HAL owes its name to IBM

by **robometal cowboy** » 28 Nov 2012 23:22

HAL owes its name to IBM
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Talk about a unique little detail. This comes from a recent Iwata Asks...

Iwata: Ubisoft was named after Ubiquity because you wanted to be everywhere in the world and HAL was named as such because each letter put us one step ahead of IBM! (Laughs)

Now that's pretty damn funny. I wonder if IBM knows the story behind HAL. I mean, they work with Nintendo quite often!

Link

by **CrispyGoomba** » 28 Nov 2012 23:25

Guilty. This was pretty funny =D

by **Dcapo1989** » 28 Nov 2012 23:30

Well, this is sort of true, but not all the facts are here. What they neglect to say is that in 1968 Stanley Kubrick released 2001: A Space Odyssey. The super computer in that movie is Named HAL for the very same reasons Iwata claims. I'm guessing HAL Laboratory is named after HAL in 2001, rather than IBM.

Website · by **Serpent_Seed** » 28 Nov 2012 23:38

I read a cracked article that shows the HD version of 2001 showed many IBM references. Like actually the logo and letters.

by **joedick** » 29 Nov 2012 00:41

Dcapo1989 wrote:Well, this is sort of true, but not all the facts are here. What they neglect to say is that in 1968 Stanley Kubrick released 2001: A Space Odyssey. The super computer in that movie is Named HAL for the very same reasons Iwata claims. I'm guessing HAL Laboratory is named after HAL in 2001, rather than IBM.

Yes, I'm sure you know the facts better than the man who used to be president of the company. :p

by **Bobbuffalo** » 29 Nov 2012 01:29

Seems that Iwata thinks that nobody saw 2001:space odyssey. LOL.

try harder, iwata

by **Bobbuffalo** » 29 Nov 2012 01:31

joedick wrote:
Dcapo1989 wrote:Well, this is sort of true, but not all the facts are here. What they neglect to say is that in 1968 Stanley Kubrick released 2001: A Space Odyssey. The super computer in that movie is Named HAL for the very same reasons Iwata claims. I'm guessing HAL Laboratory is named after HAL in 2001, rather than IBM.

Yes, I'm sure you know the facts better than the man who used to be president of the company. :p

so what if was the president? that doesnt mean he wont lie or give misguided information. No one buys that but nintendo fanboys and otakus.

by **FrenchFryGuy** » 29 Nov 2012 01:42

Bobbuffalo wrote:
joedick wrote:
Dcapo1989 wrote:Well, this is sort of true, but not all the facts are here. What they neglect to say is that in 1968 Stanley Kubrick released 2001: A Space Odyssey. The super computer in that movie is Named HAL for the very same reasons Iwata claims. I'm guessing HAL Laboratory is named after HAL in 2001, rather than IBM.

Yes, I'm sure you know the facts better than the man who used to be president of the company. :p

so what if was the president? that doesnt mean he wont lie or give misguided information. No one buys that but nintendo fanboys and otakus.

Doesn't mean that he IS lying either. Hurry along and put your tinfoil hat back on. They might be listening.

by **KK Wander** » 29 Nov 2012 01:57

joedick wrote:
Dcapo1989 wrote:Well, this is sort of true, but not all the facts are here. What they neglect to say is that in 1968 Stanley Kubrick released 2001: A Space Odyssey. The super computer in that movie is Named HAL for the very same reasons Iwata claims. I'm guessing HAL Laboratory is named after HAL in 2001, rather than IBM.

Yes, I'm sure you know the facts better than the man who used to be president of the company. :p

While it may not be directly referring to 2001 as well, it is certainly possible as people started noticing this a long time ago (the fact HAL is one letter each above IBM). Contrary to popular belief though, it was all a coincidence as far as 2001 goes. If I remember correctly, HAL is an acronym for something but was not in reference to IBM, which existed at the time 2001 was written, but was nowhere near the household name they would become.

by **internet** » 29 Nov 2012 02:06

i thought he said that in a previous interview , the one with sakurai maybe . I did know about the hal and ibm connection , maybe it was only for the movie. Funny either way

by **Super Missile** » 29 Nov 2012 03:02

Yeah, there's no way a group of middle aged Japanese computer programmers ever saw the most influential science fiction film of their generation and named their company to honor it. Just happenstance.
And Donkey Kong was in no way influenced by King Kong. And Metroid wasn't influenced by Alien. It's all coincidence.

by **stoopeed** » 29 Nov 2012 05:19

It is a well known anecdote that 2001's HAL was an allusion to IBM. So Iwata's HAL merely reverse engineered the joke. But maybe they didn't know.

by **baba944** » 29 Nov 2012 06:31

You guys are missing a huge point. H comes before I A comes before B and L comes before M. So he's put one step back.

by **wrciii** » 29 Nov 2012 09:29

HAL, the computer in 2001:A Space Odyssey was indeed named HAL as H=I, A=B and L=M. This is a true fact. HAL Laboratories was named after the HAL computer from 2001. Yes, Nintendo is aware of the association.

by **Mike_Intellivision** » 29 Nov 2012 10:01

Maybe the inference did not transfer over very well from the movie.
Maybe people had the same idea independently.

And maybe people without direct knowledge should not accuse others of telling untruths.

Mike from Morgantown

by **MrChewtoy** » 29 Nov 2012 10:36

@baba944
A comes before (ie ahead) of B in the alphabet, so the letters HAL would be ahead of IBM.

You're getting "ahead of" and "behind" confused. Letters don't come behind each other, but they can come before and after.

by **Super Missile** » 29 Nov 2012 13:26

I guess it's reasonable to expect that there's probably a good many of you that haven't seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. (This is definitely where HAL Labs got it's name, by the way. The IBM connection has been talked about in association with HAL since the late sixties. It's neither new or surprising. But if it is to you, that's awesome!)
I'd kill to see that movie again for the first time. It's a work of art. 2001 is still the greatest science fiction film ever made, even after all this time. John Lennon (The Beatles) said that the movie should be put in a temple and shown continuously. So if you haven't seen it, try to see it in a movie theater, a great big movie theater. If that's not a possibility, buy the DVD and watch it on the biggest TV you can find with the best sound system. And don't forget the wine.