Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Update 2: XG has gotten the low down from Microsoft SA on all the answers to your questions regarding Xbox LIVE in South Africa: Xbox LIVE in South Africa: What we know so far.

Update: We've received an official press release from Microsoft SA, announcing that the service will be available "this summer":

South Africa – 14 June, 2010 – Microsoft today announces its commitment to launching Xbox LIVE in nine new countries – Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Russia and South Africa – delivering the core gaming and entertainment features that have made Xbox LIVE the world’s premier online gaming destination.

"Xbox LIVE is about building communities and connecting people to each other and to great content. This expansion is another step toward our vision for LIVE – to deliver the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, wherever you are in the world," said Marc Whitten, General Manager, Xbox LIVE.

The service will be available this summer and will focus first on delivering the core gaming and community features that have made Xbox LIVE the world’s premier online gaming destination, including matchmaking, friends list, Achievements, Gamerscore, a tailored Games Marketplace and more.

"This is an exciting step forward in the experience we can deliver to our loyal and committed Xbox communities," states Yvette van Rooyen, Product and Marketing Manager, Xbox 360 South Africa. "Xbox fans in South Africa will now be able play the best games in the industry with the 23 million other Xbox LIVE users across the world who have made this their online gaming destination of choice."

Original Story: During Microsoft's E3 2010 press conference, corporate vice president for Xbox LIVE Marc Whitten announced that Microsoft will be bringing Kinect and Xbox LIVE to every country that the Xbox 360 is sold in. This includes countries such as Brazil, Greece, Poland, Russia, and of course, South Africa.

So far no timeline has been given, or any further details, so we've contacted Microsoft South Africa to get a better picture. But this is the first time that Microsoft Redmond has confirmed that Xbox LIVE is coming to South Africa, and we can't wait!