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Arcade confirmed for South Africa

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I just received another press release from Microsoft and they have finally confirmed the arrival of the Xbox 360 Arcade in South Africa.

This should be available to buy from this Friday and is basically the core model with a wireless controller, 256Mb memory card and 5 Arcade games bundled in.

The games are PAC-MAN Championship Edition,? (NAMCO BANDAI Games), ?Uno,? ?Luxor 2,? ?Boom Boom Rocket? (Electronic Arts), and ?Feeding Frenzy.?

However there seems to be another two games being bundled, according to the press release Project Gotham Racing Classic and Dead or Alive Classic will also be bundled.

I can only presume they mean PGR3 and DOA4, if they do then once again this is quite a good deal for the more casual gamers.

[Update] Microsoft has confirmed they are actually the first games in the series. PGR1 and DOA1… I don’t think I have actually played either. Microsoft have re-confirmed that it is actually Dead or Alive 4 and Project Gotham Racing 3 retail version bundled with this console.

It will retail for the standard price of R2699 R2999 so once again no price cuts but 2 full retail games, 5 arcade games and a memory card for free. That’s about R1200 saving right there (when you consider the upgraded controller as well)

[Update] Changed the price after receiving updated info from Microsoft

Last Updated: October 24, 2007

20 Comments

  1. doobiwan

    October 24, 2007 at 10:17

    It’s an awesome deal, especially with the two additional titles, but they must be mistaken. There’s no BC without the HDD, so it couldn’t be DOA1 (I don’t even think that was released on the Xbox), I’m guessing they’re a bit mistaken. Care to confirm?

    Get them to send you a demo model 😉

    Reply

  2. LazySAGamer

    October 24, 2007 at 10:26

    I did confirm, but I will hassle them again just for you 😀

    Reply

  3. LazySAGamer

    October 24, 2007 at 11:37

    Okay they just got back to me and now they have confirmed the bundled games are infact PGR3 and DOA4… Really good deal now

    Reply

  4. Eltopo

    October 24, 2007 at 16:45

    Been searching for a local release time for this bundle for the last week now.

    This bundle has twisted my arm into getting the 360, thanks for the news and a release on the cusp of pay-day, how convenient.

    Reply

  5. LazySAGamer

    October 24, 2007 at 17:56

    lol yeah fancy that landing just around payday ;). Between this and the 4 free game Premium bundle I don’t think we can expect a better deal this year. If you are not a serious multiplayer gamer I would recommend this one else go for the Pro.

    If you prefer the PS3 then hang on for the 40GB model for R4500 which is the best value on that console at this time.

    Reply

  6. papa-action

    October 24, 2007 at 23:09

    Questions:
    Does Microsoft make it very clear that this model is not backwards compatible?

    Does Microsoft make it clear that you may not be able to play all upcoming games as some may require a hard drive? Are the consumers aware that this (20GB) hard drive will cost them an extra R1000?

    Let me be clear that I’m not bashing the XBox360 in general, I’m just questioning this Arcade model. I think it’s a trap for the consumer. They should put a flippin 20GB drive in this model already and sell it for the same price. That would be real value. I mean seriously, how much does that drive cost MS to produce anyway?

    And yes, I know the 40GB PS3 model also doesn’t have backwards compatibility but the product packaging makes this very clear.

    Reply

  7. LazySAGamer

    October 24, 2007 at 23:20

    @Papa, Microsoft don’t really advertise the backwards compatibility of any of the systems much and especially in SA this point is mute.

    You can play all upcoming games without a hard drive?

    The price of the 360 hDD is idiotic to say the least, I also feel it was a huge mistake by Microsoft to not include a HDD in every model. Mind you think I think it is a huge mistake to have more than one SKU at all.

    However I think the arcade is a much better proposition than the Core, the same way as I think the 40GB PS3 is the best option out.

    If Sony could offer a 40GB SKU without Blu-Ray and with rumble I think it would then really be a fantastic machine.

    Reply

  8. papa-action

    October 25, 2007 at 07:30

    @ Lazy Check out these articles about some Xbox360 games requiring harddrives

    Microsoft readies hard drive only Xbox 360 games
    http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=129068

    Reply

  9. papa-action

    October 25, 2007 at 07:31

    Will Xbox 360 Games Require Hard Drives?
    http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3161805

    Reply

  10. Ruslan

    October 25, 2007 at 07:56

    A HDD requirement will be displayed on the game’s casing in any games that absolutely require that feature. I just think you are going way off track over something insignificant, any real gamer KNOWS to avoid the HDD-less X360 version simply coz its catering for the casual gamer market.

    You are just making a storm in a tea cup IMO.

    Reply

  11. LazySAGamer

    October 25, 2007 at 08:34

    @Papa, there has still not been a game advertised that requires a hard drive to play. If you want to download all the new content from Live then yes you will need a HDD.

    The MMO games are going to need a hard drive as well from the looks of things. Again I stand by the fact that you don’t need a HDD but it was stupid of Microsoft not to include one in all of its SKU’s

    Reply

  12. Ruslan

    October 25, 2007 at 09:10

    The simple fact that the PS2 didnt have a HDD is proof you dont need one. Funny how when the Xbox came out with the HDD built-in all the Sony fanboys cried it was an un-necessary gimmick, and now all of a sudden its the other way around? Enough said.

    Reply

  13. papa-action

    October 25, 2007 at 09:37

    LOL @Ruslan. You are a funny oke.

    PS2 was last generation…move on already. There’s now this thing called the internet that allows you to download demos and games…

    This model is marketed as the “Arcade” edition and don’t you have to download these arcade games? Surely your ability to expand your arcade game selection is now very limited. This model is a trap to lure new customers to the XBox360 platform and then milk them for all its worth when they discover that they actually need a hard drive or (much) bigger memory card in order to get a complete gaming experience.

    Again, no problem with the Xbox360, just this model.

    Reply

  14. LazySAGamer

    October 25, 2007 at 09:52

    @papa, since we don’t have Live in South Africa I don’t think we can reasonably come to that conclusion.

    Well that is what I would tell you if I worked for Microsoft and was asked 😉

    Reply

  15. Ruslan

    October 25, 2007 at 10:05

    Well, the 512MB MU’s will be arriving soon so if they do get LIVE they can happily download at least 10 XBLA games without a problem.

    Again, no problem with this model since its aimed at the “Wii” segment of the market anyhow.

    PS2 old gen yes, but it gives Sony more money than their current next-gen PS3. I wouldnt discard a +50 million user base of PS2 gamers as old gen and move on. Now you are sounding like a Sony exec. 😉

    Reply

  16. doobiwan

    October 25, 2007 at 12:16

    By all the information released so far the only games that will be allowed to “require HDD” are MMO’s for obvious reasons. Microsoft are going to great lengths to ensure retail titles run driveless, so I don’t see 360 Arcades get shafted – it’s core to Microsofts strategy. (Heh heh see what I did there :p)

    As far as BC goes – the difference between the PS3 40Gb and the Arcade lack of BC is that at least with the Arcade, you can still by an add on HDD. There is no way to get BC on a 40Gb – but having said that, I agree with Gav, the 360 drives are Waaaay too expensive. Hopefully they’ll release things like 16Gb flash memory cards at some point 😉

    Reply

  17. Ruslan

    October 25, 2007 at 14:35

    MS drives are proprietary thus their ridiculous high price. If anybody is interested in getting a X360 with a HDD then they might as well get the Pro or Elite version straight away.

    Reply

  18. Ad

    October 31, 2007 at 19:10

    Why is this product not on any internet sites like digitalplanet yet?

    Reply

  19. LazySAGamer

    October 31, 2007 at 21:08

    @Ad, not sure there seems to be a problem. I emailed the Microsoft marketing company today and they were unaware of a problem but are following up with Microsoft themselves..

    I spoke to Microsoft as well and they said something about a logistical delay and lack of stock… I’ll update when I get real answers

    Reply

  20. Lydon

    October 31, 2007 at 23:03

    I’ve already emailed Microsoft.

    The reply was:

    “We did experienced a small delay with our first shipment. The first retailer to run with it will be Hi Fi Corp who should have stock the end of this week with other major retailers following shortly afterwards.”

    Reply

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