Irem removing games from the PlayStation Store

Irem, publisher of the R-Type games, is mysteriously removing games from the PlayStation Store. On August 11th, a number of games, including R-Type Command for PSP and the PSone classic R-Types, will be removed from PSN. In addition, Andriasang reports that "all demos, download content, videos and custom themes relating to those games" will also be removed.

It's unclear at the moment how Irem's departure from the PlayStation Store will impact American gamers. While the Japanese store is losing a sizable amount of content, many of Irem's games were published in America by Atlus--will Irem manage to pull this content off the US PlayStation Store? Here are the games that are at risk of being lost:

• Hammerin' Hero (PSP)
• R-Type Command (PSP)
• R-Types (PSone)
• R-Type Delta (PSone)
• Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament (PSP)

In addition, Irems' very-Japanese presence in PlayStation Home is also threatened, with many of its lounges closing on September 1st. We logged on to Home and checked out the Irem space--it's very lively, with many users seemingly unaware of the trouble the publisher is experiencing. The mysterious removal of its games from the PlayStation Network, coupled with some recent high-profile game cancellations, and many are beginning to wonder if Irem will be around for much longer.