 Logo since 1999 | |
| Company type | Brand of Kotobuki Solution Co., Ltd |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | Kotobuki System Co., Ltd. |
| Founded | 1984; 40 years ago (1984) |
| Headquarters | Kure, Hiroshima, Japan |
| Number of employees | 140 (2019) |
| Website | kemco-games |
Kemco Co., Ltd. (株式会社ケムコ, Kabushiki gaisha Kemuko), from Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd., is a Japanese video game developer and publisher established in 1984. It is headquartered in Kure, Hiroshima.
Its best known franchises are the Kid Klown and Top Gear series, developed by Sheffield-based English developers Gremlin Graphics.
History
Kemco was founded in 1984 as Kotobuki System Co., Ltd. to be the video game subsidiary of the multifaceted corporation Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (established in 1979). The name represents the initial letters of Kotobuki Engineering Manufacturing Co.
Kemco started by developing video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Although technically called Kotobuki System until 2004, the company was already using the brand Kemco on its first game Dough Boy in 1985.
From the late 1980s until the early 1990s, Kemco's video games were distributed in North America by Seika Corporation of Torrance, California, under the joint label of Kemco * Seika.
In the 1990s, Kemco developed, ported, and published video games for several platforms including the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy. The company's first North American subsidiary, Kemco America, operated from October 2, 1991, to January 24, 2000.
In 2001, Kemco USA was founded as a wholly owned subsidiary of Kemco of Japan, especially targeting the American market.
In 2004, Kotobuki's system development division split to become the company Kotobuki Solution Co., Ltd., keeping the Kemco video game brand in the spin-off.
Since the 2010s, Kemco has been primarily known for its mobile games. Kemco USA closed in 2007, but products continue to be released in North America through Kemco of Japan.
See also
References
- "会社概要 | 株式会社コトブキソリューション". www.ksol.jp. Retrieved Jun 30, 2020.
- "About - KEMCO". www.kemco-games.com.
- ^ "「鉄人28号」が軽快アクションゲームになった！！". www.ksol.jp.
- "Electronic Entertainment Expo 2003 Exhibitor Profiles" (Press release).
- ^ "ケムコって、ファミコン時代のメーカーでしょ？ ざんねん!! ケムコの ぼうけんは モバイルアプリしじょうで つづいていた!!". 30 January 2017.
- "COMPANY HISTORY: COMPANY INFORMATION: KOTOBUKI ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING Co., Ltd". www.kemco.co.jp.
- ^ "Kemco Games". 12 August 2003. Archived from the original on 12 August 2003.
- "Dough Boy Box Shot for NES - GameFAQs". www.gamefaqs.com.
- "Uninvited" (PDF). thevgatv.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-09.
- "Kemco Games - IGN". 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015.
- "Washington Company List". Washington Companies Directory.
- Sheffield, Brandon (29 June 2010). "Interview: Valcon's Gordon On Why Game Boxes Matter, And 'Odd' Japanese Titles".
- "Washington Company List". Washington Companies Directory. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18.
- "Contact us - KEMCO". www.kemco-games.com.