Capcom has announced that its new distributor for‭ ‬Australia and New Zeeland will be THQ Asia Pacific.

Under the terms of the deal,‭ ‬THQ Asia Pacific‭ ‬provide distribution,‭ ‬sales and marketing for all future Capcom releases.‭ ‬The THQ deal follows the collapse of Red Ant after the wholesale distribution‭ ‬went into administration.‭

The fall of Red Ant had thrown the Australian release list into serious doubt as a number of publishers‭ – ‬such as Konami to‭ ‬Besthesda,‭ ‬Midway and Capcom‭ – ‬each relied on the distributor’s business.‭

Capcom was one of the first groups to‭ ‬quell fears regarding its upcoming releases,‭ ‬quickly followed by Konami.‭ ‬Soon after,‭ ‬the senior VP of THQ Asia Pacific‭ ‬stated that‭ ‬“THQ’s Asia Pacific headquarters and namely,‭ ‬its Australian based IceStorm Entertainment arm,‭ ‬are perfectly poised to manage any‭ ‬viable distribution opportunity.‭”‬

Now‭ ‬THQ Asia Pacific‭ ‬finds itself preparing to launch two of the biggest games of‭ ‬2009‭ ‬across‭ ‬Australia and New Zeeland,‭ ‬with the launch of Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil‭ ‬5‭ ‬set for release on‭ ‬Feb‭ ‬20‭ ‬and March‭ ‬13‭ ‬respectively.‭