Arcade archive purveyors Hamster Corp. has acquired the rights to publisher Irem’s catalog of classic arcade titles. The line begins in 2017 with Arcade Archives Zippy Race, a port of the top-down racer known in the US as MotoRace USA. Other confirmed titles on the way include R-Type and Front Line. Each title will run for 823 yen, around $7.99 USD.
Irem has had an interesting recent history as a game maker. In 2011, the company got out of video games in favor of returning to pachinko slot machines. As a result, all of their digital game releases vanished from store fronts, including countless classics from the Wii Shopping Channel. Their catalog has slowly been returning for sale across console and mobile, making Hamster’s acquisition the latest way to replay their titles. Many past Irem designers have long left to continue making games at the studio Granzella.
Hamster has been a constant on Nintendo Switch since March, releasing a variety of Neo Geo classics and, most recently, beginning to roll-out Nintendo’s lost arcade titles, with 1983’s Mario Bros. the first one out.
