The Australian distribution scene has been pretty lively lately, what with the closure of Red Ant in January and the recent metamorphosis of Atari Australia into Namco Bandai Partners. It doesn't look like the fun's due to end any time soon with the announcement of the rebranding of Funtastic Interactive into a division of the ever-growing Madman label, probably best known for being behind a huge slice of the DVD distribution market, and particularly the early anime explosion as well as cult and classic Asian cinema. Not heard of Funtastic? Well, with a line-up over the next financial year that includes titles like Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, Cursed Mountain, Split / Second, and The Great Giana Sisters, you'll soon know all about Madman Interactive.

Funtastic Interactive, one of Australia's leading toy distributors, broke into the games industry in 2005, securing deals with smaller companies like Denmark's The Game Factory, System 3, and Red Mile (an American publisher with a penchant for tie-in titles like Jackass and the apparently canceled Sin City adaptation), as well as a rather more lucrative arrangement over the ever-popular offerings from Disney Interactive. Funtastic acquired Madman whole in 2006, but are only now porting their "Interactive" division over to the label. Why the move? I wonder if it had anything to do with the association of the Funtastic brand with licensed children's toys, as opposed to the more adult, counter-culture vibe of Madman being seen as more attractive to gamers?

The Funtastic Interactive team seem quite pleased about the name change, with the following positive comment from Business Manager Gavin Wulfsohn:

“To be integrated & rebranded as Madman Interactive makes perfect business sense and from a cultural view point we couldn’t ask for a better fit ... The entire team is genuinely excited to be part of Madman Entertainment and we believe this will further strengthen our appeal and credibility throughout the industry world wide.”

Madman Interactive has already gathered a few more lucrative connections, with the likes of dtp Entertainment (the German developers/publishers with their hands on the Divinity and Drakensang RPG licenses) and Koch Media (who represent Deep Silver, of Risen fame, amongst others) entering the fold. If anybody was holding their breath over the local release of Skate City Heroes, ease your burning lungs - Zushi Games have also signed up with Madman.


Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, The Great Giana Sisters, and Split / Second.
It's quite nice for once to have some re-branding news that doesn't involve the jeopardy of anticipated titles or massive job losses! We wish the newly-christened Madman Interactive all the best!