Johannesburg, 10 Nov 2010
Microsoft today officially made its Xbox Live gaming service available for South African consumers.
The service, considered a big part of the Xbox 360 experience, has been demanded by gamers since the gaming box was launched in late 2006. Since then, local gamers have used workarounds to register accounts based in other locales, such as the UK and US.
Users who sign up from today can do so with their Xbox 360 set in the “SA” locale, in the console's set-up. Registration of a new Xbox Live account comes with a free one-month subscription to the gold service.
Gold subscriptions are required to play against other users. A lower tier silver account is the default, and only gives users access to the Xbox Live Marketplace and messaging capabilities.
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a hub for serving up gaming content, including “quick hit” games in the Xbox Live Arcade, extra downloadable content (DLC) for store-bought games, game demos and preview videos.
Premium content is purchased using Microsoft Points, or MS Points. This virtual currency has an official, Microsoft-controlled exchanged rate, and 2 100 points can be had for R299. Xbox Live Arcade games cost between 400 and 1 200 points, while DLC packs vary in price, from 240 to 1 600 points.
As of this morning, the local Marketplace has little content. There are two Arcade games, with the international Marketplaces boasting close to 350. Downloadable content and demos for around 50 games were available, compared to the thousands internationally.
Robin Burrowes, head of product marketing for Xbox in EMEA, says the local Marketplace has tailored content. Microsoft is focusing on offering content for newer titles, rather than “dead games” that have no active playing community. He likens the Marketplace to a normal shop, where the shelves now have to be filled with suitable content.
Burrowes explains that certain content will be prioritised and Microsoft is working closely with developers and publishers to make sure content is available in the local Marketplace.
He explains that Microsoft wanted to make sure it got everything right on day one, considering all opportunities for growth and development of the service. He adds that Microsoft's current vision is to have Xbox Live available in every country where the console is on sale.
Microsoft is also offering users who have “unofficial” accounts the opportunity to migrate to the South African region. To entice migration, users who migrate their accounts will receive 1 600 MS Points.
Users who have purchased content using their foreign accounts will still be able to use that licensed content, as long as it has been downloaded to the console prior to migration. Content that is not available in the South African marketplace can still be accessed, as long as the files have been downloaded.
SA is one of nine countries getting access to the service today, joining 26 other countries across the world. The last published figures from Microsoft indicate there are 25 million active users, worldwide.
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