Red Ant Enterprises
Encyclopedia
Red Ant Enterprises Pty Ltd was an Australia
n owned video game, anime
, home video and PC software distributor. Red Ant is the largest such company in the country, as well as the local distributor for over 30 publishers that are based overseas, including 505 Games
and Oxygen Games
and previously European subsidiaries of Japanese companies such as Capcom Europe
and Rising Star Games
before Red Ant went into receivership. It has since been defunct as indicated by ASIC
.
Red Ant Enterprises has partnered with Rialto Distribution to start their home entertainment division which features independent and/or less-known films. In 2008, Red Ant announced they acquired the license from Gainax
to release Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
as their first move into the anime industry. Red Ant has currently owns the licenses to Evangelion 1.0 and Oh! Edo Rocket
, and has secured the rights to Perfect Blue
, which Madman Entertainment
(Australia's largest Anime sub-licensee and distributor) lost in late 2008. Red Ant Enterprises only owns the rights to the Japanese subtitle
d versions of these titles.
Red Ant Enterprises has announced that they have a new distribution deal with Konami
of Europe, whose products are currently distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Atari
Australia. The deal was to come into effect early in 2009, but since Red Ant went into administration, Konami of Europe decided to return to Atari.
. This affects all their distribution deals with Red Ant having done deals with European subsidiaries of Midway, Konami and Capcom. Konami immediately reacted with KOE President Kunio Neo breaking their deal with Red Ant Enterprises and staying with Atari
Australia Pty. Ltd. On 11 February 2009, Capcom Europe returned to their previous distributor THQ Asia Pacific
. Rising Star Games
has assured Australian retailers that Red Ant Enterprises' collapse has not affected the sale of their products in Australia. Rising Star Games had signed with AFA Interactive on August 2008 with Red Ant Enterprises distributing games submitted to the OFLC on behalf of Rising Star Games before then. All remaining Rising Star assets at Red Ant are being moved over to AFA, with Nintendo Australia
having all distribution rights to the Harvest Moon series on all Nintendo systems and use the Rising Star Games version. The ASIC
will announce new information regarding Red Ant's situation on 15 May 2009 when they have been reviewed.
This event also effects all home entertainment licenses held by Red Ant Enterprises. Red Ant Enterprises partnered with Rialto Distribution when Red Ant ventured into home entertainment. Most likely all licenses held by the company will be sold by receivers Deloitte to try to pay as much back to the creditors as possible. The 3 anime licenses, Perfect Blue
(Previously held by Madman Entertainment
under license from Manga Entertainment
), Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
and Oh! Edo Rocket
will most likely be sold to Madman Entertainment
.
On 14 April 2009, European publishers 505 Games
, Black Bean, N3V Pulblishing and System 3 went to Gold Coast
based distributor, All Interactive Distribution. Bethesda Softworks
is yet to make any comment about the announcement.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n owned video game, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, home video and PC software distributor. Red Ant is the largest such company in the country, as well as the local distributor for over 30 publishers that are based overseas, including 505 Games
505 Games
505 Games, formerly known as 505 Game Street, is an Italian video game publishing division of Italian company Digital Bros. group founded in 2006...
and Oxygen Games
Oxygen Games
Oxygen Games is a developer and publisher of video gaming entertainment for major console platforms including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 2 and Sony PlayStation Portable, as well as for the PC...
and previously European subsidiaries of Japanese companies such as Capcom Europe
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
and Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games is a video games publisher formed as a joint business venture between Scandinavian distributor Bergsala and Japanese video game publisher and content developer Intergrow....
before Red Ant went into receivership. It has since been defunct as indicated by ASIC
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is an independent Australian government body that acts as Australia's corporate regulator...
.
Red Ant Enterprises has partnered with Rialto Distribution to start their home entertainment division which features independent and/or less-known films. In 2008, Red Ant announced they acquired the license from Gainax
Gainax
is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...
to release Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
is a 2007 Japanese animated film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno. It is the first of four films released in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy based on the original anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was produced and co-distributed by Anno's Studio Khara in partnership with Gainax...
as their first move into the anime industry. Red Ant has currently owns the licenses to Evangelion 1.0 and Oh! Edo Rocket
Oh! Edo Rocket
is a stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima. It was adapted into a TV anime series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima and produced by Studio Madhouse...
, and has secured the rights to Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue
is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon and written by Kon and Sadayuki Murai based on the novel of the same name by Yoshikazu Takeuchi. Junko Iwao plays Mima Kirigoe, a member of a Japanese pop-idol group called "CHAM!", who decides to pursue her career as...
, which Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
(Australia's largest Anime sub-licensee and distributor) lost in late 2008. Red Ant Enterprises only owns the rights to the Japanese subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
d versions of these titles.
Red Ant Enterprises has announced that they have a new distribution deal with Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
of Europe, whose products are currently distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
Australia. The deal was to come into effect early in 2009, but since Red Ant went into administration, Konami of Europe decided to return to Atari.
Receivership
On 21 January 2009, Red Ant announced that the company had gone into receivershipReceivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
. This affects all their distribution deals with Red Ant having done deals with European subsidiaries of Midway, Konami and Capcom. Konami immediately reacted with KOE President Kunio Neo breaking their deal with Red Ant Enterprises and staying with Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
Australia Pty. Ltd. On 11 February 2009, Capcom Europe returned to their previous distributor THQ Asia Pacific
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
. Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games is a video games publisher formed as a joint business venture between Scandinavian distributor Bergsala and Japanese video game publisher and content developer Intergrow....
has assured Australian retailers that Red Ant Enterprises' collapse has not affected the sale of their products in Australia. Rising Star Games had signed with AFA Interactive on August 2008 with Red Ant Enterprises distributing games submitted to the OFLC on behalf of Rising Star Games before then. All remaining Rising Star assets at Red Ant are being moved over to AFA, with Nintendo Australia
Nintendo Australia
Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd. established in 1994, located in Victoria is Australia's local head office, sales, licensing and distribution centre for products and other Intellectual Properties created by Nintendo Co., Ltd of Kyoto, Japan and is owned by Nintendo Co., Ltd in Japan. Prior distribution...
having all distribution rights to the Harvest Moon series on all Nintendo systems and use the Rising Star Games version. The ASIC
Application-specific integrated circuit
An application-specific integrated circuit is an integrated circuit customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use. For example, a chip designed solely to run a cell phone is an ASIC...
will announce new information regarding Red Ant's situation on 15 May 2009 when they have been reviewed.
This event also effects all home entertainment licenses held by Red Ant Enterprises. Red Ant Enterprises partnered with Rialto Distribution when Red Ant ventured into home entertainment. Most likely all licenses held by the company will be sold by receivers Deloitte to try to pay as much back to the creditors as possible. The 3 anime licenses, Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue
is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon and written by Kon and Sadayuki Murai based on the novel of the same name by Yoshikazu Takeuchi. Junko Iwao plays Mima Kirigoe, a member of a Japanese pop-idol group called "CHAM!", who decides to pursue her career as...
(Previously held by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
under license from Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
), Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
is a 2007 Japanese animated film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno. It is the first of four films released in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy based on the original anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was produced and co-distributed by Anno's Studio Khara in partnership with Gainax...
and Oh! Edo Rocket
Oh! Edo Rocket
is a stage play written for the Gekidan Shinkansen theater troupe by Kazuki Nakashima. It was adapted into a TV anime series in April 2007, directed by Seiji Mizushima and produced by Studio Madhouse...
will most likely be sold to Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
.
On 14 April 2009, European publishers 505 Games
505 Games
505 Games, formerly known as 505 Game Street, is an Italian video game publishing division of Italian company Digital Bros. group founded in 2006...
, Black Bean, N3V Pulblishing and System 3 went to Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
based distributor, All Interactive Distribution. Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
is yet to make any comment about the announcement.