Following the news that leading Australian games distributor Red Ant has been placed into administration, publishers have confirmed to MCV that they have already begun evaluating their options in the territory.

Red Ant had official distribution agreements in place with Capcom, Konami, Bethesda and Midway. Whilst the firm is continuing to trade for the time being, serious question marks now hang over the availability of several key software releases in the coming months.

Capcom has a big Q1 ahead, with key releases such as Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil IV due out before the end of March. A spokesperson for the publisher told MCV: “Our official response is that we are aware of the situation with Red Ant and are currently evaluating our options. I'm afraid I can't offer any more than that.”

An official statement from Capcom added: “Certain recent news reports have speculated that owing to the financial status of Red Ant that the release dates of Capcom’s forthcoming titles in this territory may be delayed. Capcom would like to state it does not expect any such delays.”

MCV also spoke to a Konami spokesperson, who stated: “As has been widely reported, Red Ant has gone into administration. Konami is currently reviewing its Australian distribution and will not be affected by Red Ant’s unfortunate demise.

“The agreement between Konami and Red Ant was due to commence from February 2009 onwards, with sales yet to start on the agreed titles. Konami offers its sincerest sympathies to those affected at Red Ant, but will not be commenting further on the matter.”