Red Ant distributing Capcom games in AU, NZ

Australia is one of the smaller gaming markets globally, and as a result, it's not uncommon for delays of up to a year to occur for major games to make it to Aussie shores. It's also not unusual for publishers to outsource Australian distribution to third-party companies in regions where they lack a local office. In 2006, GameSpot reported that Activision had picked up the Capcom account for Australia and New Zealand, which made the company the exclusive distributor for all Capcom games in the region. Some of the games to fall under this agreement included Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Devil May Cry 4, and Okami.

GameSpot AU has confirmed that this deal is no longer in place, and as a result, Activision will no longer distribute Capcom games down under. Sydney-based distributor Red Ant has instead been granted exclusive rights to sell all Capcom games in Australia and New Zealand. Red Ant managing director Julian White confirmed that the transition had already been completed. "We finalised all the details a couple of weeks ago. It starts in June with Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition on Xbox 360 and PC, as well as Okami and We Love Golf on Nintendo Wii," White said. To date, Red Ant's business has largely revolved around distributing games from smaller publishers such as System 3, Blackbean, and Popcorn Arcade, as well as selling midrange and budget software games.

A spokesperson for Activision Australia responded to our enquiries by saying that "We have not extended our distribution agreement with Capcom in AN&Z, effective 23/4/08."

It remains unknown how long Red Ant will retain rights to distribute Capcom games in Australia and New Zealand, and when asked about the duration of the agreement, White enthusiastically responded by saying "Hopefully forever!" Capcom was unavailable for comment at press time.