Gem to distribute Ubisoft products following Trilogy collapse
Publisher 505 Games says it's "business as usual" despite distributor going into administration this week
Distribution company Gem has confirmed it will handle the flow of Ubisoft products until the end of the year following Trilogy's collapse.
Trilogy had formerly held an exclusive deal with Ubisoft to distribute its products to trade, however the company confirmed yesterday it had gone into administration.
Gem will supply product to selected trade customers in "the interim", said a spokesperson. Sources within the industry have speculated the company could also be negotiating a buyout of the troubled Trilogy business.
505 Games, which also used Trilogy as its primary distribution provider, confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz the situation had not adversely affected the company, saying: "It's business as usual for us and our ability to ship our key lines to retail is not affected in any way."
Chips MD Don McCabe said it was too early to tell what impact, if any, would be experienced by retailers.
Stores received their original shipments of Assassin's Creed 2 as normal, he said, but then didn't receive invoices. They've since been told invoices will come directly from Ubisoft.
If the rumoured buyout by Gem does happen, he predicted the only effect would be a polarisation of distributors.
Gem gaining the Ubisoft account in addition to existing clients Take-Two and Microsoft, would transform it into "a fairly major hitter", he added.