Irem

From WE Computers Museum
Irem logo.png
Irem Sofware Engineering
Type Subsidiary of Eizo
Founded July 10, 1974 (as IPM Co., Ltd.)
1979 (as Irem Corporation)
April 15, 1997 (as Irem Software Engineering Inc.)
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Key people Kenzo Tsujimoto, founder and 1st president
Tetsushi Takashima, 2nd president
Masaki Ono, current president
Industry Video games
Products Video games
Number of people 259
Website http://www.irem.co.jp/

Irem Software Engineering Inc. (アイレムソフトウェアエンジニアリング株式会社) is a video game developer that is a subsidiary of Eizo.

Foundation

Irem was founded as IPM Co., Ltd (International Playing Machine) by Kenzo Tsujimoto, on July 10, 1974, after the success of Tsujimoto's first amusement machine manufacturing and installation business, which was founded in 1969.

On May 30, 1979, Tsjimoto formed another similarly named company, IRM Co., Ltd., which was intended to manufacture and sell game machines. Also in 1979, IPM Co., Ltd. was changed to Irem Corporation, after receiving a letter from IBM which stated that IPM was too easy to be confused with its company name.

Nanao takeover

1n 1980, Nanao became the majority shareholder of Irem Corporation. In 1982, after the declining sales of IPM Invader, Tsujimoto was replaced by Nanao president Tetsushi Takashima as president of Irem. In 1983, Tsujimoto left Irem to form Capcom, which merged with IRM in 1989.

In 1994, several Irem developers left the company to form Nazca Corporation.

Irem Software Engineering and Apies Corporation

On April 15, 1997, Nanao formed Irem Software Engineering Inc., which absorbed the development division of Irem. Irem Corporation, which held the hardware development division, was sold to Yubis Corporation in 1997. Irem Corporation was renamed Apies Corporation Ltd. in 1998, to avoid confusion with Irem Software Engineering. In April 1999, Yubis sold Apies to Atlus. In 2001, Atlus sold its shares in Apies for 1,000 yen, which made Apies an independent company.

In 1999, Irem's parent company Nanao Corporation merged with Eizo Corporation to become Eizo Nanao Corporation, which in turn was changed to Eizo Corporation in 2013.

Irem games owned by WEC Museum

Title Year System Notes
10-Yard Fight 1983 Arcade
NES
The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
The NES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations owned by the WEC Museum.
Air Duel 1990 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Armed Police Unit Gallop 1991 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Blade Master 1991 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Dragon Breed 1989 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Hammerin' Harry 1990 Arcade
NES
The arcade and NES versions are on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
The NES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations owned by the WEC Museum.
Holy Diver 1989 NES The NES version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Image Fight 1988 Arcade
NES
The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
The NES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations owned by the WEC Museum.
Ken-Go 1991 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Kickle Cubicle 1990 Arcade
NES
The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
The NES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations owned by the WEC Museum.
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja 1986 Arcade
NES
The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
The NES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations owned by the WEC Museum.
The Wonderful Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land 1991 Famicom The Famicom version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Legend of Hero Tonma 1989 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Major Title 1992 Arcade
SNES
The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
The SNES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations owned by the WEC Museum.
Mr. Heli 1987 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Mystic Riders 1992 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Ninja Spirit 1988 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
R-Type 1987 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
R-Type II 1989 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Rocky Rodent 1993 SNES The SNES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations and Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Super R-Type 1991 SNES The SNES version is on the Retro-Bit Generations and Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Thunder Blaster 1991 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Vigilante 1988 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
XMultiply 1989 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.
Zippy Race 1983 Arcade The arcade version is on the Super Retro Cade owned by the WEC Museum.