Kemco (abbreviated from Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) is a Japanese

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

established in 1984. It is headquartered in

Kure, Hiroshima is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...

. One of its best known franchises is the ''Top Gear'' series, developed by

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

-based English developers

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

History

1980s

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. (itself established in 1979). The Kemco name represents the initial letters of Kotobuki Engineering Manufacturing Co. Kemco started by developing video games for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

. Although technically called Kotobuki System until 2004, the company was already using the brand Kemco on its first game '' Dough Boy'' in 1985. In the late 1980s until the early 1990s, Kemco's video games were distributed in North America by Seika Corporation of

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

under the joint label of Kemco * Seika.

1990s

In the 1990s, Kemco developed, ported and published video games for an array of platforms including the

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

and

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

. During this decade, the company had its first North American subsidiary, Kemco America, which operated from October 2, 1991 to January 24, 2000.

2000s

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 spinoff.

2010s

In the 2010s and 2020s, Kemco is primarily known for its mobile games. Kemco USA closed in 2007, but products continue to be released in North America through Kemco of Japan.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.kemco-games.com Video game companies established in 1984 Japanese companies established in 1984 Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Video game publishers