Microsoft South Africa is on a mission to woo local gamers but despite big promises there are still a few ghosts in the machine.
This week, the company pulled out all the stops at the official launch of the controller-free peripheral, the Kinect, and the local version of Xbox Live, its online gaming service.
Yvette van Rooyen, product manager for Xbox in South Africa boasted of a “phenomenal” response from local gamers after the launch.
Aside from the usual launch paraphernalia – half-naked silver-painted girls, electric-violin player, and free drinks — Microsoft made a host of promises to local gamers: get the new slim-line Xbox and voila, no more red ring of death; no more overheating; no more V8-engine noises from your machine; play controller-free with your friends and family; and have access to video chat with a web cam that follows you around the room; get Xbox Live South Africa and hold a local, supported account.
It’s big news for local gamers.
Until this week, Xbox Live has been unsupported in South Africa but there are workarounds that a gamer, desperate for some online action, could use to get an overseas-based account.
Local gamers could sign up for a United States or United Kingdom-based Xbox Live account using an email address and the home address of an overseas-based friend or family member. A gold membership, which provides access to the full range of Xbox Live services, could be bought through a third party — dubious, but necessary for the most avid fans.
Some disadvantages
There were some disadvantages to this. Using a UK-based account, for example, meant that your games were routed through a UK-based server, which meant a fair amount of lag was to be expected when you played online against other people. You pulled the trigger and a second later the bullet left your gun – highly frustrating, which meant either adjusting one’s playing style or find another game with less lagging time.
Another major inconvenience of holding an overseas account is that it is difficult, and sometimes near impossible, to download expansion packs or new maps for certain games.
It was no surprise that fans were practically foaming at the mouth at the prospect of letting go of the cloak-and-dagger techniques and playing with no lag.
However, strike one against Xbox Live South Africa is that its servers are based in the UK. So there is unlikely that there will be much difference in game-play for those who already have accounts based there.
“I still don’t see any reason to do the switcheroo,” said one local gamer. “The servers aren’t even here and it’s more expensive. If the servers were localised then yes, possibly a switch may be worth it as there would be hopefully less lag.”
Beyond usability issues, there is also the matter of the damage to one’s pocket.
The retail price of a 12-month gold membership subscription is R599. Paying R50 a month for the privilege of online gaming doesn’t seem like a heavy sacrifice but this price is almost 30% higher than it is in the UK. The same applies for Microsoft Points, the virtual money one uses to buy digital goods on Xbox Live.
Microsoft is aware that local prices are higher than what can be found online and have tried to incentivise a move to Xbox Live South Africa. Gamers who choose to “migrate” existing Xbox Live accounts based elsewhere in the world to Xbox Live South Africa will receive between 800 and 1 600 Microsoft points.
In addition, local retailers will be offering a number of promotions on Xbox Live memberships. One example is when one buys a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the most eagerly awaited videogame of the year, you can get a 14-month gold membership for R399, with two free months thrown in.
Trepidation
But many local gamers are still approaching the system with trepidation. Some say they’d be happy to pay higher prices if it meant a superior gaming experience but others remain skeptical. “It doesn’t sound worth the move on the face of it,” said one local gamer, who complained that a once-off incentive would not outweigh the long-term costs of holding an Xbox Live SA account.
When a friend announced on Facebook that he was considering migrating to Xbox Live South Africa, others responded “Do it, we need a guinea pig” and “Let me know how it goes and if it’s worth it”.
So far the online feedback from those who have made the switch has not been very positive. It seems not everyone is aware that the incentive points being offered to those who migrate their accounts only become available after a few weeks. On the Xbox 360 South Africa Facebook page, a number of early adopters have complained that they didn’t receive their points after making the shift to Xbox Live SA.
One gamer complained that, after migrating to Xbox Live SA, he could no longer access his account, another complained that there is “still major lag,” while still others complained that the marketplace — where digital goods are sold — was not populated.
After migrating to Xbox Live South Africa, tech journalist Simon Dingle complained on Twitter, saying “Xbox Live South Africa is more of an insult than anything else. Empty arcade section. No SN [social networking] services. Some add-on content. Severe fail.”
Yvette Van Rooyen, product manager for Xbox in South Africa, said she was surprised to find that many gamers were being cautious about migrating to Xbox Live South Africa. “There’s no way you’ll lose anything. If by any chance that might happen it will always be sorted out,” she said. “We’re looking at making this as easy and seamless as possible because we know it’s so easy for people to get a membership overseas. We want to make it worthwhile.”
She encouraged gamers to take advantage of local specials on Xbox Live memberships and pointed out that, as South Africa fell into the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, it was not fair to compare prices with the UK.
She said the lag gamers have experienced is due to local broadband capacity and not because of any problems with the Xbox Live servers.
She also reassured gamers that the marketplace would be populated as soon as possible. One of the holdups in this regard is administrative — all games must be rated by the Film and Publications Board. Given that there are a few hundred games in the marketplace, it will take some time to get all of them rated and made available on the marketplace, she said.
Despite all the bugs Van Rooyen said there has been “a big uptake of the migration” and a “significant number” of gamers who had chosen to move their accounts from overseas locations to Xbox Live South Africa. However, she could not disclose the exact number of people who had done so.
But such reassurances will do little to assuage the fears of local gamers. Until local gamers are certain that they can get the same level of service from Xbox Live South Africa that they are already guaranteed on the US or UK servers, it’s unlikely that there will be a major rush to migration.