I received a press release from Microsoft today regarding the South African Xbox 360 specials for the festive season. The press release says that there will be two new retail offerings but only goes on to describe one, I can only imagine that another press release will be out within the next week or so with another awesome deal on either the Xbox 360 Arcade which has been announced overseas already or a great bundle with the Xbox 360 Core.
JOHANNESBURG 23 October 2007 — Microsoft today announced a new retail offer that will provide a great way for families to jump into the Xbox 360 and start enjoying fantastic gaming experiences that have been available to South Africans since the console launched in September last year.
The first of two new retail offerings, available from Friday 2nd November, includes an Xbox 360 Pro video game system and four hit games (Forza Motorsport 2, Fifa 08, WWE 08 and Viva Piñata, all top selling titles from Microsoft Game Studios) for an incredible estimated retail price of R3,999.00. This is an incredible saving of just under R1,700.00 for South African families.
The Forza Motorsport 2, Fifa 08, WWE 08 and Viva Piñata offer is available just in time for consumers to take advantage of the strongest gaming lineup in console history. The cornerstone of the line-up, the newly released “Halo 3,” has become a global phenomenon, garnering more than $300 million in world-wide sales in its first week of release. The critically acclaimed Xbox 360 exclusive, which was released in South Africa on Wednesday 26th September, has become the fastest-selling video game ever and is already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history. Initial reports from retailers worldwide show Xbox 360 console sales have more than doubled since the launch of “Halo 3.”
Even without Halo 3, 2007 would have been a year to remember for Xbox 360 gamers – a packed release schedule offering a wide range of incredible titles including exclusive, genre-defining games such as such as BioShock (2K Games), Blue Dragon (Microsoft Game Studios – MGS), Project Gotham Racing 4 (MGS), Naruto Rise of a Ninja (Ubisoft), Viva Piñata Party Animals (MGS), Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Namco Bandai Games) and Mass Effect (MGS), all arriving towards the end of the year.
“We already knew we had the best lineup of games on any platform this Christmas, and now we’re pleased to offer a new way to experience the world of Xbox 360,” said Cindy White, group marketing manager, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices South Africa. “The Xbox 360 retail offering brings the consoles together with four critically-acclaimed games right in the box for a fantastic price. Now an even wider array of consumers can start playing Xbox and enjoy the greatest games lineup ever seen. It’s going to be a green Christmas for South Africa.”
An awesome bundle for the festive season. I wonder how Nintendo and Sony will respond to this announcement as they are sure to lose more local market share. I believe there are now over 100 Xbox 360 titles already available on the local market excluding the awesome list of titles still to be released this year.
Yeah the Arcade was just announced now as well…
This bundle really is a great deal though.