Irem

Credits

Compiled by
RSX-978

Video captures courtesy of
Broken Saw

Background

Irem (also known as Irem Software Engineering) is a video game developing corporation founded in 1974 that published arcade games. It was acquired by Eizo in 1980 and began developing video games in 1997 when its former parent company, Irem Software Engineering, moved to making coin-operated slot machine games. It was famous for game series like the R-Type series, as well as other games including Moon Patrol and Kung Fu Master. However, the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan disrupted the company's work flow, and as a result, numerous video game projects were axed and the company moved to slot machine and coin-operated games. Some of the company staff, including producer Kazuma Kojo, left the corporation to found a new video game corporation, Granzella.

1st Logo (April 28, 1989-October 12, 2000)

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Logo: On a white or black background, we see the text "irem" in a blocky font, with the dot on the "i" colored blue.

Variants:

• There are several custom variants.
• Sometimes, "IREM CORPORATION" is below.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on any Irem game from the era.

2nd Logo (September 21, 2000)

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Logo: On a black background, we see the Irem logo off-center. Everything except the blue box blurs out and turns into a floating and spinning cube with some sparkles, which later shatters into gold cubes. The cubes fly away into a white light, which expands and clears the screen.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A dreamy theme.

Availability: Seen only on Carton-kun for PS1.

3rd Logo (May 10, 2001-February 7, 2013)

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Logo: On a white or black background, we see the text "irem", with the dot on the "i" colored blue. The "r" has a jumbly effect.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on any Irem game from the era.