INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE Australia
MCV explains why the distribution scene in the region is undergoing serious change
In association with Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories
THE FACTS Population: 23,060,903 Currency: Australian Dollar GDP (Per Capita): $65,642 Capital City: Canberra Language: English
KEY RETAILERS EB Games, JB HiFi, Big W, Target, K Mart
KEY DISTRIBUTORS All Interactive Partners (Bethesda), Namco Bandai Partners (Square Enix), Turn Left Distribution (Disney), QV Software (Turtle Beach), Bluemouth Interactive (Astro), Mindscaoe (Konami), Five Star Games (Sega) and AFA Interactive
KEY DEVELOPERS: Halfbrick Studios in Brisbane (Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride), Firemonkeys (Real Racing, Spy Mouse, Flight Control), 2K Australia, Gameloft Auckland, Sidhe, Tantalus and Torus
KEY PUBLISHERS: EA, Ubisoft, Take-Two, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Namco Bandai
ABOUT THE MARKET
ON THE development front, most of the larger studios have closed in recent years, causing a boom in the indie and mobile developer scene. Expertise in growing small businesses is in high demand as a result, and other useful skills in marketing are badly needed to help the large amount of talent reach adequate audiences.
The distribution scene is heating up in Australia, with Five Star and Turn Left both being relatively new entrants into the field, and publishers across the board either downsizing their satellite offices or removing them in favour of a heavier support on agencies for local PR and marketing duties. Publishers that remain will be forced to contend with an increasingly internet-heavy set of console features in spite of Australia and New Zealand’s very
4 Around the World
The country can be a very useful test-bed for titles to gauge their reception before a larger audience.
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The increase in agencies and distributors, which either specialise in games or have departments which do, has opened up the ability for brands outside of ANZ to more easily penetrate the market. Any
slow broadband speeds. While this may be rectified in due course with the implementation of the National Broadband Network, this will come largely down to an election this coming September.
company looking to expand should take a close look at existing services now more than ever; there are big opportunities for those who currently don’t have the resources to make definitive moves into the region. Australia’s in-app purchases per capita are quite high, and its social gaming sector is currently booming. The country is native English speaking and can be a very useful market as a test-bed for titles to gauge their reception before a larger audience. Australia is also quite prone to grey importing when titles are not available here, so for many companies which currently don’t range product in the region, it’s a matter of whether they want to control the way their brand makes it to market or not. For more news on the Australian games market, head to our sister site
www.mcvpacific.com.
www.mcvuk.com
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