although the reception at first was lukewarm. He went with the theme of 'an unexpected bond.one that brings the birth of something new' which would lead to the idea of a dog incubating eggs in a nest. This was handled by Shigesato Itoi who went through many different ideas.

The logo 'Inutamago' was commissioned in 1998 by then HAL Laboratory president, Satoru Iwata.

Iwata later became president of Nintendo. After financial strain brought on from the development of Metal Slader Glory (1991) for the Famicom, Nintendo offered to rescue HAL from bankruptcy on the condition that HAL employee Satoru Iwata was appointed as its president, which he became between 19. HAL Laboratory started off making games for the MSX system and VIC-20. The logo, dubbed Inutamago, depicts a dog incubating eggs, which has been in use since 1998. The company is most famous for their work on the Kirby and Mother series, as well as the first two Super Smash Bros. The company got its name because "each letter put them one step ahead of IBM". HAL Laboratory is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and it also has a building at Kai, Yamanashi. While independent, it has been closely tied with Nintendo throughout its history, and is often referred to as a second-party developer for the company. HAL Laboratory, Inc., formerly shortened as HALKEN (derived from its native name), is a Japanese video game developer founded on 21 February 1980.
