Super Smash Bros. (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ, Dairantō Sumasshu Burazāzu, Great Melee Smash Brothers) is a series of fighting games published by Nintendo, featuring characters from established video games. The gameplay differs from traditional fighters for focusing on knocking opponents out of the stage instead of depleting life bars. The original Super Smash Bros., released in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, had a small budget and was originally a Japan-only release, but its success led to a worldwide release. The series achieved even greater success with Super Smash Bros. Melee, released in 2001 for the Nintendo GameCube, becoming the best selling game on that system. The third installment, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, was released on Wii on January 31, 2008 in Japan, March 9, 2008 in North America, and will be released in Europe on June 27, 2008. Although HAL Laboratory has been the developer of the first two titles, the third game was developed by a cooperation of different developers.