Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Microsoft has confirmed the Resident Evil 5 Limited Edition console bundle will hit South African stores on March 30, with an expected price tag of R4,999.

The first thing you'll notice is the 2 week delay over the the already delayed release of Resident Evil 5. Pretty disappointing indeed... but those who can hold out, will find themselves with a great deal. Just take a look at the content on offer...

• Xbox 360 Elite Console with Exclusive Red Finish
• Matching red wireless controller
• 120GB hard drive
• Resident Evil 5
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix [TBC]
• Exclusive Resident Evil Premium Theme [TBC]
• Xbox 360 black wired headset
• HDTV-ready component HD AV, HDMI and Ethernet cables

With most retailers selling Resident Evil 5 for over R700, as well as Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix fetching around R150 on Xbox Live marketplace, you'll easily save R800 over the equally priced Xbox 360 Elite. It's also a great buy for first time Xbox 360 users worried about hardware failures, as the RE5 LE console is said to have the new Jasper chipset which supposedly eradicates the heating and noise issues suffered by older models.

If you're going to take the leap, make sure you pre-order well ahead of time as there'll only be a limited amount of stock hitting our shores.

[UPDATE] The two Xbox Live associated items, the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix arcade title and the Exclusive Resident Evil Premium Theme, won't be included in the South African bundle. Still a worthwhile buy, however, a bit disappointing... why they couldn't just pre-install the items like they do on the arcade bundles I'm not sure.