With PS4 heading toward its release on 13 December 2013, and Sony having a strong presence at rAge 2013, MyGaming caught up with Ster Kinekor Entertainment CEO Mario dos Santos to discuss the task of getting the console to South Africa.
With regards to getting the PS4 to South Africa alongside the international launch window (as opposed to months later as with the PS3’s launch), Dos Santos said there were some hurdles to overcome.
“It was fairly evident that the demand exceeded supply early on, and that put SA as one of the frontline markets. We’ve also now had a relationship with [Sony Computer Entertainment] for 17 years and it helped to leverage that relationship,” said Dos Santos.
“SA is definitely primary to Sony now, and South Africa has a healthy software-attachment rate, some of the other markets aren’t even as healthy as we are, so that attachment we bring to bear is something that helps a lot.”
Mario dos Santos
With the release date of Xbox One in SA still up in the air, Dos Santos feels that the next-gen race in SA will still come down to content.
“If you can get people into your brand and continue to deliver good content to them, then they’ll stay with that brand,” said Dos Santos. “We were on the backfoot with the PS3 against the Xbox 360, and it was difficult for us to claw back, but ultimately I think it’s going to be about the games and content, and we are definitely excited to be going to market first.”
In terms of PS4 bundles, MyGaming asked whether SA has autonomy in selecting its own bundles, or whether it has to line up with the UK or other markets.
“There’s still a level of approvals, and we generally go through the European division, but there is some autonomy in our bundles, and historically we have always some unique aspects to our bundles,” said Dos Santos.
“Sony is very progressive and offers different bundles or components that could work in certain regions, and we help configure them to help work in our market.”
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Hopefully it won’t sell out too quickly and when it does they will be resupplying it as fast as possible.
I think the PS4 is going to dominate the console market here, it’s cheaper than the X1 and it is releasing almost a year before it. It was the same with the 360 and Ps3 but the roles have switched.