Nintendo's Wii coming to SA
2007-09-05 09:48
Ilse Arendse
Cape Town - Nintendo's popular Wii gaming console, which was launched overseas in November 2006, is finally making its way to South Africa.
A local company named Core Group has been confirmed as the new South African distributor for Nintendo products after months of uncertainty.
Nintendo products were formerly distributed in South Africa by Futronics, a division of Panasonic, but the company did not renew its dealership rights earlier this year.
With no Nintendo dealer in South Africa, the only way gamers could get their hands on Nintendo products was through costly importing.
A Core Group spokesperson told News24 that details are still sketchy and a price for the Wii has not been confirmed, but they're hoping for an early October launch.
Since its launch in November 2006, the Wii has consistently trumped the competition, outselling Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360.
In June this year, Sony announced a price cut in North America and Japan for the PS3 and in August Microsoft also cut the price of its Xbox 360 in an effort to expand its audience.
In South Africa, the 60-gigabyte version of the PS3 costs about R6 600 and Xbox 360 prices range from R2 699 for the Core, R3 699 for the Pro and R4 599 for the Elite.
The Wii costs $249.99 (about R1 800) in the United States, but word is the console will sell for around R2 700/R2 800 here.
The Wii, with its Wiimote - a motion-sensitive remote control wand that can be used as a sword, tennis racket or fishing rod - is reportedly a hit among children, women and older players, not just hardcore gamers.
According to an AP report, Nintendo has sold 3.43 million Wii machines worldwide in the April-June quarter, and expects to sell a total of 16.5 million Wii units in the financial year ending in March 2008.
- News24