Xbox Gaming in South Africa

It's been four years since the last rugby union game on console, and now in 2011 fans can look forward to not just one, but two new rugby games, both coming to the Xbox 360.

Caught up in the hype of E3, teams from Rugby Challenge (Sidhe Interactive) and Rugby World Cup 2011 (HB Studios) have released their first screenshots showing off their respective games, giving us a chance to see what each developer has in-store for gamers.

So, without further ado, check them out below:

Rugby Challenge

Rugby Challenge will include the All Blacks, ITM Cup, and Investec Super Rugby amongst other licensed teams and competitions, and will feature multiplayer online play, a multi-year franchise mode, extensive customisation options, and dynamic real-time commentary.

Rugby World Cup 2011

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2011 will challenge players to pick from the 20 Rugby World Cup 2011 participating countries, and attempt to lead their team through the pool phase progress to the Final and the opportunity to lift the prestigious Webb Ellis Cup.

Update: Added three new RWC 2011 screenshots (gallery above) which give an overview of the New Zealand stadiums: Auckland, Invercargill and Wellington. Images courtesy of The Rugby Forum.

I must be honest, there's quite a big discrepancy in quality between the Rugby Challenge and Rugby World Cup 2011 screenshots, so much so that it's hard to believe that the screenshots for RWC 2011 were taken on a HD platform. Hopefully we'll be able to get a better idea of what to expect as more screenshots and the first gameplay trailers are released.

Rugby World Cup 2011 will be out 26 August in South Africa, while Rugby Challenge is scheduled to release sometime in Q3, with a local distributor still to be confirmed.