Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Last week saw the launch of EA DICE's much anticipated military shooter Battlefield 3, probably the biggest title on EA's holiday release schedule. To give a release of this magnitude the attention it deserves, Mweb GameZone, EA South Africa and partners put together a launch party at MWEB's Cape Town offices, giving a group of around 40 gamers and members of the gaming press - XboxGaming included - a chance to get stuck in with EA DICE's latest offering.

As we waited in the foyer of the MWEB offices for the call of duty to bring us through to the event locale, there was a tangible sense of community spirit in the air - this was a room full of people with a shared passion, and all part of a Cape Town gaming scene which rarely has the honour of hosting events of this sort. Johannesburg has seen all manner of extravagant game industry events, from skid pan driving for Forza 3 to a session at a rifle range for Modern Warfare 2, but the mother city has traditionally been left out of such launch fanfare. So with excitement in our hearts and nametags pinned to our chests, we were led through to the heart of the MWEB GameZone offices, and into command central - a room adorned will all manner of Battlefield 3 propaganda, Xbox 360 consoles, banks of huge Samsung TV’s, Alienware laptops, and shiny snack tables.

An "arty" photo of the game stations. At least, that's what Henry tried to pass it off as, but really it's just a skew photo - Ed.

Before the eager gamers started racking up kills, spokespeople from MWEB GameZone, EA South Africa, and South African Xbox 360 ambassador Glenn Alexander each said a few words regarding the event, their commitment to the local gaming community and general welcoming to all in attendance. Following MWEB’s recent announcement that they would be hosting dedicated servers for Gears of War 3, I’ll admit that I had been anticipating a similar announcement regarding Battlefield 3 servers - despite having been told otherwise just recently. Sadly my niggling hunch was misguided, and there was no such announcement. Under heavy questioning, all I got was the reaffirmation that while MWEB were definitely keen on the whole idea, it was ultimately EA’s decision, and was unlikely at best. 

Once the initial pleasantries were over, the floor was open for gamers and press alike to fight over the limited game stations available. I say “fight over”, but I actually mean “stand around looking rather sheepish, unsure of the etiquette involved in deciding who gets to play first”. Eventually a few brave souls threw caution and social conventions to the wind and took their places, ready for a taste of the actual reason we were all there in the first place. Soon all stations were filled, and the proverbial ice was well and truly broken. With it being Halloween weekend and all, a few curious folk in vampire outfits were milling around between the gamers, but once the bullets started flying people seemed to pretty much forget about them. In fact, I felt a little sorry for them, standing around near the chip’n’dip table, looking fearsome in a cartoony kind of way, with hardly anyone really noticing them. 

The gamers... and a vampire.

The star of the show, though, was the game on display - the shooter that EA has been pushing hard in the preceding months as a thorn in Modern Warfare 3’s side; the shooter to give Activision’s behemoth franchise a bit of a scare. Conversation flowed around a few key pillars at this point: is Battlefield 3 going to be better then Modern Warfare 3; how does the PC version of Battlefield 3 compare to the Xbox 360 version (there were no PS3 stations set up, for reasons beyond the organizers’ control); and how big a difference the HD texture content install makes over the “standard def”. Having done a bit of impromptu opinion harvesting throughout the evening, let me lay it out for you: The consensus seemed to be that Battlefield offers a more tactical and teamwork-focused experience over the twitchy “lone wolf” style of Modern Warfare, so it’s a matter of personal taste; the PC version, as witnessed on the beefy Alienware laptops, is unarguably the better looking game when up against the console version, if we’re talking purely visual fidelity; and Battlefield 3 in “standard def” isn’t as bad as we thought it would be, until you see it running on a screen right next to one running with the full HD content. Right, that's the technical stuff out of the way. 

Once we all got over ourselves and realised that just because it’s a gaming launch doesn’t mean that we have to try to sound clever all night, conversation slowly devolved into all manner of hilarious nonsense and random chit chat. Snacks and drinks were devoured, as were the consignment of Scooters pizzas which barely touched the table. At one point things got strangely quiet - the Red Bull marketing girls had wondered in, and were being stared at by a room full of guys who usually rate their girls by polygon count (yes, that's a sweeping generalization and a terrible stereotype of the gaming male, sorry). We settled down when they started handing out the cans of Red Bull, and then it was back to the gaming, chatting and standing around shoving Ghost Pops into our faces.

Battlefield 3 in action.

I must say, being in a room of clearly like-minded people was a really special way to spend a Friday evening, a great way to build community spirit, and it’s the kind of thing that we don’t see nearly enough of - especially in the Cape Town area. Speaking to Glenn Alexander - Xbox 360 ambassador, Cape Town gaming community dynamo and all-round nice guy - it turns out that this is hopefully just the beginning. With the backing of entities like MWEB, EA South Africa, Microsoft SA and more, Alexander has big plans to build up the fledgling community in the area, and judging by the success of the Battlefield 3 launch party the community is definitely hungry for more.

After a good few hours of furious Battlefield 3 warfare, memorable conversations, good laughs and a simply terrific atmosphere, we all stumbled out into the night - clutching our much appreciated goodie bags tightly to our chests - our minds racing with thoughts of the epic Battlefield 3 moments awaiting us online. And while it’s always going to be great fun to discuss life and M-COM Station defense strategy over Xbox LIVE with people we hardly know, this event really did remind us all that sometimes it’s even more rewarding to get out there and actually meet some of these people, and maybe make a new friend along the way. And then shoot them right in the face as soon as you get online.

Special thanks to MWEB GameZone, EA South Africa and all those involved who made the launch party possible. We, the gaming community, salute you.