So it seems the there has been some anger surrounding our lack of Guitar Hero III in South Africa. Especially in the local forums.
In my quest to bring you moderately helpful news I decided to contact Megarom and find out why we are being left out of one of the biggest releases of the year.
Guitar Hero III was released in the US last week (or the week before) and is releasing in the UK tomorrow. However since we are classed as emerging markets (read unimportant) we have not been allocated our stock yet. The stock is planned to be shipped in the beginning of 2008 however it takes two months to ship stock to the tip of Africa.
Knowing that this is an important title Megarom decided to try and fly some bundles in for us, however that would have meant that they would have to sell them for R1400 which is obviously ludicrous.
So the best that they have been able to do is to ship in some Guitar Hero III stand alone games. These were meant to be released on the 30th of November however there was a problem with the shipping and the stock was nearly lost (to someone else). However this has been resolved and all you 360 owners with guitars will now be able to pick up a copy on the 7th of December.
Now some people are saying that Megarom are to blame for this and that they don’t care if we get the game late. I would just like to point out that Megarom are not complete fools and know full well that people will import around them which means they lose money. They obviously want this title in the stores for the Christmas rush as well, so the next time you feel like pointing fingers maybe try pointing them in the right direction….
That is the end of Thursday’s community announcement.
Oh and before someone asks, the PS3 version is not available because no one has a PS3 guitar in SA yet…. Don’t laugh I asked the same question without thinking.
Last Updated: November 22, 2007
Jonathan
November 22, 2007 at 13:19
Thanks for taking the time to query them about this. Its a pity, was hoping to get ahold of another guitar. Depending on cash availability (too many good games being released right now :), I may get it anyway without the guitar.
I don’t suppose there’s any word on whether they’ll be selling stand-alone hardware guitars without the game? Here’s hoping….
Andre Odendaal
November 22, 2007 at 13:30
I was wondering when you were going to blog about this. As for the guitar’s Jonathan, I was told by BT Games that the bundles (game + guitar) was not going to be made available in South Africa as they “skip” each release. The idea being that the guitar will be available again for Guitar Hero 4.
LazySAGamer
November 22, 2007 at 13:38
@Jonathan, unofficial word is hopefully but it really does depend on what the developers and publishers allow…
@Andre, Sorry I don’t follow the rythmn games close enough and my normal contact is AWOL, Mozambique I think 😉
In regard to the bundles the last I heard was that they should be arriving around March…
Altman
November 22, 2007 at 13:41
I admit to being one of the moaners so soz megarom and thanks for getting the game out to us,but from now on I wont follow release dates until everything has be verefied 100%.Also whats with us not getting the bundle until a Guitar Hero 4?
doobiwan
November 22, 2007 at 14:50
Well on the upside at least by the time we get the games they would have worked out the teething problems, like the Whammy bar in GH2, or by the looks of things, the strum bar in Rock band.
Abev
November 22, 2007 at 15:18
I dont think I will ever get the hysteria behind these titles. Maybe if the guitar actually looked like a real guitar instead of a 2yr olds toy, I might consider getting it, but otherwise I think its just lame!
JP
November 22, 2007 at 16:32
Abev is just upset, because when Sony tried to fix Assassins Creed they broke CoD4.
http://megagames.com/news/html/console/sonyfixesassassinscreed,breakscod4.shtml
LOL.
Abev
November 23, 2007 at 08:36
JP, congratulations your posts never fail to amuse me.
Honestly grow up!
JP
November 23, 2007 at 09:04
Abev. Sigh.
If you were grown up you wouldn’t be bashing something you haven’t tried.
Who cares if the guitar looks like a toy?
It’s actually supposed to. Because it’s a game. Meant for fun. But you go run along and play games on your br player.
Milesh Bhana ZA
November 23, 2007 at 10:12
@JP, how is abe’s dislike of Guitar Hero translate into another PS3 bashing spree.
GH2 which we all love so dearly is a port of a PS2 game, heck, you can now buy the PS2 version with wireless guitars. They’re everywhere. (it’s a pity that guitar is not compatible with the PS3 though).
@abe, yeah, it looks dumb, but you gotta try it, loads of fun. Especially if you like rock.
Abev
November 23, 2007 at 10:49
JP, I was merely expressing my opinion, that opinion involved thinking that Guitar Hero is lame. For some bizarre reason you must have seen that as some kind of attack, as you reacted like a two year old and felt it necessary to diss the PS3 for no reason.
Now who can imagine Angus Young playing Guitar Hero, Im sorry but this is my opinion and no one is gonna change it!
Milesh Bhana ZA
November 23, 2007 at 10:54
My Chemical Romance plays guitar hero 🙂
…waits to get slammed for liking an emo band.
Burns ZA
November 23, 2007 at 11:15
Abev, your opinion aside, have you ever tried GH? I find it really strange that you have such an aversion to it – it’s almost like it’s become personal. It’s just a game dude, you can’t compare it to playing guitar in real life just as you can’t compare fighting in Resistance (lol) to being in a real war.
Now, looking at it objectively: You listen to cool music and get to strum to the beat. It’s challenging and fun at the same time. Whats not to like?
LazySAGamer
November 23, 2007 at 11:38
Okay don’t shoot me now but I do have to admit that I am not entirely addicted to Guitar Hero either….
However I don’t think it’s a stupid game by any means… Now NintendoDogs… that’s a stupid game 😛
Abev
November 23, 2007 at 12:42
I dont think the concept or game is stupid, it actually all sounds pretty cool. Its the lame ass control that I have a problem with, and its not only this one many game controls (especially for the wii) look like retarded lil kiddies toys and it irritates me. Why cant they just make the guitar look better. Honestly who wouldnt prefer a sweet looking guitar to the plastic chunk it ships with?
doobiwan
November 23, 2007 at 15:15
Dude, that’s because it is a childs toy and you are suppossed to look like a tit playing it. It’s all part of the fun. I also never got it, and was completely uninterested in it until someone brought it in to work and I played it.
I bought it the next day.