PETITION FOR LOCAL XBOX LIVE SUPPORT

Since the launch of the Xbox 360 in 2006, the South African Xbox 360 community has developed a strong presence on the Xbox Live service. We estimate that there are already several thousand local Xbox Live users, including many people who imported their Xbox 360s before the local launch.

Sadly, the fact that Xbox Live is not officially supported for local users means that most of us have needed to resort to workarounds such as registering as Xbox Live users in countries such as the US and UK with the apparent approval of Microsoft South Africa.

Many users are forced to import memberships and gamerpoint cards via local e-retailers such as Take2.co.za or international sites, usually paying a premium price for these product keys. Now, with the introduction of tighter regional control for Xbox marketplace content, we fear that we will be left out in the cold.

By contrast, the Playstation Network gives South African users full local support including Rand pricing in the store as well as local billing and payments. We, as dedicated Xbox 360 fans, would like to see Microsoft give us the same level of service and support as Sony does.

We, the undersigned, therefore appeal to Microsoft to:

*Issue a statement (Received) that clarifies the status of the
  Xbox Live launch for South Africa and puts all the  rumours currently circulating to rest;
*Set up local billing facilities and pricing models as soon as possible to encourage the growth of
  the local Xbox 360 community; and
*Make provision for existing users to easily migrate their profiles from other countries to the local
  Xbox Live service (for free or as close to free as possible).

We believe that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 brand will benefit as much as the Xbox 360 community if these steps are taken. The Xbox Live service is a major competitive differentiator for the Xbox 360 and one of the console’s most important features- we’d love to see more South Africans fragging each other online in Gears of War.

Xbox Live could play a vital role in cementing Xbox 360’s position as the top next generation console in South Africa . It’s an important opportunity for Microsoft South Africa and we urge you to grab it with both hands. Your customers in South Africa deserve the same level of service and support as gamers in the rest of the world, especially given the loyalty that has been exhibited by the South African community since before the local launch of the Xbox 360 platform.

Sincerely,
THE SOUTH AFRICAN XBOX 360 COMMUNITY

View current Signees                        View current Microsoft reply

                            

 Total number of signees: 2065

Links
 last100.com
News24.com - Xbox Live keeps SA in limbo
Wikipedia

Supporters of this Petition.
Xbox-360.co.za
 The Xbox Lounge
ZAPS
 

TRADEMARKS
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and/or other Microsoft products referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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