Xbox ready for SA debut

By Paul Vecchiatto for Microsoft

Cape Town, 18 Aug 2006

Microsoft will issue a release this weekend detailing the Xbox 360 gaming console`s local release, says Microsoft SA entertainment and devices marketing manager Cindy White.

White mentioned this during the presentation of Microsoft`s updated hardware line yesterday in Cape Town. The statement, she said, will detail pricing and availability.

"We have appointed a distributor, MI Digital, which has experience in distributing software and music DVDs around the country," White said.

Speculation surrounding the entry of Microsoft`s Xbox console had been growing since the beginning of the year when the news leaked that Microsoft SA was in the process of looking for a distributor to handle the Xbox and its games in SA.

Delay

Xbox was first unveiled to the world six years ago by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and its latest version, Xbox 360, was introduced to the North American, European and Asian markets in the second quarter of this year.

Previously, White said the reason for the delay into the South African market was due to the financial model used for Xbox. The software firm makes its margin from the sale of the games, rather than the console.

Xbox 360 Live is set up for real-time gaming over the Internet, a feature that could be a problem in this country.

During yesterday`s presentation, White said Microsoft had realised that bandwidth was a scarcer commodity in SA compared to the rest of the world, and discussions had been held with telecommunications utilities such as Telkom and various Internet service providers.

Xbox falls within Microsoft`s loss-making Home and Entertainment group that reported for the 12 months ended June a shortfall of $1.262 billion from revenue received of $4.256 billion, compared to a loss of $485 million and revenue of $3.140 billion for the 2005 financial year.

Microsoft said in its annual results that it had received Xbox revenue of $503 million or a rise of 129% compared to the 2005 financial year.

"Xbox revenue increased mainly due to the shipment of 1.8 million Xbox 360 consoles, which exceeded the number of first generation consoles sold in the same period of the prior year. In addition, Xbox 360 consoles sell at a higher average price than first generation consoles. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, the availability of Xbox 360 consoles was no longer limited by supply constraints," Microsoft said.