Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Today, Microsoft Game Studios along with Lionhead Studios have officially announced that Fable II will ship to European(/African) retailers on October 24th and to the U.S. 3 days earlier on October 21st. Full details of the Collectors Edition have also been provided and are as follows:

• Bonus DVD - Includes new "Making-of Feature" with Peter Molyneux and the team at Lionhead Studios and concept art viewer
• Bonus In-Game Content (Requires LIVE account) - Includes "The Hall of the Dead" Dungeon, "The Wreckager" Legendary Cutlass Weapon and Otherworldly Bonus
• Collectible Hobbe figure with accessories - From the Qee Collection comes this one-of-a-kind Hobbe figure. Nasty, brutish, and short, he roams the countryside, preying on travelers and spiriting away the children of the unwary.
• 48-hour Xbox LIVE Gold Trial Card - With Xbox LIVE Gold, players can show off their individual hero by inviting friends into their unique version of Albion or they can visit their friends’ Albion, and earn additional gold, experience and renown to take back into their own.
• Five printed Fate Cards – These five beautiful cards foretell the Hero's great destiny to journey across all of Albion, encountering deadly enemies and enigmatic allies. The path leads to a choice that will change the world forever.

Not to be left out, the XBLA Pub games will be coming out August 13th. These are casino-style games, titled "Fortune's Tower", "Keystone" and "Spinnerbox". Those who pre-order Fable II at participating retailers will be given free access to download the pub games which otherwise would set you back 800 Microsoft Points. The pub games give you the ability to earn gold which can be used later in Fable II. Still no word on which retailers are included, but I have the unfortunate feeling that South African retailers might just be left out of the loop. Lets hope not.

[Update] Here is the list of stores that are participating in the Free Pub Games for Fable 2. As predicted, South Africa is not included:

• Europe
  • Amazon (UK)
  • Game (UK)
  • Bart Smit (NL)
  • 12Game (NL)
  • Xboxhome (NL)
  • Bol (NL)
  • Micromania (FR)
  • World of Games (CH)
  • GameStop (CH)

• Americas
  • GameStop (USA)
  • BBY (USA)
  • Circuit (USA)
  • Game Crazy (USA)
  • Amazon (USA)
  • EB Games (CA)
  • Toys R Us (CA)
  • Blockbuster (MX)
  • Gameplanet (MX) - Planned

• Other
  • EB Games (AUS/NZ)
  • Game (AUS/NZ)
  • JB Hi-Fi (AUS/NZ)
  • Harvey Norman (AUS/NZ)
  • All Interactive (AUS/NZ)
  • Dicky Smith (AUS/NZ)