It is a very sudden announcement; I am quitting Hal Laboratory, the game

development company at which I have worked up until now.

As I write this column, I have not decided what I will do next. I was not

hired away by some other company. In any case, it was my own will to leave

the company.

Naturally, people will always ask for the reason. Simply said, half of the

reason is that under the current structure, I feel is it impossible to

continue to make games. The other half is the attraction of being able to

work freely with other creators by leaving the company.

Once my resignation letter was accepted, I notified everyone at HAL

Laboratory. Afterwards I met Nintendo’s president Iwata-san and talked with

him. Iwata-san is also my previous superior. He felt regretful about my

departure, but he understood my decision, and fully supports it.

As of present, I have no intention of joining any company or organization as

an employee and developer. For the meantime, I will take light jobs as a

freelancer, and try to be flexible. First, there is some doubt of making

games and receiving a set salary in any company that has a destiny of always

striving to increase revenues. I also think that by participating on

different projects, it can influence the way creators think about games.

However, game development is about working closely with staff members,

sharing know-how and gaining trust. I do not believe success will come from

constantly moving from one place to another place. Therefore, ultimately I

might find a place where I belong.

With the weakened economy, the harshness of the game industry is only

escalating. I also think energy is lost since some creators are having

difficulty making a living. I wish I can be of some help to those creators

who are energetic, yet not doing so well. I hope to become some strength to

those people who are fighting in the game industry. While receiving this

strength, I hope they will understand it is important to develop games for

the users and not for companies and developers.

I have already been approached by various interesting projects. With that

said, I only have one body, so I probably cannot take jobs as I would like, but

it does not look like I will stop making games.

Please do not worry about the Kirby series, as HAL Laboratory will still be

developing the games. Regarding Smash Brothers, honestly, I do not know!

Sorry!

Although the rode ahead is pitch dark, the feeling now of standing at the

starting line is very exciting. The unknown path is a very wonderful thing.

It will require a lot of training, and many challenges await me.

However, I am looking forward to it!

Ahh… the column is still going to continue. Please look forward to it!