red ant
News
3:00PM David Wildgoose | According to the new Atari Australia release schedule, Fallout 3 is getting a re-release in Australia on May 21. . More »
Atari Brings Fallout 3 Back In Australia
3:00PM David Wildgoose | According to the new Atari Australia release schedule, Fallout 3 is getting a re-release in Australia on May 21. . More » 
News
2:00PM David Wildgoose | It’s not often one gets invited to a rival media outlet’s party. But that’s what happened on Thursday night when I found myself at the IGN AU Select Awards, rubbing shoulders with these three idiots gentlemen.
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Kotaku Sneaks Into IGN AU Awards Bash
2:00PM David Wildgoose | It’s not often one gets invited to a rival media outlet’s party. But that’s what happened on Thursday night when I found myself at the IGN AU Select Awards, rubbing shoulders with these three idiots gentlemen.
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News
2:00PM David Wildgoose | After word hit of Red Ant’s financial woes, Capcom were quick to reassure us there’d be no issues with the release of their upcoming games. That assurance is now official: Capcom has signed on with THQ to distribute their games in Australia and New Zealand.
You Can Stop Fretting, Capcom Has An Australian Distributor
2:00PM David Wildgoose | After word hit of Red Ant’s financial woes, Capcom were quick to reassure us there’d be no issues with the release of their upcoming games. That assurance is now official: Capcom has signed on with THQ to distribute their games in Australia and New Zealand.
News
5:29PM David Wildgoose | Sad news, zombie fans. According to retail sources across the Tasman, it seems Capcom will not be bringing this awesome Resident Evil 5 Collector’s Edition to Australia or New Zealand. Nor will we be getting any kind of lesser limited edition by way of compensation.
No Resident Evil 5 Limited Editions For You!
5:29PM David Wildgoose | Sad news, zombie fans. According to retail sources across the Tasman, it seems Capcom will not be bringing this awesome Resident Evil 5 Collector’s Edition to Australia or New Zealand. Nor will we be getting any kind of lesser limited edition by way of compensation.
News
9:00AM David Wildgoose | Capcom fans can breathe easy again. With local distributor Red Ant going into administration this week, the future looked uncertain. But Capcom’s European office has been quick to reassure us that the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5 and other titles will not be affected. No delays or anything. Now, that’s good news.
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Capcom Says “No Street Fighter IV Delay In Australia”
9:00AM David Wildgoose | Capcom fans can breathe easy again. With local distributor Red Ant going into administration this week, the future looked uncertain. But Capcom’s European office has been quick to reassure us that the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5 and other titles will not be affected. No delays or anything. Now, that’s good news.
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News
5:06PM David Wildgoose | Looks like the rumour we heard earlier today is now sadly confirmed. According to a listing on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission website, Red Ant Enterprises is now officially in the hands of receivers. ASIC lists Red Ant’s status as “UNDER EXTERNAL ADMINISTRATION and/or CONTROLLER APPOINTED”, which doesn’t sound too good at all. Quite what all this means for Capcom, Konami, Bethesda and Midway, whose titles are distributed through Red Ant, we really don’t know at this stage. We are still chasing Red Ant for comment.
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Not A Rumour: Capcom’s Australian Distributor KO’d
5:06PM David Wildgoose | Looks like the rumour we heard earlier today is now sadly confirmed. According to a listing on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission website, Red Ant Enterprises is now officially in the hands of receivers. ASIC lists Red Ant’s status as “UNDER EXTERNAL ADMINISTRATION and/or CONTROLLER APPOINTED”, which doesn’t sound too good at all. Quite what all this means for Capcom, Konami, Bethesda and Midway, whose titles are distributed through Red Ant, we really don’t know at this stage. We are still chasing Red Ant for comment.
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Rumours
10:50AM David Wildgoose | We’ve received word from several sources this morning that Australian games and DVD distributor Red Ant has gone bust and fallen into receivership. If this rumour is true, it may throw the future of local releases from Capcom, Bethesda, Konami and Midway into doubt, as Red Ant currently has distribution agreements with all four publishers. Given Capcom’s upcoming release slate – Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando, Resident Evil 5 are all due before the end of March – that’s an especially worrying prospect. We’ve contacted Red Ant for comment and will update as soon as we hear anything further.
Check here for an update.
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Rumour: Red Ant Closing Up Shop?
10:50AM David Wildgoose | We’ve received word from several sources this morning that Australian games and DVD distributor Red Ant has gone bust and fallen into receivership. If this rumour is true, it may throw the future of local releases from Capcom, Bethesda, Konami and Midway into doubt, as Red Ant currently has distribution agreements with all four publishers. Given Capcom’s upcoming release slate – Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando, Resident Evil 5 are all due before the end of March – that’s an especially worrying prospect. We’ve contacted Red Ant for comment and will update as soon as we hear anything further.
Check here for an update.
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News
12:00PM Logan Booker | Here it is – the Classification Board’s report on the edited version of Bethesda’s Fallout 3. The refused classification from last month has been exchanged for an MA15+ and the advisories of “strong violence, drug references and coarse language”. So, what can Australia expect (or not expect) from our super-special build? Sadly, the report is vague on details, but it looks like the art and names of a few drugs may have changed, and the action, not the effect, of taking drugs removed:
The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of “chems” listed by fictious names which include “Buff”, “Rad-X”, “Psycho” and “Ultrajet”. Within the context of the game’s narrative, the player may choose to make use of these “chems” to alter the physiological characteristics of their character in the game.
You might have noticed there’s no mention of morphine, which leaves its existence up in the air.
The effects of taking drugs may also have changed, according to this snippet: “The Board .. found that relationship [sic] between drug use and the incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of proscribed drugs”. Like I said, it’s a little vague. Seeing as Bethesda and Red Ant are staying silent on the issue, we’ll have to wait for the game to come out before any apples-to-apples comparisons can be made.
Anyway, I’ve included the section regarding drug use from the report after the jump, if you’d like to read it in full. There’s also an interesting perspective from the minority view, which felt the game still deserved an RC. More »
The Classification Board’s Report On Australia’s Edited Fallout 3
12:00PM Logan Booker | Here it is – the Classification Board’s report on the edited version of Bethesda’s Fallout 3. The refused classification from last month has been exchanged for an MA15+ and the advisories of “strong violence, drug references and coarse language”. So, what can Australia expect (or not expect) from our super-special build? Sadly, the report is vague on details, but it looks like the art and names of a few drugs may have changed, and the action, not the effect, of taking drugs removed:
The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of “chems” listed by fictious names which include “Buff”, “Rad-X”, “Psycho” and “Ultrajet”. Within the context of the game’s narrative, the player may choose to make use of these “chems” to alter the physiological characteristics of their character in the game.
You might have noticed there’s no mention of morphine, which leaves its existence up in the air.
The effects of taking drugs may also have changed, according to this snippet: “The Board .. found that relationship [sic] between drug use and the incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of proscribed drugs”. Like I said, it’s a little vague. Seeing as Bethesda and Red Ant are staying silent on the issue, we’ll have to wait for the game to come out before any apples-to-apples comparisons can be made.
Anyway, I’ve included the section regarding drug use from the report after the jump, if you’d like to read it in full. There’s also an interesting perspective from the minority view, which felt the game still deserved an RC. More » 
Fallout 3 AU: Incentive And Reward For Drug Use Removed
11:30AM Logan Booker | Fallout 3 edited and set for a local release. It was only a matter of time. But what exactly can we expect from this altered version? Hopefully we’ll have an answer for you soon. For the time being, all I have is comment from an OFLC spokesperson.
As expected, the main changes were to the portrayal of drug use in the game. According to the OFLC, the incentives and rewards for their use have been “removed”. I don’t want to cause alarm, but this doesn’t sound like a simple cosmetic change (such as a rename of morphine). I mean, the “reward” for using morphine is the ability to ignore the detrimental effects of pain on the player. I can’t see why you’d use morphine if this was taken away.
Anyway, I’m just speculating now. I should have the board report later this afternoon, so be sure to watch this space for more details.
[Pic] More »
News
3:30PM Logan Booker | Well, we’ve hit a bit of a brick wall for now. After repeated attempts to get anything from distributor Red Ant, and an expanded “no comment” from Bethesda, it’s unlikely we’ll know what the exact differences are between our version of Fallout 3 and the original. Well, that is until the OFLC report is leaked.
According to Bethesda’s PR dude Pete Hines, the developer does not “publically discuss” the classification of any of its games, which is understandable, if unfortunate. As for Red Ant, it’s like there’s no one home. Anything Fallout 3-related is flat out ignored. Not the most professional approach, but hey, what can you do? More »
Fallout 3 AU Edits: You Won’t Hear About Them From Bethesda, Red Ant
3:30PM Logan Booker | Well, we’ve hit a bit of a brick wall for now. After repeated attempts to get anything from distributor Red Ant, and an expanded “no comment” from Bethesda, it’s unlikely we’ll know what the exact differences are between our version of Fallout 3 and the original. Well, that is until the OFLC report is leaked.
According to Bethesda’s PR dude Pete Hines, the developer does not “publically discuss” the classification of any of its games, which is understandable, if unfortunate. As for Red Ant, it’s like there’s no one home. Anything Fallout 3-related is flat out ignored. Not the most professional approach, but hey, what can you do? More » 
