Home Gaming Who is going to distribute the Xbox 360 in South Africa now?

Who is going to distribute the Xbox 360 in South Africa now?

3 min read
27

RROD

With the liquidation of Mi Digital currently under way the big question for us gamers is who is going to take over the distribution and support for the Xbox 360 in South Africa.

The Xbox 360 is doing very well in South Africa and as such you can be sure that it will continue to be available moving forward. There are a few notable companies that would now be circling the Mi Digital carcass so lets take a look and see who is most likely to take over the mantel of the Xbox 360’s distribution.

Ster Kinekor

Ster Kinekor currently distribute the PS2,PS3 and PSP in South Africa and obviously have all the contacts and experience required to take over the Xbox. However I highly doubt Microsoft or Sony will allow Ster Kinekor to distribute both the PS3 and 360 and as such I give it a 5% chance of happening.

The Core Group

Our local Nintendo Wii distributor once again has all the boxes checked and seeing that the Wii is not in direct competition to the 360 has a better chance than Ster Kinekor, however I doubt it will happen as their marketing arm is targeted more towards the Apple market and there will be a question mark around their ability to target hardcore gamers. I give them a 15% chance of winning the rights.

Megarom

Megarom have the hardcore gamer market down perfectly and their marketing and distribution ability would suit the Xbox 360 down to the ground. However seeing that they are solely a software distribution company there would be a question around their ability to handle the different logistics of hardware. I think this one may be a gamers preferred option but in reality I think there is only about a 40% chance of it happening.

Nu Metro

Nu Metro have recently made huge strides in the local gaming market and there have been persistent rumours that they harbour a desire to distribute a console as well. While the 360 may not have been in their sights previously I expect them to make a strong case for picking it up… Say a 70% chance on this one

A Yet Unnamed Mi Digital off shoot

This is the one I suspect will be the winner, Mi Digital have apparently been liquidated thanks to their parent company running out of money. As such we can presume that Mi Digital was a financially viable company in it’s own right and as such are perfectly placed to continue the distribution as a new company. I see this as a 70% option as well.

Microsoft

It’s Microsoft, they have the money, resources and ability to easily handle the distribution. They could simply hire all the ex-Mi Digital staff members and create a Xbox 360 distribution department in their swanky offices in Fourways. With this option it’s more whether they want to do it or not. Right not I give this option a 75% chance of happening.

Everyone else

I expect Microsoft to receive a flurry of requests for information about this licence from every hardware and software distributor in South Africa. Out of everyone else I would suspect Mustek may be the most likely dark horse to make a go of it but I do think it will be taken over by someone who is already in the gaming industry.

And that’s it, as you can see we don’t have any secret info on who is going to take over the distribution but as soon as we hear anything we will be posting it up.

Do you think I missed someone? Let me know in the comments.

Last Updated: July 1, 2009

27 Comments

  1. Ruslan

    July 1, 2009 at 08:21

    I think Numetro has a good chance, if MS were to take ownership then LIVE would have to be a must prior to them announcing that they are taking over. It could a pretty good catch if they do though.

    Reply

  2. WitWolfyZA

    July 1, 2009 at 08:22

    This was a long time coming… I vouched that i will not buy another 360 untill the hardware problem has been resolved… Man how that decision is killing me now

    Reply

  3. Kill3r1973

    July 1, 2009 at 08:39

    i wish nu metro takes it!

    Reply

  4. 4x RRoD

    July 1, 2009 at 08:41

    Well, I hope I won’t have issues with my 4th replacement because of this.

    By the way, probabilities have to add up to 100%, yours add up to 275%…

    Reply

  5. WitWolfyZA

    July 1, 2009 at 08:49

    Dude… thats killer… I had 3 xboxes in 2 years. I really love the console but the hardware is making me wanting a Ps3 more these days

    Reply

  6. 4x RRoD

    July 1, 2009 at 08:55

    Well, I guess in a way I can’t be too upset – I got a free upgrade to HDMI through my 3rd replacement.. Looks MUCH better than component on my plasma.

    Reply

  7. Janrik

    July 1, 2009 at 09:19

    MS SA is a bloody sales office. they are completely clue less when it comes to Xbox.

    Reply

  8. Milesh Bhana

    July 1, 2009 at 09:23

    Go go Megarom!!

    Reply

  9. LazySAGamer

    July 1, 2009 at 09:25

    You’re going to enjoy the podcast later today 🙂

    Reply

  10. am_nesia

    July 1, 2009 at 09:59

    Megarom aren’t interested in the hardware market so I don’t think they’ll even make a play for it — Nu Metro is hungry so there’s a good chance they’ll bid for the license.
    Seems that there’s a chance that Comztek may be handling supply into the market for the next two months but nothing 100% confirmed

    Reply

  11. Strife Lives

    July 1, 2009 at 10:20

    I dont care who takes it,I just want my RROD 360 fixed! ,or do we need another petition to get quicker answers?

    Reply

  12. ewie

    July 1, 2009 at 10:40

    I feel for the company closing down, but what about all the R684 they took of customers because they did not have a reciept – not imported boxes, but local ones gotten with competitions etc.

    Those were still covered by microsoft but Mi asked R684 even though they knew that it was distributed localy.

    Reply

  13. Fox1

    July 1, 2009 at 10:50

    I’m on my second Elite and I had one Pro console :mrgreen:

    Reply

  14. Fox1

    July 1, 2009 at 10:52

    See what bad customer service does to companies. I feel sorry for the people that worked for MiD. They were over worked and most probably stressed 😕

    Reply

  15. Fox1

    July 1, 2009 at 10:54

    What about the R4999 for the Elite? Also they stopped bringing in Hard Drives and they charged R999 for Gears 2 👿

    Reply

  16. El Topo

    July 1, 2009 at 11:28

    It’s articles like this that keep me coming back too Lazygamer.
    More local game news whenever possible, I need to do something while I wait for my replacement….

    Thanks.

    Reply

  17. WitWolfyZA

    July 1, 2009 at 11:51

    Have any of you guys came across a Jasper yet?

    Reply

  18. WitWolfyZA

    July 1, 2009 at 11:53

    Dude me myself. I got myself an old Xbox1 keeps me busy in the meantime.. Controller is irratating compared to the 360

    Reply

  19. spl0it

    July 1, 2009 at 14:26

    If its going to be Numetro say hello to R699 xbox games

    Reply

  20. M@GE

    July 1, 2009 at 16:40

    First off. Why is there a pic of a faulty xbox RRODing? WEIRD. Second NOTHING has happend to my Xbox 360. I have one of those Nyko coolers attched and I bought my Xbox 360 in December which means it has the new chop in too. So nothing has happend to me and my precious and priceless (in my eyes lol) Xbox 360. And you can get alot of Xbox 360 games online for WAAAAAAAAY cheaper. A few weeks ago I was in TopCD and the xbox 360 DBZ burst limit game was R768.00 On kalahari.net i got it for R260. So if you want to get Xbox 360 games or PS3 games cheaper go get it at either http://www.kalahari.net or http://www.take2.co.za

    hope this helps! 😉

    Reply

  21. Fox1

    July 1, 2009 at 16:42

    Xbox Games are already R699 🙁

    Reply

  22. BHW

    July 1, 2009 at 16:57

    I’ve been waiting 2 months for my warranty repair – 06 model – and in a moment of madness bought a new one about two weeks ago – because I figured that they were just going to send me crappy refurbs each time. So what is happening with the warranty claims do we all just piss and moan to the excessively polite Dutchmen (Proper dutch not boere) at MS Call centre?

    Reply

  23. BHW

    July 1, 2009 at 17:04

    I have a Jasper – mfg date Feb 2009. The drive is quiter but the fan is still noisy. This will be my third (technically 4th since MI Digital sen me a replacement console that RROD’d when I switched it on 😯 )and final xbox if this one dies I’m buying a Wii ()

    Reply

  24. Anber

    July 2, 2009 at 16:41

    Boy, do I feel stupid. I have been waiting two months for my replacement console. They told me that the new consoles are stuck in customs and that they will let me know when they can deliver. Meantime back at the ranch, they’re not even going to do anything about it and here I was hoping I might be playing on my Xbox 360 any day now. It’s not their responsibility to honor the Microsoft warranty. Even if they go under, Microsoft must make a plan. Anyone feel like dragging Microsoft to consumer courts? I sure want to.

    Reply

  25. Geoff

    July 2, 2009 at 18:17

    Warranties are now handled by Powercare, you can contact them on (011) 997 5000. It’s run by the same folk who handled the warranties at Mi Digital, but their singular focus seems to have renewed their service abilities.

    You can also email them using this address : xbox360support@powercare.co.za

    Reply

  26. Anber

    July 3, 2009 at 11:35

    That’s good news… no It’s great news. My Xbox died a day after I renewed my Xbox live subscription. Doesn’t seem fair that I’m paying for something that I’m not using. I would like to get my broken Xbox fixed asap. I’m going to call them right away. Thankx for the Pro tip Geoff.

    Reply

  27. Geoff

    July 3, 2009 at 11:40

    Only a pleasure.

    Hope they sort you out with a new console, post-haste.

    Reply

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