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[Death Metalist]

Here in the middle east Sony and Playstation are two words that's always dominant in the markets, even last gen I knew more people who owned PS3's than 360's and that's because Sony is in the middle east market for generations by now whether it's consoles, TV's or whatever. Microsoft only gained abit of momentum here last gen with their 360 and now they shot themselves in the foot with the X1, people here would buy a PS no matter what the price is. Good for Sony.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

It's interesting to see that ps4 sold a million in the middle east. Matching it's numbers for Japan.

India could be next. But poverty and the weak rupee doesn't help.

 

[Sparkedglory]

Wow. Good news all around. Congrats Sony. Plus this is good for all of the fans over there as well.

 

[Donrule01]

Sonyu Akbar!!!

 

[RadarScope1]

Here in the Middle East we got A LOT of Hardcore Gamers. Gamers that are really passionate about gaming and actually understands everything. Like Gaf here, people discuss about games, graphics, A.I, glitches, development, developers...etc. We do exactly the same here too. The gamers population is growing like crazy here with every gen. No wonder Sony and others now gives us attention. Which actually makes us the gamers here very happy to be noticed cause we arent different from the gamers of US and Europe. Got to admit though that Xbox isnt popular like the Playstation in the Middle East. Yes there are a lot of people who owns Xbox here but still the Playstation is more popular. Here in Saudi Arabia the gaming market is massive. Famous developers even started visiting our region which we really appreciate. When Harada came to Saudi Arabia I saw a couple of people crying of happiness. When I asked why they said: "We never thought we would be noticed by our childhood favorite developer" I was happy myself when I saw Harada and Keiji Inafune infront of my eyes. It all felt like a dream from all the joy! Now we see famous games getting released in Arabic which is something we're very proud of cause Hey! They noticed us! I dont like playing them in Arabic though cause I enjoy the real deal. So yeah, thank you Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for noticing and considering us just like all the other gamers.

Nice post - love reading this.

It's interesting to see that ps4 sold a million in the middle east. Matching it's numbers for Japan.

That's crazy to think about. Thanks for the reminder and that bit of context.

 

[travisbickle]

These markets are why Sony is coming up to 20 million sold. And also why people shouldn't obsess about sales of Sony first party ip in the US, there's a whole world to market to with different tastes. Specifically calling out people saying Driveclub's dead due to lackluster US sales.

 

[biglittleps]

More than that, I hear Mars loves the Xbox1...

But there is no population in mars currently (as far as we know) for Xbox1 to sell which is really bad for MS.

 

[icecold1983]

It really is unreal how fast ps4 is selling. Its undeniably the best console this gen by a fucking landslide, but i still dont fully understand why its selling so fast

 

[cchum]

It really is unreal how fast ps4 is selling. Its undeniably the best console this gen by a fucking landslide, but i still dont fully understand why its selling so fast

4 p's of marketing

Price-highest value per product
Product-best hardware and comparable os. Sony first party
Place -better distribution
Promotion-years of play station being the "name" for home consoles

 

[ppor]

Did they blur out the Xbones in the background? lol

 

[GnawtyDog]

Did they blur out the Xbones in the background? lol

Yes. No exposure allowed.

 

[Dr. Kaos]

Arab fighter in Street Fighter 5: confirmed!

 

[icecold1983]

4 p's of marketing

Price-highest value per product
Product-best hardware and comparable os. Sony first party
Place -better distribution
Promotion-years of play station being the "name" for home consoles

Doesnt explain the disparity between this and previous gens

 

[Alo0oy]

These markets are why Sony is coming up to 20 million sold. And also why people shouldn't obsess about sales of Sony first party ip in the US, there's a whole world to market to with different tastes. Specifically calling out people saying Driveclub's dead due to lackluster US sales.

You're right, Gran Turismo is probably the second biggest franchise in the ME after Fifa, if you have a playstation in the ME & don't have either of those games then people would think something is wrong with you.

 

[ZiZ]

Is it because most of the young population in oil rich KSA and UAE are

1. Rich as Fu·*
2. Bored because alcohol is prohibited, so people turn to video games for entertainment.

I fully agree with the second point, but the first point is nowhere near true.

 

[B.O.O.M]

Doesnt explain the disparity between this and previous gens

maybe the 5th P...Population growth

 

[tuxfool]

But there is no population in mars currently (as far as we know) for Xbox1 to sell which is really bad for MS.

Whoosh?

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Sony is pretty dominant in the ME. For a long time they had an official presence in the ME and marketing was they had a sort of monopoly until Microsoft launched the Xbox.

 

[g23]

I fully agree with the second point, but the first point is nowhere near true.

Really? Because I would imagine the average middle class youth would have way more spending money than the average youth out in the west. With all that oil money and benefits these gulf countries provide for their population to keep them happy.

 

[GameAddict411]

Here in the Middle East we got A LOT of Hardcore Gamers. Gamers that are really passionate about gaming and actually understands everything. Like Gaf here, people discuss about games, graphics, A.I, glitches, development, developers...etc. We do exactly the same here too. The gamers population is growing like crazy here with every gen. No wonder Sony and others now gives us attention. Which actually makes us the gamers here very happy to be noticed cause we arent different from the gamers of US and Europe. Got to admit though that Xbox isnt popular like the Playstation in the Middle East. Yes there are a lot of people who owns Xbox here but still the Playstation is more popular. Here in Saudi Arabia the gaming market is massive. Famous developers even started visiting our region which we really appreciate. When Harada came to Saudi Arabia I saw a couple of people crying of happiness. When I asked why they said: "We never thought we would be noticed by our childhood favorite developer" I was happy myself when I saw Harada and Keiji Inafune infront of my eyes. It all felt like a dream from all the joy! Now we see famous games getting released in Arabic which is something we're very proud of cause Hey! They noticed us! I dont like playing them in Arabic though cause I enjoy the real deal. So yeah, thank you Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for noticing and considering us just like all the other gamers.

from what i remember the world record holder of the highest number of platinum trophies is from bahrain. he also has an account here.

 

[Alo0oy]

Really? Because I would imagine the average middle class youth would have way more spending money than the average youth out in the west. With all that oil money and benefits these gulf countries provide for their population to keep them happy.

Completely untrue, the wealth in the middle east is focused completely in the Royal Family & their affiliates, the minimum salary where I live is the equivalent of 660 USD a month, & the middle class makes around 2000 to 2500 USD a month.

 

[EGOMON]

I am from ME and I can confirm that PS4 launch has brought so many new gamers into the industry our local gaming forum is busier than ever

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Games in the Middle East are being developed in Arabic language as well and Sony are helping a number of smaller developers in the region get their games onto PS4.

I'd love to see a Middle East gaming scene take off. In the sense of creating games.

Are there any games that have gotten some buzz made in the region. I'd love to see some games with an arabic style and influence.

I know games like prince of persia (I know Iran is different) take their style from a lot of persian and arabic influences but it would be cool to see something without the orientalism lens.

I'd love to see a game based off of arabic caligraphy, I think a cool indie game is ripe for the picking there.

 

[GHG]

Is it because most of the young population in oil rich KSA and UAE are

1. Rich as Fu·*
2. Bored because alcohol is prohibited, so people turn to video games for entertainment.

You might want to check your sources on these... It's bullshit.

The stores here in Dubai were crazy on launch day for the ps4. Interesting to hear that demand has largely been sustained.

I had no difficulties in picking up an xbox one a few weeks after the official launch here (a year later than the US date). I just strolled into Virgin and there were stacks of them sitting there with nobody else around and no store reps in the section.

It's worth noting that PC gaming is also quite a big market here. You can pick up pre built gaming PC's in a lot of the major electronics stores and most of the major releases in the last 48 months are widely available on retail disks. They also sell steam credit vouchers in a few stores as well.

Ubisoft happen to have a office here down in Abu Dhabi and are in partnership with a few of the local universities to develop young talent in the country. Although, most of the work they do here is mobile and localisation stuff.

 

[Mista]

Yup, loads of hardcore gamers in the middle east. Not many people know that there are loads of conventions and events in this region.

True that

This is actually really good to hear that they're having more interactions with the UAE Hopefully we will also see some promising developers form from all over as well

Not only UAE but the whole Middle East. Yes im waiting for the day Kojima visits

This really makes me happy

Im glad

Nice post - love reading this.

Glad you liked it

from what i remember the world record holder of the highest number of platinum trophies is from bahrain. he also has an account here.

Yes true. He's well known in our gaming community all over middle east due to the plats he have. I think he goes by the name HAKOOM or something like that

 

[Stereogatari]

Just imagine if MS starts selling Xbx1 to other middle eastern countries such as SA, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, etc. That's roughly 300 million potential customers.
If MS can manage to convince just 1% to buy Xbx1 then they should be able to overtake Sony's lead in the region and close the world wide gap.

Sorry to break it to you, but all those countries are Sony land.

Anyone know any figures for Turkey? I imagine the market there will also grow hugely this gen.

 

[Fezan]

Wut??

Ps4 launch price was 1600 SAR now its 1900 SAR.

Xbox one launched at 2100SAR now you can get it for 1500SAR with some gift cards

 

[Withnail]

Yup, Arabic support was arguably the most important but least reported new feature in PS4 firmware 2.0. SCE has made some smart moves in that market over a number of years and now it's bearing fruit.

 

[Raist]

Sorry to break it to you, but all those countries are Sony land.

Anyone know any figures for Turkey? I imagine the market there will also grow hugely this gen.

The only thing I could find (granted I didn't spend a lot of time) is that the SW market in Turkey was worth $400-500k in 2012. Consoles repreent 1/4th of that.
Apparently, it's amongst the fastest growing though.

 

[Rymuth]

Sony is pretty dominant in the ME. For a long time they had an official presence in the ME and marketing was they had a sort of monopoly until Microsoft launched the Xbox.

Sony's hold over the ME only broke because the 360 was so easy to mod, i.e. copied games. The Xbone does not possess that advantage.

Off-topic: there are a lot of Expats here who are swayed by their students choice of gaming console. A lot of my nieces' teachers asked me whicn console to pick when they go back to the states and I'd recommend the PS4 to them.

 

[1st Course]

It's interesting to see that ps4 sold a million in the middle east. Matching it's numbers for Japan.

Holyshit

 

[L.O.R.D]

I've never played with a Saudi, Yemeni etc in competitive or cooperative multiplayer to my knowledge. They can't be any worse than Brazilians, so I welcome their heightened presence in the gaming community

because the internet we use here is very bad
even with fiber optics , the ping outside of saudi arabia is above 120 ms
inside saudi arabia < 10
for DSL users ping could reach 150 - 300 ms outside saudi arabia

 

[ASIS]

Here in the Middle East we got A LOT of Hardcore Gamers. Gamers that are really passionate about gaming and actually understands everything. Like Gaf here, people discuss about games, graphics, A.I, glitches, development, developers...etc. We do exactly the same here too. The gamers population is growing like crazy here with every gen. No wonder Sony and others now gives us attention. Which actually makes us the gamers here very happy to be noticed cause we arent different from the gamers of US and Europe. Got to admit though that Xbox isnt popular like the Playstation in the Middle East. Yes there are a lot of people who owns Xbox here but still the Playstation is more popular. Here in Saudi Arabia the gaming market is massive. Famous developers even started visiting our region which we really appreciate. When Harada came to Saudi Arabia I saw a couple of people crying of happiness. When I asked why they said: "We never thought we would be noticed by our childhood favorite developer" I was happy myself when I saw Harada and Keiji Inafune infront of my eyes. It all felt like a dream from all the joy! Now we see famous games getting released in Arabic which is something we're very proud of cause Hey! They noticed us! I dont like playing them in Arabic though cause I enjoy the real deal. So yeah, thank you Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for noticing and considering us just like all the other gamers.

Yeah, my friend got an autograph and a photo with Kojima when he visited the UAE. I also remember the first time I tried a demo of Bayonetta in one of those conventions. Needless to say that demo is what sold me on the game.

I just wish there are more middle eastern devs, some people are ridiculously talented.

 

[Sayad]

thats why sony keeps n increasing the prices of console and Xboxone is dropping

What?!

 

[Xando]

PS4 adoption rate seems to be way above average in a lot of european/middle eastern/asian markets. Maybe when MS hears these numbers they start to show some effort outside of the US/UK.


Do we have any adoption numbers from Africa?

 

[crinale]

For console game vendors ROTW would become more and more important than ever before.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

PS4 sales will shortly exceed 1 million units across the region.

wut....I never knew this market was so big. Its up there with the notable EU countries.

 

[chromatic9]

Are there any software charts or rough idea what games are selling through reports?

I do remember some PS3 games releasing early in this region and leaking info to the west such as Killzone 2, sure that was UAE. Not heard much since that spell though.

 

[Ushay]

Sonyu Akbar!!!

Really?

OT: This is great news. Feels great to see console gaming becoming so widespread this generation.

 

[Raist]

PS4 adoption rate seems to be way above average in a lot of european/middle eastern/asian markets. Maybe when MS hears these numbers they start to show some effort outside of the US/UK.


Do we have any adoption numbers from Africa?

40k PS4 as of mid-october 2014 in South Africa.
PS3 was at 300k LTD at that point.

http://mygaming.co.za/news/ps4/69955-playstation-at-over-9000-in-south-africa.html

 

[twdnewh_k]

One very important factor to consider is that these numbers are for sales through official retail channels. At the time of the ps3 launch most bought their consoles from smaller local shops who imported their own stock which will not be counted as an 'official' sale.

 

[ZhugeEX]

wut....I never knew this market was so big. Its up there with the notable EU countries.

It's a big market.

But worth noting that the (almost) 1 million number includes GCC countries so we're talking about cumulative sales across:

• Bahrain
• Kuwait
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Oman
• United Arab Emirates

Robert Fisser was clear that sales haven't passed 1m yet in the region but he said that sales were 4x higher than the PS3 in the same time period and he expected more than 1m sales in the region shortly.

The good thing as well is PS4 is available through official sales channels very early on so that helped boost sales + the price, marketing and Arab support from PlayStation has allowed the console to take off. The PS3 was stil doing really great in the Middle East all things considered but the PS4 is doing 4x better in the same timeframe.

 

[Stereogatari]

The only thing I could find (granted I didn't spend a lot of time) is that the SW market in Turkey was worth $400-500k in 2012. Consoles repreent 1/4th of that.
Apparently, it's amongst the fastest growing though.

Cool thanks for hunting. I'm not surprised by the fastest growing, the fact Sony are now translating all first party games (and UI) into Turkish must mean something good .

 

[ASIS]

wut....I never knew this market was so big. Its up there with the notable EU countries.

That's because the industry is still quite small. It's almost exclusively made out of retailers and consumers, there are barely any developers, publishers, journalists, etc. To make the scene as big as US and EU, but on the consumer front it's nothing to scoff at.

This topic made me want to search the scene in a little more detail, here's an article form Polygon that has a few interesting tid bits.

http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/25/3544758/game-development-in-the-middle-east

Ahmadi tells Polygon that Iran has gone from having barely a handful of game development studios a few years ago to having more than 95 active studios. The output of games from Iranian studios has risen 50 percent in the last year.

"The entertainment industry in Iran is very young," Ahmadi says. "In fact, game development in Iran only started five years ago."

The past five years have seen what Ahmadi describes as three generations of game developers emerging.

"The first generation tried to develop games by trial and error in the first two years and shared their experiences with the next generation," Ahmadi says.

"The second generation started game development by using these experiences and doing more research and study. It is noteworthy that they managed to develop games that attracted known game developers and publishers to sell their games in some countries."
"The third generation is now emerging and while conditions may not be ideal for large-scale game development, they're the best they've ever been"

The country currently boasts more than 30 million internet users and 20 million gamers. Its people are quick to latch onto new technology and circumvent banned and blocked channels. It's a country hungry for knowledge, with education a birth right and UNICEF reporting that it has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, with more than 85 percent of Iranian adults literate. At its peak in 2008, global statistic tracker Index Mundi recorded that 98.52 percent of Iranian women between the ages 15-24 were literate.

When it comes to making games for the Middle East and North Africa, Rina Onur from Peak Games in Turkey says there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and what works in the West will not necessarily work in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and what works in one country in MENA will not necessarily work in another.

For example, most online and mobile games in the West and Asia rely on credit card payments, but credit card penetration in the region can be quite low. In Iran, credit cards do not exist. Iranian banks set up a system called "shetab" only five years ago to allow Iranians to make online transactions using their debit cards &#8211; prior to this, people had to pay using cash or make transactions in person. In places like Saudi Arabia, mobile transactions are one of the dominant forms of payment, with services deducting phone credit that users can then top up.

When Khonsari spoke to the media about 1979 in 2011, a conservative newspaper in Iran, Kayhan, got wind of his project and claimed that he was creating pro-Western propaganda. Within days of the interviews hitting the internet, he received phone calls from concerned family members telling him it would not be in his best interests to travel to Iran again. They could not guarantee his safety.

There's a lot more at the link, and I hope fellow Iranian posters give their impression of the gaming scene in their country.

 

[KZObsessed]

Almost a million across the Middle East is just insane.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

It's just because some Arab dictator is buying them to build a supercomputer for world domination.

lol..first thing I thought of when reading the title. Damn, I'm old..

 

[noobie]

Hi guys,

I've been reading up on the UAE market and wanted to share some information with you.

Sony has seen unprecedented demand for the PS4 in the Middle East since launch in December 2013. Pre orders were being taken for the console more than 4 months before release and retailers in the UAE estimated that more than 4,200 consumers pre ordered the PS4 before release. Retailers hinted that pre orders could have been much higher had there not been a cap on the number of pre orders. The first shipment in the UAE was sold out on the first day. At the midnight launch, many gaming outlets were flocked with crowds, with some gamers picking up pre-ordered consoles, and walk-in customers, who faced an uncertain wait in an attempt to secure scarce stock.

“We got three times more crowds yesterday than we expected at every store,” Kishan Palija, managing director of games retailer Geekay Group MEA told Arabiya News. Some came dressed as video game characters to take part in a contest offering a PS4 as first prize. Others dressed up for the fun of it, and were content to queue for five hours before the console went on sale at midnight. For customers who did not buy in advance, “there were some disappointments,” added Palija. Stores in Bahrain and Oman were also sold out of PS4's on the first day. Despite the huge demand in the UAE, Sony were unable to adequately supply the region with the second shipment only arriving in mid January, more than 1 month after launch. This shipment also sold out.

According to Nadeem Khanzadah, head of retail at Jumbo Electronics, one reason for the big PS4 demand is due to the short launch gap between the US and the UAE. PS4 sales will exceed PS3 as retailers have not seen the response when PS3 was launched. According to Robert Fisser, general manager at Sony Middle East, the PS4 has sold more than 4x faster than the PS3 in the same time period, the PS3 is currently the most popular home console in UAE with more than 60% market share. It took the PS3 over 2 and a half years to sell over 450,000 units in the Middle East and Robert Fisser also said that PS4 sales will shortly exceed 1 million units across the region.

The gaming industry in the middle east is booming and is expected to see double digit growth this year with the PS4 leading the way. The quick launch in the UAE as well as other factors such as Arabic language support & large gaming events has seen PlayStation become a huge name in the middle east with gamers referring to "PlayStation" for all games in a similar way to how people use "Hoover", a brand name, to refer to their vacuum cleaner or how people say "google it" to refer to using a search engine. Games in the Middle East are being developed in Arabic language as well and Sony are helping a number of smaller developers in the region get their games onto PS4.

Sony has big plans for the growing Middle East region and will continue to support gamers there.

Sources

Ready the article i am confused that is this news posted recently because it mostly talking about Jan 2014 not 2015. But suddenly it says that PS4 will cross 1 million mark across the region which is a big landmark and only select few countries have crossed.

Seriously wander how many countries they include in the "Region". is it UAE Qatar Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt.?

 

[FeiRR]

More than that, I hear Mars loves the Xbox1...

What about the country of Venus?

Seriously though, I've been meeting a lot of KSA and other Arabic players in Battlefield, from PS3 to PS4. It's a very noticeable group of players. Isn't the guy who has the most trophies in the world from Middle East?

 

[mdzapeer]

I live in Dubai.

Gaming is seeing a pretty big boom here.

We had Kojima visiting one of the malls to promote Rising during launch and the line snaked out quite a bit.

Also VGL (Viedo Games Live) played here for 2 years in a row as well.

Its not just the PS4 doing well either. PC and Xbone are also doing very well. It seems nintendo is making a come back as well with WiiU and mario kart 8 (really tempted to buy one as well )

So not just PS4, gaming culture as a whole is really expanding in a good way.

 

[ZhugeEX]

True that

Yup, It's great to see your post as well as first hand evidence of gamers in the Middle East.

It's interesting to see that ps4 sold a million in the middle east. Matching it's numbers for Japan.

India could be next. But poverty and the weak rupee doesn't help.

India probably won't get to 1 million for a long time. Whilst the PS4 will certainly outsell the PS3 in the region I don't think it's as developed enough to see huge growth. Here are current sales figures for India:

PS2 ~900k
PS3 ~300k
PS4 ~50k

Worth noting though that the above figures don't include grey market imports which will likely include a good number of sales.

Here in the middle east Sony and Playstation are two words that's always dominant in the markets, even last gen I knew more people who owned PS3's than 360's and that's because Sony is in the middle east market for generations by now whether it's consoles, TV's or whatever. Microsoft only gained abit of momentum here last gen with their 360 and now they shot themselves in the foot with the X1, people here would buy a PS no matter what the price is. Good for Sony.

Sony is pretty dominant in the ME. For a long time they had an official presence in the ME and marketing was they had a sort of monopoly until Microsoft launched the Xbox.

I am from ME and I can confirm that PS4 launch has brought so many new gamers into the industry our local gaming forum is busier than ever

Yes, Sony has been in the region a long time and it's great to see them continue to support gamers in the region through Arabic language support, increased competitions and events, support for local developers and making the PS4 officially available so early on. Sony's brand name is as well as known as Google among search engines in the ME.

Are there any software charts or rough idea what games are selling through reports?

I do remember some PS3 games releasing early in this region and leaking info to the west such as Killzone 2, sure that was UAE. Not heard much since that spell though.

Not really, you can see the best sellers list here-
http://www.geekaygames.com/best_seller.php?platform=74&sort_by=item_number&page_size=100
http://www.virginmegastore.me/Games.aspx