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PlayStation arcades taking over African country

Posted Apr 22, 2008 at 5:21PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Africa, IDG, PS2

It's a little known fact that there are smaller countries beginning to pick up on gaming, and that's why we want to point out Sierra Leone in Africa. The place may not ring a bell, but you'd be familiar with the citizens there if you're fond of the PlayStation brand.

Owners of video game centers where people can rent consoles for limited play time got in touch with IDG to shed light on very interesting developments in Sierra Leone's gaming scene. We ended up learning how big of a business console arcades are in that part of the world.

According to game center owners from Freetown, the country's capital, daily income reaches up to US$ 40. Crowd favorites are often simple two-player games on the PS2. To put things into perspective, the average annual income in Sierra Leone is US$ 240.

It is believed that over 800 PlayStation centers are available for around a million of citizens in Freetown. Customers can pay US$ 0.33 to play a round, or dish out US$ 6.40 to indulge themselves in gaming all day. Interesting enough, operators of these centers know consoles only need 10 liters of fuel a day to run on generators when Sierra Leone's power is out.

The PlayStation craze doesn't stop there, because players go as far as betting money during play and say it's not possible to study properly when you miss a day of gaming. Some players reportedly hail animation in games as superior to watching the actual English Premier League among others.

Meanwhile, PSP units are moving around and slowly gaining ground. These portable gaming devices usually come in from relatives outside the country, while it's possible to acquire used UMD movies locally for US$ 10.

Via GamePro

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They only make $240 a year, but they don't pay the same high price for the same goods we pay for in the U.S. Ever notice how people can work in the U.S. and send $100 bucks a week back home a support entire families. Food is a lot cheaper, for example.

You can actually live like an average person over there on $240 bucks a year. That would last you 2 weeks in the states. That's why when I retire I'm moving oversees.

# oops — st4r5cr34m 2008-04-23 01:50

Meant MEDC country....

# haha — scarface_tha_second 2008-04-23 02:45

this is what it was like in Iran when I was going up. Playstation arcades everywhere...just without the starvation and way more money.

# hello QJ wake up — xche78x 2008-04-23 03:44

the owner of the game center is now the richest common person in africa. earning thousands of dollars a year.

# Because... — Shatterdome 2008-04-23 10:12

We have real arcades, and even those are dying out because everyone owns a console that performs better then arcade units....

Arcades are only good for the simulation/*****pit type games now...

# Starvation? — Datnizzle 2008-04-23 12:31

I think I should tell you guys Africa is not a country. It's made up of separate countries. This article said nothing of starvation. It's Sierra Leon, not the Sudan, damn.

And they do have these in America it's called Gamefrog.

I think it's pretty cool because in 3 years it would be funny to see the PS2 sells numbers go up because they are selling ps2's for $30-$40 bucks a pop. That and when I use Folding at Home I can see some yellow dots in Africa, it's pretty empty now, you would think South Africa and Egypt would have a few units.

# Numbers don't add up — damonous 2008-04-23 14:13

Something odd about the numbers in this article. Salaries can reach $40 a day, but average salary is $240 a year. You can pay $6.40 to game all day, or buy a UMD movie for $10. ---So, based on the average salary, some people may commonly go in and drop nearly 4% of their yearly earnings? And some (in the BEST case scenario) may spend a 4th of their daily earnings to buy a UMD movie. ....We're talking about ADULTS here, not just kids. --Is it just me, or do these figures not add up? If they are accurate, we need to crown the people of Sierra Leone as THE WORLD'S MOST DEDICATED GAMERS! (Food is not required.)

# Up Next... — st4r5cr34m 2008-04-24 01:24

Starvin' Marvin on a PS3.

# What???? — John Davids 2008-04-24 04:34

I'm from Africa, South Africa and I own a PS2 Slim and PSP lite, so I don't under why the world still thinks that Africa is far behind with gaming. It's on per with the world.

Almost every 3 out of 5 homes own a PS2 and some have already bought a PS3.

I'm not so much into arcades, because I suck, when I use the joy-pad. I preferre using the playstation control for any game.

And the reason why I do not yet own a PS3 is, BECAUSE they

only sale the 40GB PS3...DATE WAITING IS 12 June , then I'll get one, that's if there are available here in SA.

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PlayStation arcades taking over African country

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