Irem
| |
| 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 | |
| Air Duel | 1990 | Arcade | |
| Armed Police Unit Gallop | 1991 | Arcade | |
| Battle Chopper | 1987 | Arcade | |
| Blade Master | 1991 | Arcade | |
| Dragon Breed | 1989 | Arcade | |
| Hammerin' Harry | 1990 | Arcade | |
| Holy Diver | 1989 | Famicom | |
| Image Fight | 1988 | Arcade | |
| In the Hunt | 1983 | Arcade | |
| Ken-Go | 1991 | Arcade | |
| Kickle Cubicle | 1990 | Arcade | |
| Kid Niki: Radical Ninja | 1986 | Arcade | |
| Legend of Hero Tonma | 1989 | Arcade | |
| Lightning Swords | 1991 | Arcade | |
| Major Title | 1992 | Arcade | |
| Moon Patrol | 1982 | Arcade | |
| Mr. Goemon | 1982 | Arcade | |
| Mr. Heli's Great Adventure | 1987 | Arcade | |
| Mystic Riders | 1992 | Arcade | |
| Ninja Spirit | 1988 | Arcade | |
| R-Type | 1987 | Arcade | |
| R-Type II | 1989 | Arcade | |
| Rocky Rodent | 1993 | SNES | |
| Super R-Type | 1991 | SNES | |
| Thunder Blaster | 1991 | Arcade | |
| Vigilante | 1988 | Arcade | |
| The Wonderful Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land | 1991 | Famicom | |
| XMultiply | 1989 | Arcade | |
| Zippy Race | 1983 | Arcade |
