The “Labor Standards Bureau’s Corrective Action Recommendations” Issued to “Kirby” and “Smash Bros.

The “Kirby of the Stars” series, “Nintendo-All-Stars! HAL Laboratory, Inc., a game manufacturer known for its production of “Super Smash Bros.” and other titles, received a corrective action recommendation from the Labor Standards Inspection Office in 2022, this publication has learned. The company was found to have failed to pay overtime and late-night wages to employees who teleworked.

The game production company “HAL Laboratory Inc.” (commonly known as “HAL Laboratory”) was founded in 1980 in Akihabara, Kanda, as a PC-related development company. Satoru Iwata, who served as Nintendo’s president and representative director, was also involved in the establishment of the company.

The turning point came with the launch of the “Family Computer” in 1983, and HALKEN also focused on software development as a third party, but the company went bankrupt in ’92 due to financial difficulties. After the restructuring of the company, “Kirby: The Fountain of Dreams” became a worldwide hit, and Kirby became one of the company’s most popular characters.

(A reporter for a national newspaper) “MOTHER 2: GIG’s Counterattack” for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), “NINTENDO All-Star! Super Smash Bros.” and others, HALKEN has become a top manufacturer of hit titles for Nintendo’s successive hardware titles. The company has offices in Yamanashi and Kanda, Tokyo, and is currently involved in the development of non-game software, such as the browser built into “Nintendo Switch.

In 2010, the Labor Standards Bureau conducted an on-site inspection of HALKEN. A source at the company said, “In September 2008, the company was investigated by the Labor Standards Bureau.

A staff member A had joined the company in September 2008 and joined the game browser development team as a mid-career employee. The work was divided among the team, but he was forced to do more work than he could handle on his own, and he was even given work that had nothing to do with his original duties. Despite this, he still found it rewarding to be involved in the game, so he persevered and continued to work.

In 2009, when a state of emergency was declared, A was ordered to telework. Because of this working environment, not finishing work on time was an everyday occurrence. It is also commonplace that meetings and discussions are designated outside of regular hours. Therefore, I was working overtime to handle tasks at ……, but I noticed something unusual in my attendance application. During my home period, I could only apply for regular hours, and when I tried to enter regular hours, the application was dismissed in the middle of approval.”