What are some of the most successful launches and products in the Funstock catalogue and to what do you attribute their success? Our most successful products to date are from the Gal*Gun series and the exclusive editions we have produced for the Evercade consoles, but we are seeing strong orders for Tandem: A Tale of Shadow currently. The success, we believe, is driven from Funstock having a unique proposition on popular games that aren’t available anywhere else.
Tandem is set to be your next release on PS4 and Switch. How did that release come about and what is its appeal? We have a long-standing relationship with the digital publisher for this game, and the opportunity arose for us to be the physical publisher which we saw as a great opportunity for the business, especially having the chance to produce a special edition for this game. Tandem is a puzzle platformer game, which plays with the importance of light and shadows provoking the wonder of childhood. This is a dark animation game inspired by Tim Burton and Victorian era architecture. The game’s key feature is the unique dual gameplay, where you can swap perspectives of the two main characters, Emma and Fenton.
What is involved in the process of taking Tandem, a digital release on PC last year, and producing the Magical Box Edition? The process for bringing a physical product to market relies on all departments in the Funstock team, from operations to sales and marketing. Every physical release goes through a series of creative but rigorous production steps. We obtain age ratings for all applicable regions, manage the physical submission process from start to finish, conceive, and develop innovative and creative materials for limited and collector’s editions, and we work with world class manufacturers to produce the finished product.
What are your expectations for the release? We just want people to really enjoy the game and to be excited about the collector’s edition as much as we are.
What is your involvement with the retro platform Evercade and how did that come about? Our relationship with Blaze Entertainment has evolved over the years, and we work in partnership on the Funstock Exclusive Editions for the Evercade products and exclusive merchandise.
How does Evercade continue to be a success for Funstock? We have built a very reliable and trustworthy reputation with our Evercade customers which started all the way back from when we launched the site originally as a retro gaming specialist in 2012, so we see very frequent purchases and repeat business with this
particular retro audience, and this continues to grow each year. With Evercade being a highly collectible product and with their regular introduction of new cartridges (and hardware!) we have a solid new product pipeline with that range.
The perception is that shifting physical retail products has been a challenge during the last two years of COVID. Has that been the case for Funstock? Like most businesses, we have faced many challenges throughout the pandemic, many of which have been due to the manufacturing of goods and freight delays. The gaming industry in general has faced setbacks with supply shortages and we haven’t been able to avoid the implications of this, although in most cases we thankfully didn’t suffer any significant delays.
How has the pandemic affected the business more widely, in terms of sourcing materials, etc? There have been many suppliers we deal with who have had staff shortages due to the pandemic, which has had a direct effect with lead-times on certain products especially with packaging.
We don’t hear so much about Brexit these days. How has leaving the EU impacted the company, if at all? The major issue we faced and which continues to be problematic, is the increased freight charges and lead-times of products since leaving the EU. This obviously has an effect on our stock levels, but also means that shipping charges for our customers are higher for our EU and US customers which has become very challenging.
What are the biggest opportunities for Funstock in the months ahead? Funstock has exciting plans over the next 12 months. Although we can’t share any titles of new products for 2022, our product offering will continue to evolve as the business signs new products and distribution deals. On the retail end, one of our biggest opportunities for growth will
be the launch of our region-specific ecommerce websites, starting with our European one, while there are also plans to expand to the US. Fulfilling orders from within the EU will have a positive impact on B2B distribution as well.
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