Will South Africa Skip The 8th Console Gen?

[Polymathic]

The 8th console Gen is at its closing stages according to the media. Yet in South Africa there are a shocking amount people still using and buying PS3 and Xbox 360 Games, a friend of mine has a side hustle of reselling this gem era games and has a lot of customers. Personally there are very few people I know who own current gen consoles and I've noticed the console gaming sections in stores grow smaller over the years.

 

[Sinbad]

At the cost of consoles nowadays, I think we'll skip 9th and 10th as well

 

[labratza]

only reason I get latest consoles well ps4 and xbox 1 is that it came free with my cellphone upgrade

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Stores are becoming obsolete altogether, as everyone is moving towards ordering their media online or buying digital.

And no, we're not skipping anything. Just because there is a big market for previous gen, doesn't mean that there's no take-up for current gen. During the previous gen, PS2 was still huge. The same thing is happening now. People are just waiting for prices to drop more...

 

[Tikkop]

Consoles are becoming more and more like PCs. Soon the whole world will give them a skip.

 

[isie]

The 8th console Gen is at its closing stages according to the media. Yet in South Africa there are a shocking amount people still using and buying PS3 and Xbox 360 Games, a friend of mine has a side hustle of reselling this gem era games and has a lot of customers. Personally there are very few people I know who own current gen consoles and I've noticed the console gaming sections in stores grow smaller over the years.

physical disc sales decline because digital sales have increased.

 

[Ho3n3r]

Skipped the first 7, don't see any reason why I won't continue this trend.

 

[Barbarian Conan]

No?

The PS4 is cheaper than the PS3 was at launch, so the price of the console itself isn't the cause of relatively few people buying it.

Of my friends and family in SA who buy consoles, only 1 is still on the previous gen. The rest, 8 or so including myself, are on current gent hardware.

 

[bokka1]

I have the Xbox One X and will definitely get the next gen console.

I don't buy any physical games and have gone digital all the way. With game sharing it is a no-brainer.

 

[RokSwaab]

A lot of people are also going the PC route because games are just too expensive in SA so they end up pirating on PC.

 

[Solitude]

I have the Xbox One X and will definitely get the next gen console.

I don't buy any physical games and have gone digital all the way. With game sharing it is a no-brainer.

+1

Exactly the same here.

 

[genetic]

A lot of people are also going the PC route because games are just too expensive in SA so they end up pirating on PC.

Games are expensive whether you buy then in Dollars or Rands.

 

[RazedInBlack]

Won't be skipping anything.

The next Playstation to come out, I'll buy. Besides I know quite a few people upgraded from PS3 or XBox 360 to PS4 or XB1.

 

[Lupus]

Nope not skipped, just physical discs are obsolete

 

[Vrotappel]

I think the next gen is most probably only coming end of 2019 or in 2020.

 

[RazedInBlack]

Nope not skipped, just physical discs are obsolete

I still buy physical most of the time but my digital collection is starting to grow, although quite slowly. Physical copies I can still sell, swop or trade, thats the one advantage I suppose.

 

[reachme1983]

 

[ponder]

only reason I get latest consoles well ps4 and xbox 1 is that it came free with my cellphone upgrade

Nothing is free.

 

[Spizz]

There are still some cracking titles to be had and lots of bargains for top games on last gen consoles. In the UK last week, I picked up a PS3 slim with 3 wireless controllers and 12 games (GTA V, RDR, Last Us, Fallout NV etc) for less than R1000.

The trade in type stores sell these top games for anywhere between R50 - R150. Even if you do have the latest gen console, this is a good time to grab some last gen love.

 

[parravis]

At the cost of consoles nowadays, I think we'll skip 9th and 10th as well

Cost is definitely prohibitive in SA. I bought my Xbox One for R4500 in SA last year, the 500gb model with just Gears of War included. In September 2017 I went to Germany a few days for work and they were selling the Xbox One S 1TB with any two games of your choice for €250. Even with the exchange rate it still worked out under R4000. I wanted to get me one but I was worried customs would nail me on the way back into SA.

Don't even get me started on Nintendo products. How can they justify R6000 for a Nintendo Switch? It kinda works out if you directly convert using the exchange rate, but that doesn't take buying power into account at all. R6000 does not have the same buying power as €300 does in the EU. If you take actual buying power into account we should not be paying more than R4000 for a Switch. When you convert from dollar it is even worse. Then we're overpaying more than R2000.