South Africa left without a Nintendo distributor

[wraggster]

via wiifanboy (http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/02/15/south-africa-left-without-a-nintendo-distributor/)

It sucks to be South African today, as distributor Futronic confirmed that it has ceased distribution for Nintendo in the region. Adding on to the horrible amounts of pain one must endure living in the region and just finding out this news, there are no plans for another distributor to pick up the slack and take over duties, with even Nintendo's South African domain not even offering relief.

Even worse is that the only light at the end of tunnel for South African gamers is the rumor that Nintendo of Europe could pick up the duties, however the possibility of that happening is pretty slim.

[shadowprophet]

But all hope is not lost. Importing has its good points.

[Zion]

i hardly think having a nintendo wii is a south africans top priority, to be honest.

with all the hunger, famine and disease that has being affecting the country for years there, i recon they would much prefer those to be gone than to own a wii...

although im not saying that they wouldnt like a wii, of course they would....but im sure the vast majority would prefer a better quality of life over a games console....

just my 2 cents

[shadowprophet]

Common misconception about that zion, of course south africa is a third world nation. Its a very common misconception to assume everyone there is flat broke.you see they don't have a very strong government there, So social status and wealth are power there. In fact their are people in south africa right now that have more money then they know what to do with.
The country itself does have a lot of poverty, however but don't mistake this high poverty rate for the entirety of south africa. In fact most of the worlds diamonds come from south africa. Its in fact a socially divided place, there are quite a few people in South Africa with enough money to buy out bill gates three times over in fact.

[baracki96]

Common misconception about that zion, of course south africa is a third world nation. Its a very common misconception to assume everyone there is flat broke.you see they don't have a very strong government there, So social status and wealth are power there. In fact their are people in south africa right now that have more money then they know what to do with.
The country itself does have a lot of poverty, however but don't mistake this high poverty rate for the entirety of south africa. In fact most of the worlds diamonds come from south africa. Its in fact a socially divided place, there are quite a few people in South Africa with enough money to buy out bill gates three times over in fact.
Interesting informative post. Having been in North Africa with a friend, I found that there are cities that look better than some of those found in America or France ( my two home countries, dual citizenship). Still, it looks like importing is soon to become a common practice of nintendo-fans in South-Africa.

[I heart Nintendo]

Damn. Looks like they won't be gettin' their Wii on.

[JKKDARK]

i hardly think having a nintendo wii is a south africans top priority, to be honest.

with all the hunger, famine and disease that has being affecting the country for years there, i recon they would much prefer those to be gone than to own a wii...

although im not saying that they wouldnt like a wii, of course they would....but im sure the vast majority would prefer a better quality of life over a games console....

just my 2 cents

South Africa isn't poor. Maybe it's not Europe or the USA, but it's good, normal.
And I don't think there are people which top priority is a video game console. Where's the family? It's not the top priority for you?

[Zion]

And I don't think there are people which top priority is a video game console. Where's the family? It's not the top priority for you?

I said there top priority ISNT a console.......

read what i said, i said having food water and other things is more important to them.


@ shadowprophet...... woah i didnt know that man., thanks for the info

[Duobix]

People, you are talking about south africa, yeah, but what about Poland? I live in Poland, and Nintendo sells by distributor lucas toys! And it is horrible!! No vip points inside boxes, sh**y translated and cut instructions from xero..... And Wii is so expensive as Xbox 360 is!! I think that nintendo have to put their hands on poland. Did you knew that EVERY wii was Sold during the first day they put it on shelfs?? (Sorry for my english, I'know it sucks a lot)

[Sinak]

Hi Guys

I am from SA. It's true there is alot of poverty in the country but thats not the whole story. The economy is actually split between a first world and third world status. Theres a huge middle class and quite a large gaming community. As it stands theres a massive market in the first world sector for consoles. The PS2 did insanely well and the Xbox 360 is selling like mad. The problem with Futronic is that they didn't market properly. They had no advertising strategy at all. The PSP is selling well but the DS has virtually no presence. This is also due to the fact that most retailers dont like dealing with Futronic because of poor after sales support.Thats how they backed themselves into a corner.

There are tons of people waiting for the Wii, alot of us dont like to import because of support issues. however its seems we may have do just that. Still we're holding thumbs for Nintendo Europe or another agent.

Hope this sheds some light on things.