Irem (company)

Irem Software Engineering, Inc.
legal form	Incorporated
founding	1974 (as IPM) 1979 (name changed to Irem Corp.) 1997 (merger with Irem Software Engineering)
Seat	Chiyoda , Japan
Branch	Software development
Website	www.irem.co.jp

Former logo

The Japanese company Irem ( Japanese ア イ レ ム Airemu ) (founded in 1969 by Kenzo Tsujimoto as IPM, registered as IPM Ltd. in 1974) is a game software company and is mainly known for the R-Type space shooter .

history

Irem developed the first horizontal beat 'em up , Kung-Fu Master , mainly developing arcade games in the early 1980s and later licensing it to other companies.

The company was renamed several times and is now called Irem Software Engineering Inc. (full subsidiary of Eizo Nanao Corporation ) based in Chiyoda and has 100 employees. IREM was initially the abbreviation for International Rental Electronics Machines , the meaning was changed in 1979 to Innovations in Recreational Electronic Media .

Until 2011 Irem produced games for the Playstation 2 , PlayStation 3 and other consoles. After the earthquake in Fukushima, the focus was on pachinko machines.

The original company operates today in Wakō under Apies Inc. (ア ピ エ ス) and has specialized in coin-operated machines such as fortune-telling machines ( Omikuji ). In the meantime it was owned by Atlus .

Arcade games

1978-1979

1978

• Mah-Jongg / Block Mahjong (1978)
• Nyankoro (1978)
• Piccolo (1978)
• Power Block (1978)

1979

(Note: Irem hardware systems M-10 / M-11 / M-15 are almost identical)

• Commander (1979)
• Mahjong DX (1979)
• New Block X / New Block Z (1979)
• Space Command (1979)
• Andromeda (Andromeda 55) (1979) M-11 hardware
• IPM Invader (1979) M-10
• Space Beam (1979) M-15
• Head On (1979) M-15

1980-1989

1980

• Green Beret (1980) M-15?
• Itazura Angel (1980)
• Panther (1980), in Germany by adp (1986)
• Sky Chuter (1980) M-11?
• UniWar S / Ginga Teikoku no Gyakushū / Capsule Invaders (1980) Galaxian hardware

1981

• Demoneye-X (1981) M-27 (4 PCB's) / + M-42-S
• Oli-Boo-Chu (Irem + GDI) (1981) / Punching Kid (1982) M-47
• Red Alert (Irem + GDI) (1981) M-27
• WW III (1981) M-27

1982

• Moon Patrol (licensed to Williams) (1982) M-52
• Punching Kid (variant of Oli-Boo-Chu)
• Wonder Hole (1982)

1983

• 10-Yard Fight (1983) M-52
• Traverse USA / Zippy Race / MotoRace USA (licensed to Williams) (1983) M-52
• Tropical Angel (1983) M-52

1984

• The Battle Road (1984) M-62
• Kung-Fu Master (licensed to Data East ), Spartan X in Japan (1984) M-62
• Lode Runner (licensed from Brøderbund) (1984) M-62
• Load Runner II - The Bungeling Strikes Back (licensed from Brøderbund) (1984) M-62
• Wily Tower (1984) M-63

1985

• Atomic Boy (licensed to Memetron) (1985) (variant of Wily Tower) M-63
• Battle Bird (1985) M-64 (limited edition) shooter with 3D monitor
• Horizon (1985) M-62
• Kung Fu ( Playchoice-10 ) (licensed to Nintendo ) (1985) Playchoice
• Lode Runner III - The Golden Labyrinth (licensed from Brøderbund ) (1985) M-62
• Lot Lot (1985) M-62
• Spelunker (licensed from Brøderbund) (1985) M-62

1986

• Kickle Cubicle (1986), variant by Meikyuu Jima
• Kid Niki - Radical Ninja / Kaiketsu Yanchamaru (1986) M-62
• Lode Runner IV - Teikoku Kara no Dasshutsu (1986) M-62
• Spelunker II (licensed from Brøderbund) (1986) M-62
• Youjyuden (1986) M-62
• Panther (1986), in Germany by adp (1986)

1987

• Battle Chopper / Mr. HELI no Dai-Bouken (1987) M-72
• R-Type (licensed to Nintendo of America) (1987) M-72

1988

• Alpha One (developed by Vision Electronics) (1988), M-52
• Image Fight (1988) M-72
• Meikyuujima / Kickle Cubicle / Adventure Island (developed by Nanao) (1988) M-77
• Ninja Spirit / Saigo no Nindou (1988) M-72
• Vigilante (licensed to Data East) (1988) M-75
• Tsukikage (Legend of the White Wolf) (1988) unknown hardware

1989

• Dragon Breed (1989) M-81/82
• Legend of Hero Tonma (1989) M-72
• R-Type II (1989) M-82/84 (Japanese)
• X-Multiply (1989) M-81/72 (?)
• Holy Diver (1989) M-78? (only Japanese) NES game, presumably. no arcade

1990-1995

1990

• Air Duel (1990) M-72
• Hammerin 'Harry / Daiku no Gensan (1990) M-82/72 different versions
• Major Title (1990) M-84
• Pound for Pound (1990) (Irem US) M-85

1991

• Blade Master (1991) M-92?
• Cosmic Cop / Gallop - Armed Police Unit (1991) M-84/73?
• Dynablaster / Bomber Man / Atomic Punk (licensed from Hudson Soft) (1991)
• Gunforce - Battle Fire Engulfed Terror Island (1991) M-92 A
• Hasamu (1991) M-90
• Ken-Go (1991) M-72?
• Lethal Thunder / Thunder Blaster (1991) M-92

1992

• Bomber Man World / New Dyna Blaster - Global Quest / New Atomic Punk - Global Quest (1992)
• Hook (1992) M-99 A
• Major Title 2 - Tournament Leader / The Irem Skins Game (1992) M-92 F
• Mystic Riders / Gun Hohki (1992) M-92
• Quiz F-1 1,2finish (1992) M-97
• R-Type Leo (1992) M-92
• Undercover Cops (1992) M-92

1993

• Fire Barrel (1993) M-107
• In The Hunt / Kaitei Daisensou (1993) M-92 E (also PC , Sony PlayStation , Sega Saturn )
• Ninja Baseball Batman / Yakyuu Kakutou League-Man (1993) M-92
• Risky Challenge (1993) M-97
• Perfect Soldiers / Superior Soldiers (US) (1993) M-92 G
• Hill Climber (1993) unknown Hardware

1994

• Dream Soccer '94 (licensed to Data East) (1994) M92 G (Irem), M-107 Data East
• Gunforce 2 / Geostorm (1994) M-92 G

1995 Angel Whisper (1995) fortune teller machine

Console games

Playstation

• Irem Arcade Classics (IAC 1996, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn ), includes:
  • Kung Fu Master
  • 10 yard fight
  • Zippy Race
• Gussun Paradiese (1996, Sony PlayStation)
• R-Type Delta (1999, Sony PlayStation)
• Carton-kun (2000, Sony PlayStation)

PlayStation 2

• Sub Rebellion (2002)
• Disaster Report (2002)
• R-Type Final (2004)
• Sanyo Pachinko Paradise 9-12 (2003-2005)
• Sakurasaka Shouboutai (2004)
• Steambot Chronicles (2005)
• Blocks Club with Bumpy Trot (2005)
• Zettaizetsumei Toshi 2: Itetsuita Kiokutachi (2006), Raw Danger series

Playstation 3

• Minna de Spelunker (2009)

PlayStation Portable

• Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3: Kowareyuku Machi no Kanojo no Uta (2009)

Xbox 360 games

• R-Type Dimensions (2008)

Other platforms

Some games were also released for Playchoice 10 or NES versions. Many games have been ported to home computers .

• Kineko (1986,1987)
• Holy Diver for NES (1989)
• Kickle Cubicle (Irem US) for NES (1990)
• Battle Storm for NES only (1991)
• Super R-Type for SNES (1991)
• Photoboy for PC Engine (1992)
• Skins Game for ( Super Nintendo Entertainment System ) (1992)
• R-Type III - The 3rd Lightning for SNES (1994)

Prototypes (arcade)

• Super Kung Fu Master (1985)
• Battle Bird (1985) M-64 (limited edition)
• Kozoutai Gatcyo (1987)
• Huddle Up (1988)

Web links

• Official website (Japanese / English)
• Irem at MobyGames (English)
• System-16-entry of the arcade systems (Engl.)
• unMAMEd prototypes and a. Games not yet emulated

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chrontendo-23-Video on archive.org, video position 50 minutes
2. ↑ System 16
3. ↑ occz.zaq  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ arcadeflyers.net