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[Negotiator]

More KSA online players? Ugh...

 

[EGOMON]

the best thing about gaming here (bahrain) is that we get games 1~2 weeks before official release dates
no release embargos here lol

lol same here in Oman though am going digital this gen so am stuck with official release dates while my friends already finishing the game XD

 

[Rymuth]

More KSA online players? Ugh...

So you hate people not due to their skill or playstyle but because of their ethincity?

 

[Negotiator]

So you hate people not due to their skill or playstyle but because of their ethincity?

I hate laggers, regardless of their ethnicity. Nice try, though.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

1m in the Middle East, if the PS4 really is close to that, is certainly a lot more significant than I imagined for the region.

Truly that market must be growing fast.

 

[Rymuth]

I hate laggers, regardless of their ethnicity. Nice try, though.

Yet here you chose to single out one. Cute save, I'll grant ya that.

 

[Negotiator]

Yet here you chose to single out one. Cute save, I'll grant ya that.

Because this thread is about Middle East and not Mexico or Brazil? Stop pulling the "racist" card.

My point is that laggers ruin online games (do you have any experience in ND games?), regardless of their ethnicity. There are also expat Americans and Europeans who live in Middle East and they lag too.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

Does anyone have any information about India/South Asia or Latin America? India's quite poor compared to the Middle East (especially to the Gulf which is apparently where these numbers are coming from), but it also has a significantly larger population. And Latin America is hampered by the fact that its largest economy imposes ridiculous import duties on video game consoles. But it wouldn't surprise me if we were to see upward movement in these regions as well.

Also, anyone have numbers about the non-Gulf countries? Especially Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia. Does Turkey count as a part of Europe for video game sales purposes? I imagine that's the largest market outside of the Gulf.

 

[Alo0oy]

I've honestly never thought about gaming in the Middle East, what games are big there?

The biggest game is unquestionably Fifa (in Bahrain at least, but I can't imagine it being different anywhere else), a lot of people buy the console & only buy Fifa every year, usually older people that aren't necessarily interested in gaming as a whole but love football as a sport.

 

[Skeff]

Wow 1m is surely a huge increase for the region, it's nice that there are some gaming regions that are expanding to make up for those that are moving away from console hardware such as Japan.

 

[Hakoom]

lol same here in Oman though am going digital this gen so am stuck with official release dates while my friends already finishing the game XD

lol i only buy digital when they raise some games to 100$ like fifa and cod
sony has to step in regarding these prices

 

[EGOMON]

I hate laggers, regardless of their ethnicity. Nice try, though.

We really don't have much of a choice when all online games offer US and EU servers only it really sucks for us too to be at disadvantage all the time being1-3 seconds late to respond especially in fast paced games

 

[Negotiator]

We really don't have much of a choice when all online games offer US and EU servers only it really sucks for us too to be at disadvantage all the time being1-3 seconds late to respond especially in fast paced games

It wouldn't be an issue if game developers offered 100% ping-based matchmaking.

TLOU (KDR-based matchmaking) or CoD:AW (rank-based matchmaking) don't really help this situation... I hope Uncharted 4 won't be a laggy clusterfuck. :\

 

[EGOMON]

lol i only buy digital when they raise some games to 100$ like fifa and cod
sony has to step in regarding these prices

Yeah thats why I use US PSN as my main account reasonable prices with plenty of contents and sales

 

[L4DANathan]

Huh, large gaming growth first in China, now there, it's nice to see the joy of gaming spread!

 

[EGOMON]

It wouldn't be an issue if game developers offered 100% ping-based matchmaking.

TLOU (KDR-based matchmaking) or CoD:AW (rank-based matchmaking) don't really help this situation... I hope Uncharted 4 won't be a laggy clusterfuck. :

Yeah I agree with the ping-based matchmaking the problem is when a game isn't popular here we will up in overseas server so going back to square one XD

 

[RustyNails]

I hope this gives rise to a new generation of middle east developers, and hopefully they wont create garbage like trail of ibn batutta.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Huh, large gaming growth first in China, now there, it's nice to see the joy of gaming spread!

You, uh...better read about the PS4 delay and XBO sell-through numbers in those two other threads before saying this.

For PC games tho? Yeah, definitely big growth there.

 

[Alo0oy]

As a point of reference, the total population in GCC countries (which is where the 1m was sold) is around 50 million, so sales per house hold is pretty high.

 

[El-Pistolero]

Middle Eastern brothers doing a fine work...Nice!

 

[Jimmyfenix]

I hope this gives rise to a new generation of middle east developers, and hopefully they wont create garbage like trail of ibn batutta.

It costs 50p on the UK store but the developers did announce a vita & PS4 version so i might wait on those versions before trying it out

 

[Karl Hawk]

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.

Top kek.

Yeah, sure, the only reason we UAE natives can play PS4 is because we're rich as fuck and play video games due to alcohol being prohibited. *rolls eyes*

 

[Alo0oy]

Top kek.

Yeah, sure, the only reason we UAE natives can play PS4 is because we're rich as fuck and play video games due to alcohol being prohibited. *rolls eyes*

His only source of information regarding the ME is Fox News, I'm surprised he didn't make a desert joke.

 

[nampad]

Remember Andrew House saying that some regions do surprisingly well like the middle east.
Good for them that they get more attention by the platform holders now.

 

[Thornton Reed]

its not safe to drive in sandals

 

[ZhugeEX]

PS4 has seen a price drop in the middle east to further drive adoption of the next generation console. It is effective immediately and is the equivalent of a $50 price drop.

Official price in UAE from 1799 to 1599. (AED)

 

[Spayro]

It helps that, at least in Israel, the PS4 is much cheaper than the PS3 was for much of it's lifetime.
PS3 launched at about 800$, PS4 for around 450$.

But yeah they're pretty much all FIFA machines.

 

[ZhugeEX]

Don't forget they can play racing games too

But anyway, no one should take this as an indication of a price drop elsewhere. Unique market conditions have allowed Sony to drop the price here. Technically though it's still more expensive than the US price.

 

[SKINNER!]

Spent a week in Abu Dhabi back in April and was checking out the old indie game stores I used to frequent as a kid. They're still in the same spots as they were back in the 90s selling video games. Dat nostalgia feels. Always prefered these places over the large entertainment stores like Virgin Megastore for two reasons. 1.) Smaller stores tend to sell games from various regions that have either been officially banned or not yet released. 2.) With haggling, you will always get a decent price on games. Managed to get a brand new copy of Street Fighter X Tekken on the Vita for around £8. The store I was in had a very small selection of Vita games and apparently they're struggling to get rid of them so the owner wasn't as reluctant when I offered my price.

I've also noticed that some stores are even selling retro video games. Shame they were pricey as I would've bought them by the bucketloads if they were going for cheap

 

[Bloodrage]

I thought consoles were dead?

They are, but the PS4 isn't.