Europeans barred from Afrika

by Ludwig Kietzmann { May 27th 2008 at 11:55AM }

It seems that you residents of Europe itching to go on an exotic wildlife safari will either have to import a copy of the PlayStation 3's Afrika, or have someone push you through the downtown supermarket on a trolley. And hey, if you have extra money lion around, you could pay a visit to the real Africa (the one with a "c") and snap some pics of those really tall horses.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony has declared that its plans to publish the nebulous Afrika in Europe are currently non-existent. It was confirmed that the game would still be coming out in Japan, however, with zebra new teaser website promising something "soon." We'll keep our ears to the ground, listening for that stampede of information.

Tags: Africa, Afrika, PS3, SCEE, SCEJ, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

PojoMofo @ May 27th 2008 11:59AM

WOW, 2 things:

A. This game is still coming out??? i assumed Vaporware

2. Ludwig is now known as "Punmaster L"

Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!) @ May 27th 2008 12:04PM

What about just the Punisher?

PojoMofo @ May 27th 2008 12:14PM

*edit* what Raikage said

A Pissed-off English Gamer @ May 27th 2008 12:25PM

Agghh, the attrocious animal puns! *dies*

Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!) @ May 27th 2008 12:28PM

I agree, these puns are punishing our feeble minds!

na2ru1 @ May 27th 2008 12:57PM

Where did he get the PUNISHER name from?

Maverick Saturn @ May 27th 2008 1:08PM

I dont get it....wheres the pun-ch line?

Marty @ May 27th 2008 1:35PM

All of Ludwig's posts seem like a personal challenge to see just how many puns he can squeeze into only two or three paragraphs... and I love every one!

colin @ May 27th 2008 6:39PM

zebra new teaser ... stretching it

Mr Intel @ May 27th 2008 12:01PM

lol lion around that joke neva gets old

Wii60Warrior @ May 27th 2008 12:02PM

Any reason as to why? Was it banned for some unknown reason or does sony just not want to release it there for w/e cracked up reason they have?

elmersglue @ May 27th 2008 12:10PM

probably because they figure Europeans have a more logical mindset and wouldn't buy such a ridiculously useless game....

They already know Japanese people buy all kinds of weird shit..

And the US is diverse enough in population to sell just enough copies...

Stereotyping FTW!

J.Goodwin @ May 27th 2008 12:49PM

Yeah, sounds kind of like this is a non-game.

Although the Europeans seem to love that non-game stuff. Singstar, Buzz...

{peshue @ May 27th 2008 1:30PM

Maybe they're still worried about colonialism?
My best guess is they don't think it will do well enough to merit translating into so many different languages.

Vidikron (FU) @ May 27th 2008 1:42PM

It's not banned.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 27th 2008 2:05PM

How is Singstar and Buzz nongames?

JonRemedy @ May 27th 2008 12:09PM

That's kinda lame... Africa is correctly written Afrika here in Norway...

Lars @ May 27th 2008 1:57PM

I always thought it was called Afrika in the country itself, so I don't get why people keep hating on the name. It seems like the creators are trying to show some respect to the country that way.

Think of it as releasing a game in France called "The United States" and people freaking out saying "whut ze hell? Why did zey not call it Les Etates Unis, like normal?"

JonRemedy @ May 27th 2008 2:02PM

Yeah, I get your point... Except that Africa is a continent, and as such has a lot of different languages (including English), so your comment makes only sense in an abstract kind of way :)

Lars @ May 27th 2008 2:37PM

True. I suppose I'm thinking more of mid or southern Africa. Which is what the game seems to focus on, from what I've seen.

It's funny how people stereotype a huge region. Like Africa or China, or the United States even. Hell, I've met a lot of people that seem to think all of California is like the mid-southern beaches.... They're shocked when I mention that I go skiing often. "oh, do you fly to another state or something?" "uh, no... we've got mountains too, you know."

ComradeTrotskii @ May 27th 2008 12:10PM

I have no idea what this game is and likely wouldn't care anyway. One thing Sony has gotten right this generation though is that all games are region free so anyone that does care can simply import the game.

That is provided that Sony hasn't shut down your favourite import site.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/24/sony-lawsuits-force-lik-sang-to-close-up-shop/

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 27th 2008 12:29PM

Might as well add Nintendo and Microsoft to that list as well since both of those companies took their fair chunk out of Lik-Sang. Or Lik-Sang could have just followed the cease and desist letters or at least bothered to show up in court.

ComradeTrotskii @ May 27th 2008 12:37PM

It was always Sony that caught the flak though for whatever reason. Nintendos Draconian policy on region locking and Microsofts almost indifference to it also make it less funny to point out these things.

StarFoxA @ May 27th 2008 12:11PM

Oh, you're so punny, Ludwig.

LaughingTarget @ May 27th 2008 12:18PM

I think Ludwig would be the most upset if he didn't get to play it. What better way to visit the continent you live on than on a video game console?

I think that's the point. Why bother localizing it when Africa is literally right next door. Just like how making a game about Cancun and selling it in the US would be retarded.

Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!) @ May 27th 2008 12:34PM

Yeah, why would I go buy GTAIV when I can just go outside and shoot a hooker in the face?

:P

Lars @ May 27th 2008 2:15PM

I agree with LaughingTarget. I experience some of that because I've lived in southern California all my life. It seems like theres always TV shows and such centered here. When I was a kid I figured that was just because we made those shows here, for just this region. Little did I know that the rest of the country watches that crap. Shows like 90210 or the OC were always pretty stupid to me because they always made me think "why would I sit here on the couch watching these characters hang out with friends at the beach... I could just step outside and you know, actually do that instead." I always enjoyed shows about the Amazon, Africa, or Arctic and so on. But hey, maybe people in the rainforest see those nature shows and go, "meh, I can see the struggle for life outside my door, maybe I'll find a show about spoiled brats who live in an urban society and overplay social problems since they've got nothing better to do."

Raikage's comment, while funny, doesn't really apply to this type of game.

Vidikron (FU) @ May 27th 2008 2:36PM

@Lars

LT's point would only be like yours if the people concerned lived in Africa. "Right next door" is highly relative when you're talking about an entirely different country... hell, it's an entirely different continent when talking about Africa. We're not really talking about weekend road trips here.