It’s official, South Africa is getting shafted when it comes to Titanfall. We can only hope that if and when we eventually get the Xbox One, Microsoft will up their game and bring in local servers, too. For now, though, we will have to do without one of the biggest games of the year, and maybe even more big titles as time goes by. But is it all EA’s fault?
The official word on Titanfall from EA South Africa was:
After conducting recent online tests for Titanfall, we found that the performance rates in South Africa were not as high as we need to guarantee a great experience, so we have decided not to release Titanfall in South Africa at this time.
We understand this is a disappointment for local fans and will keep fans posted on any future plans regarding the release of Titanfall in South Africa
It makes us unhappy and puts the blame soundly on our infrastructure. Sure, this links us back to Gavin’s story about how the Xbox One cloud is useless in South Africa, and it completely ignores how well Titanfall actually performed during the beta. So, is there more to this story? Of course there is.
A small contingent of South Africans were upset about the quality of gaming that they might expect from Titanfall. They will not be named or linked here because I am not interested in starting a lynch mob. However, they did file a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act:
I refer to Consumer’s rights to safe, good quality goods, section 55 of the National Consumer Act. It is my understanding that consumers have the right to be informed of any diminished qualities a product may contain. In the case of this product, no local facilities are in place in order to support the play experience sufficiently…
Yes, the Consumer Protection Act is there to protect consumers. And maybe some people would have bought Titanfall expecting a game that could run offline, or run without lag. However, ping rates for Battlefield 4 are often higher than those were for Titanfall during the beta, and most retailers simply label the product saying “online required” and “experiences may vary” to get around this.
Unfortunately, this CPA reporting apprently made it to the ears of those at Respawn and EA. Rather than face a possible lawsuit due to poor game performance due to lack of local servers, they decided to pull the game. Sure, this might light a fire under EA and Microsoft to get local servers up and running. Or it could just leave us without the cool stuff.
Yes, we are important. Sure, we can give some revenue to EA, Microsoft and other big companies. However, when we throw our toys and make threats, it is way more cost effective for them to just walk away than to indulge our petty entitlement issues. I’m all for highlighting the issues with the industry, and pointing out our lack of infrastructure. Unfortunately, this moved from constructive to destructive.
It’s not just a matter of this case of CPA reporting. In general, South Africa is known as a market that moans. We are loud and complain, expecting the same attention and experience as people receive in the US of A or Europe. However, as a much smaller market, we just don’t have the same clout. I’m not saying that we should just shut up and #dealwithit, but we also need to be aware that in a risk analysis, abandoning our market is much more cost effective than meeting our demands. How many copies of Titanfall do you think were scheduled for this country? Now take that number and divide it in half. That’s probably a little bit closer to our actual market penetration. We are barely even a blip in the radar.
So, how do we fix this? How can we ensure that our demands are met in the future without ruining everything? We need to grow our local industry. Get involved, get people playing, become a more positive force on the international stage. People need to play plenty of games, bought legally on the South African market. We need to show that we are important, that we are worth supporting. What about promoting our local eSports athletes, or local developers? The more vibrant our local scene becomes, the more bigger companies will sit up and listen.
Remember why you play games. We play to escape from the drama and problems in our lives, to find entertainment and most important, to have fun. So, let’s just try to embrace that spirit and enjoy our games. Sure, we have issues with infrastructure – I’m still battling with iBurst. And yet, I’m able to enjoy multiplayer games, when my power isn’t cut. Rather than moaning and ranting and complaining, let’s at least try to work together on growing this community of awesome gamers.
Last Updated: March 7, 2014
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 14:39
Yes we moan, BUT WE HAVE GOOD DAMN REASON TO MOAN.
We moan about things that we want changed, and we moan more because some of them can change.
MONA MONA MOOOOOOOOOOOOOONA lisa
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:56
Thank goodness we don’t moan about Kalahari though, too soon? 0-O
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 15:00
Of course we moan about that!!!!!!!
bluegoon
March 7, 2014 at 15:10
lol, this dude gets it!
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 14:41
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:44
THIS THIS THIS THIS! HAHAHAHAHAH!
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 14:51
That was a waste of a few minutes. :/
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 14:52
said the people in the crowd.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 14:55
Fucking awesome! I can just imagine him bouncing in front of his Kinect
Unavengedavo(aka. Bilbo)
March 7, 2014 at 14:59
Wait this is Microsoft, I thought they just had a room full of monkeys O_o
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 15:06
A full Nelson does not come close to the Major Nelson. Look at his sweat patches.
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 15:10
Shame, they have tried hard lol
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:18
They’ve tried everything…
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:20
I missed that one.
JustAnotherGamer
March 7, 2014 at 15:18
that’s the guy with the jiggly boobs?
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 15:00
How catchy!! That’s how people in IT usually act on a normal day
oOqUiS
March 7, 2014 at 15:06
So that’s what happens when one becomes a billionaire?
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 15:09
The aircon broke Steve ballbag, you sweaty fucker!
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 15:10
This guy would be great in the circus, a little clown make up and he is good to go!
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:18
Nelson? 🙂
GRoy
March 7, 2014 at 15:59
A thoroughly worthwhile wasted 3 minutes of my workday.
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 17:33
This is still the greatest post in the entire thread.
Gerhard Davids
March 7, 2014 at 14:42
This sucks man, would be cool to have a choice but yeah. Got buried by a CPA scare.
Sphinx
March 7, 2014 at 14:43
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/respawn-entertainment-give-south-african-gamers-the-choice-to-play-titanfall
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:44
“We need to get involved, keep playing” Playing what when the games aren’t being released? (That was just making a point that if this becomes more prevalent we are in trouble).
brad coetzee
March 7, 2014 at 15:19
We should start making our own games.
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 14:44
Er… how can they file a complaint about the game being deficient if it isn’t released yet?
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 14:45
Because you already paid for the season pass, elite version, full retail pre-order 😛
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 14:47
remember, only gamers buy shit that does not exist yet.
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:47
*Not this time 😉
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 14:48
It doesn’t exist anyway. MIND BLOWN!
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:51
I suppose something has to be *Runs.
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 14:53
Certainly won’t be you. snapsetmatch.
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:55
I have ginger hair, but I don’t look like OVG. Matchfixingfound
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 15:06
I think in oVg’s case it’s the mayo on everything that’s the problem, not the hair. *shudder*
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:08
REALLY?! http://wac.9ebf.edgecastcdn.net/809EBF/ec-origin.philly.barstoolsports.com/files/2012/11/team-america-puke.gif
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 15:14
Shut up Gary, you’ve got AIDS.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:19
Everyone has aids!
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 14:48
tee hee….
oVg PAYNE
March 7, 2014 at 14:50
🙂
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 14:53
rofl
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 15:12
hahahahaha
Rock789
March 7, 2014 at 16:26
I feel her pain… That’s a common problem amongst the yachting elite… **sniff**
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 14:57
It’s EA, there is probably some law that works around that
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 15:05
I’m all for hating corporations, EA is my pet hate, but this is really stupid.
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 15:08
It is though … And look what it caused and so quickly mind you. They won’t respond to other legit complaints. Slap CAP on your complaint and boom…We get this
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 14:58
I blame the MSSA. HAS to be them…
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 15:13
I blame Tim.
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:17
Just because he is far cleverer than you doesn’t mean you have to be mean.
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 15:19
Oh I saw that!
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 18:20
I am the cleveresterest! And funniester, irrespective of Zoe’s poor taste in humourous comments 😉
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 15:19
Why thank you Trevor.
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 7, 2014 at 15:48
This. Obviously jumped the gun after BF4.
MakeItLegal
March 7, 2014 at 14:49
buy more legal games , 100% right
Mossel
March 7, 2014 at 14:50
In order to get involved, the target market (I would think 16-30 year olds) need to play the games…legally, not pirate copies. In order to do that we need more money. To get more money we need more/better jobs. To get more/better jobs we need better skills. To get better skills we need better education. To get better education we need a better government. (I could probably include a shit load of other things as well, but I’m lazy and it’s friday)
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 15:02
Sadly your farting against thunder in the regard to the education in this country.
Our infrastructure is a joke esp in the broadband internet department, why because Telkom holds all the keys and doesn’t want to loose money and they force us to pay for internet which is sub par standards to the rest of the world. Yes we have come a long way in recent years but still not far enough. We should have internet for around R100 – 200 a month. Not just the Mweb, the line rental included and away with phone line needed. I don’t have a use for a home phone and when I did have was useless.
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 7, 2014 at 15:52
While you are right, I feel we all forget that SA IS a 3rd World country. And even if the government stopped stealing from us, we still wouldn’t have enough to fix all our problems.
And while good internet is the future, SA need to address the starving and uneducated first.
But yes, it’s not going to change any time soon. And it flippin sucks
Verrayne
March 7, 2014 at 16:30
By that logic a country needs to do absolutely nothing until every is educated and fed? Sorry mate but that is not how an efficient system works.
There are other countries that sit at a more developing nature in their life cycle than us and they have better internet.
http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries/
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 8, 2014 at 17:03
Not saying we should do nothing at all dude. But what I am saying is that the government has to
worry about feeding people is SA and providing a good education before they worry about lag in BF. Then again…..if our current government actually used the tax we give then efficiently, we probably would get to our internet issues a lot faster.
What I wish they would realise is that the internet is an amazing tool that can be used in the educational process. But ANC….
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 14:55
“let’s at least try to work together on growing this community of awesome gamers.”
This 🙂
THAT said, we should not stop complaining though if a product is broken or incomplete. As a consumer , we do deserve better. But if you are one of those people that complained about Mass Effect 3’s ending, then please, take of the article 🙂
Kromas
March 7, 2014 at 15:11
There is a difference between product experience due to lack of infrastructure and a product not delivering what it was told it would. I will never complain about latency if it is a harware issue but do not lump ME3 in with these complaints as ME3, however good it was, totally failed to deliver on its promises. This statement is like saying #Dealwithit to everyone who bought Colonial Marines after the E3 trailer.
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 15:33
It’s an ending. Death threats over an ending?? That complaint took things a whole new level. So much rage and insults flying around…I understand it was disappointing, but to threaten a company over an ending? I’m sorry, I can’t agree with it. Aliens LIED to us, showing us fake footage, that’s close to fraud, Mass Effect made NO mention ever about how it would end. It failed to live up to expectations that GAMERS themselves made
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:40
Sending the cupcakes that were the same but with different colour frosting was clever.
Kromas
March 7, 2014 at 15:46
Actually. The comment was made that based on your playtroughs from 1 and 2 you would see a different ending. So yeah they lied. Also I complained about it but never threatened them with death.That was a small and fanatical group as all games have those. BF4 got just as many threats as did CoD:Ghosts and plenty other games. So yeah … they DID mention all the various endings.Then the end game got leaked and they made a quick crappy change to the script and voila! The steaming pile of crap ending you would have seen if you did not download the DLC that improved it a bit. Once again. They MADE a promise and FAILED to deliver (most likely due to the early leaked version but I digress).
Also you fail to mention the cupcake petition and that was rather cool.
Tl;dr Mass Effect deserved a complaint (NOT death threats just complaints) BF4 deserved a complaint but titanfall does not.
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 15:53
Have to agree on bf and Titanfall, won defend that. and the cupcake thing was really good. And look I get your point hey and you’re right it did deserve complaining. Maybe just not on that level which is what I was getting at. That was embarrassing to gamers that Bioware got death threats
EDIT:Aplogies, I understand you now
Kromas
March 7, 2014 at 15:57
No worries. I understand death threats are douche behavior. Just look at Fez and Flappy Bird. I just hate the stereotype that ME3 created about gamers always being entitled whiners. I complain because I care. If they stop listening and just start producing cheap crap then I will stop buying their stuff and as it is I am really looking forward to Dragon Age. And DA received a hell of a lot of love after DA2 screwed up so badly.
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 16:00
Yeah that stereotype was born from the bitches that took it too the extreme, but yes, I don’t like that stereotype that gamers are whiny when they complain. They just care that much…
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 15:56
I am totally onboard with you about ME3 ending. I actually loved it.
But “”let’s at least try to work together on growing this community of awesome gamers.”
That to me is a bit meaningless. We are consumers first, we deserve quality servers if the product is to be sold within our borders.
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 14:56
If it’s because of possible legal complaints I don’t blame them one bit. It’s just not worth it. Africa is not a big market when it comes to gaming.
Sk3tz0
March 7, 2014 at 15:00
sO LET ME GET THIS Straight .. the games not gonna be sold in South Africa… what about imports ? or is the Xbone just gonna say NO. when u put the game in the machine.. ??
ElimiNathan
March 7, 2014 at 15:05
Great article
McBeanoO
March 7, 2014 at 15:09
How do we know it wasn’t fanbois opposing MS, XBOX and EA that started this CPA BS? Way to screw it up for EVERYONE! Why don’t they use the CPA to get a refund for BF4?
JustAnotherGamer
March 7, 2014 at 15:24
Must have been Wii U fans, they hate games and gaming.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:09
We don’t have the same clout, this is true. Our market is but a drop in the pail compared to the UK. Face reality though. How much does one need to earn to own a next gen console, afford the games and afford fast reliable internet. Plus the prices keeps going up. Now look at the average income of your average household. Not a lot of people can afford gaming to begin with.
We are lagging far behind first world countries yet we want to play with them. We need the same support MS and Sony gives to the bigger countries in relation to servers and such but why would they spend money when, as you said, we are but a blip on the radar. I wish we could get some figures comparing the sales figure of COD or BF between us and he UK or even the US. Then it would put into perspective how tiny we really are.
This is why we don’t have the XBOX One yet and I think Sony probably took a gamble releasing the PS4 here.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:10
“However, ping rates for Battlefield 4 are often higher than those were for Titanfall during the beta”
Are you on drugs? Pings to local BF4 servers is like 20ms.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:12
Are you on drugs? Nice way to talk to a person…
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 15:13
Janee, sheeeesh
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:29
Indeed.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
March 7, 2014 at 15:14
Have you tried it on a console? ;P
Mark Treloar
March 8, 2014 at 10:02
Considering I was getting an average of 400ms from Titanfall during the beta despite it telling me I was connecting to a server with a ping of 200ms, I had already decided not to buy.,
Johan Fourie
March 7, 2014 at 15:10
I don’t see how anyone can blame EA for this. This is clearly on our inept telecommunications structure. EA has figured this will ultimately lead to bad rep for them, seeing as the casual user is quick to blame “the game”. Take this up with Hellkom and ask them if it’s 1999 or 2014. I bet the answer from them will be on the former, seeing as we have such shit local connectivity.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:12
Johan you do realise that the ping is limited by the speed of light and not the infrastructure? For example, EU to US has a ping of over 100ms and they are MUCH closer to each other. Thats why they both have their own azure server.
Titanfall’s failure was the lack of a local azure server, not our lines or back-haul capabilities. We could have the best flipping internet in the world and without a local Azure server it would mean jack shit.
Johan Fourie
March 7, 2014 at 15:14
Of course infrastructure is to blame. Christ, look at how far behind we are compared to Western countries. And it continues to dwindle. Even Namibia surpasses us, ffs. We’d maybe have an Azure server if things were a tad more top notch this side.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:17
Did you even read my post? The part about how even the best countries in the world still have high pings when crossing continents? You cant bypass physics bud.
Johan Fourie
March 7, 2014 at 15:21
I did read your post and I still stand by my statement. If their pings were that high, how do you think things would fare in this country with our current development, even if we had Azure servers. EA figured it’s not worth the bad rep and will wait it out instead of being lambasted with complaints.
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 15:53
I can play on several servers across the country with max latency of 40ms. That’s not bad considering the distance from me to the server(the opposite side of the country) and local servers I hit 15ms. Those close to the CBD’s hit sub 10ms.
Our infrastructure is not that bad. You should see the routing problems of the EU where they have much higher pings over shorter distances in many cases.
Johan Fourie
March 7, 2014 at 15:54
I stand corrected. It’s Friday, go out and have a cold one.
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 15:57
🙂 Enjoy it!
Willem Swanepoel
March 7, 2014 at 15:41
upvote for saying what I wanted to say in my post 😉
Very few gamers do not know stupid physics issue we face with internet in SA
Willem Swanepoel
March 7, 2014 at 15:39
Robert just explained that even if our infrastructure improves our PING to EU or US will not be better.
There is a huge difference between the amount of data you can download or upload and how fast it gets to your house.
We are just at the wrong location on the planet …
About the infrastructure, it does not stop Microsoft to put an Azure server in SA. They will not do it just for gaming…this means our big ass corporate companies will have to bitch at MS to put them in SA.
It might happen soon if there is a demand for cloud computing.
Most companies do not like to use the US Azure servers because of the laws where US have access to all the data.
Time will tell… unfortunately, SA wont see Titanfall this year unless we all make a petition and ask EA to get in SA 😉
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:42
We have a server for DOTA don’t we?
Willem Swanepoel
March 7, 2014 at 15:50
It was probably a decision between EA and MS to use the cloud server. It is obviously a way to promote Azure Servers. Makes sense from a business point …
MS advertise that their Azure Servers are epic with Titanfall. Marketing?!?
DOTA does not have to be hosted on an Azure server so that is why we have it … LOL
Johan Fourie
March 7, 2014 at 15:45
Well nice of him to post-edit his snarky replies.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. 😉
OSiR!S
March 8, 2014 at 10:44
LMBIMPI we DO NOT surpass you guys at all. We pay R970 for a 1mbps line with horrible routing. Dont believe me? Check telecom namibia on facebook and read the string of complaints. I would kill to have my mweb 4mbps line again
Johan Fourie
March 8, 2014 at 10:58
Are you on Telecom or MTC?
Neill
March 7, 2014 at 15:11
You mention in this post that you’re not saying we should just “dealwithit”. But actually that’s exactly what you’re saying. To suggest that we are to blame for EA’s actions by complaining about legitimate issues, that need attention, is absurd.
You’re missing the point completely. EA is not giving us Titanfall because our infrastructure is poor. The fact that someone relied on their right to complain is a symptom, not a cause.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:15
Well they are not giving us Titanfall because we dont have an Azure server. Thats Microsofts fault, not anyone in SA’s fault.
Neill
March 7, 2014 at 15:21
That may be true (Forgive me, I’m not too clued up on these things). Still, it does not support the writer’s suggestion that legitimate complaints should be abandoned for the sake of keeping developers and publishers happy. Honestly, that is the opposite of what we should be doing.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:25
I agree with you absolutely. Its a very slippery slope and once you start sliding…
FSR
March 7, 2014 at 15:31
And they won’t give us Azure servers, because of Telkom and Eskom. Soooo… back in ZA’s court.
Guest
March 7, 2014 at 15:12
Ok, it’s been a while, but I’ve logged in purely because I strongly disagree with the stance of this article. No offense, please don’t take this is a personal thing, it really isn’t.
You’re asking us, South Africans (we are infamous for rolling over and politely taking abuse), to not campaign for improved service? So we miss a game release, perhaps this will prompt some actual infrastructure improvements in the future. Despite the fact that we’re considered a small market, this is negative PR for all involved.
In light of Eskom spanking our backsides and asking us if we’re enjoying our load shedding you’re inadvertently encouraging this community to silence each other for fear of us missing out on another title. This is wrong, I have nothing more to say. It’s just wrong. Please stop.
Neill
March 7, 2014 at 15:14
This!
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:18
Just as long as we campaigning government for improved services. If we hammer EA or Activision or Sony or whoever too hard they will simply pack up and leave.
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 15:15
Hi Zoe thanks for the article.
I was the one who raised the CPA complaint, I’m sorry that EA cancelled Titanfall entirely, my request was just for them to put a sticker on the game to inform consumers that no local servers were available.
We need to bitch and moan.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:16
Agreed 100%. A simple sticker that says “No South African Servers” would have solved all the issues and that is all we asked them for.
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 15:18
Exactly, it was a dick move by EA, but what can we do. This is the first time (I think) that something like this happened, I hope this shows up on the radar in a Monday meeting in the right people’s office, if they never heard the word “SOUTH AFRICA” They sure as FUCK WILL HEAR IT THIS ONCE. VIVA!
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:32
The problem is that other companies will hear what EA did and perhaps follow suit. So when they hear South Africa, indeed, they may say ‘well fuck that, let’s try Namibia instead. Better speeds”.
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 15:39
I made sure they got wind of it, might have been that which scared them off, Christ I hope I’m not single handedly responsible for destroying a segment of SA gaming, I’m just as passionate about it as all you guys.. My intentions were to help us all..
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:41
I am sure they were mate and no ill feelings from me at all. Just give me your home details and we can meet for a CHAT 😉 Kidding. Yeah it is a damn shame, but it does show us what people like EA think of us, which is sadly not much. If DOTA can host a server in Africa then why not MS?
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 7, 2014 at 16:09
Honestly, I was pretty angry with the whole thing, and with you…..until I read why you sent off the complaint to the CPA and what you suggested.
I understand why you did it and and what you wanted to achieve. Looks like EA just took it too far. All I am worried about now is that EA are going to ignore us more going forward. While I dont like their business practices AT ALL, we honestly arent a big enough market to be as worried about from their perspective. Again, is that a good way to conduct business? NO. But its EA……
OSiR!S
March 8, 2014 at 10:37
Rofl namibia sure as hell doesn’t have better speeds than SA. Its so backwards here we would kill to have the latencies you guys have. They may say “ok dont release in SA. What about namibia? ………whats Namibia? Is it a kind of toilet paper?”
Her Highness the Hipster
March 7, 2014 at 15:30
I understand the intent behind your complaint. Unfortunately, we don’t know if maybe there WERE plans to label our version differently, or at least add stickers. Because the CPA thing came up before the game hit the shelves, it just became easier for a company (which is inherently risk averse) to take the less risky path. Hopefully this means we get some servers soon, but for now, it’s a massive disappointment on a rainy Friday.
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 15:33
Zoe believe me it wasn’t my intention to completely halt Titanfall’s release, MyGaming did some digging and it seems the complaint hasn’t even been filed, though I did raise concerns in other channels as well. Maybe it’s not all my doing? I feel really bad for the guys who were excited about this. My reasoning was that if we forced publishers to acknowledge lack of infrastructure we could encourage them to at least consider some!
I’m going to drink some beers now.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:33
Shame man, you’re like a martyr in a way
JustAnotherGamer
March 7, 2014 at 15:16
So a bunch of south africans scored an own goal? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAH
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:16
Not really.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
March 7, 2014 at 15:16
I think it’s worth complaining – and while i’m not happy with Titanfall being removed from sale, I think the original intent behind the CPA swing was justified. If we don;t complain, things never get better.
Of course, complain too much and it’s the boy who cried wolf.
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:20
I agree to a certain degree. Not having the game here means that we will complain for a short while, it will then be forgotten. If people have the game and the connection sets off rage 9000+ each day people will not, they will remain loud.
James Anderton
March 7, 2014 at 15:17
Thanks to Mr. Beano0 and his kin for fucking it up for the rest of us who actually couldn’t give two shits about the supposed ‘poor performance’.
This is why we can’t have nice things INDEED!
JustAnotherGamer
March 7, 2014 at 15:17
The lesson here is, keep your CPA in check or you’ll wreck yourself. Guys South Africa is a small market. EA couldn’t give a damn about 1000 gamers in some country on the arse end of Africa. Throw in threats of involving a law and you don’t get any games.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:20
Exactly what happened with Titanfall.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:24
Disagree. They need to notify customers of a defect, thats the entire point. You cant selectively apply the law based purely on popularity of a product.
All they needed to do was ensure that somewhere in the sales process, a notification (such as a sticker on the box) informed players that there are not local servers. It is something ALL games which do not invest in local servers should have and something we cant just let slip because we are desperate to play something.
James Anderton
March 7, 2014 at 15:31
At least now we know how to get rid of any games we don’t like because of [insert reason here]. Just report to the CPA and poof, problem solved.
*facepalm*
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 7, 2014 at 16:15
Could someone please report FIFA and SIMS for me.
Thanks 😉
brad coetzee
March 7, 2014 at 15:18
Bummer. Hawken it is!
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:21
The PC master race will simply activate the game using a VPN and then play. Console guys… well yeah you chose to go console so… 😉
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:26
Let us know how it goes. I’m sure other people would be interested to hear if it works
Kromas
March 7, 2014 at 15:35
Requires a non ZA Origin account but it works.
Robert Hart
March 7, 2014 at 15:35
It does work. We’ve been doing it for a very long time in order to get early access to other games 😛
We also did it with that EA origin starwars MMO that was not sold in RSA.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:36
Clever
B4d R0b0t
March 7, 2014 at 15:36
Has worked in the past on PC when players wanted content released in US/EU, this was in Origin for BF4.
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 15:37
Just curious, where will you get the game from?
Laby
March 7, 2014 at 15:37
That consumer act is nonsense for years I have been playing Xbox 360 online with high latency and it never really bothered me and now suddenly because we don’t have cloud this nonsense kicks in? EA you can keep your useless game then, and I’ll keep my money and buy something better.
InsanityFlea
March 7, 2014 at 15:41
Don’t really care tbh, I’m not buying anymore games from EA. BF4 was the last. Bring on ESO!
Labey-Kun
March 7, 2014 at 15:59
Yeah I think I will rather play ESO as well it’s more promising.
InsanityFlea
March 7, 2014 at 16:14
I’ve been playing in the beta’s, already pre-ordered. I love it.
Labey-Kun
March 7, 2014 at 17:19
I played the weekend beta man did I enjoy it haha, I will buy it when it comes out.
Eric
March 7, 2014 at 15:41
You guys are really getting a knack for finding bad news on a Friday
Uberutang
March 7, 2014 at 15:45
EA says otherwise http://mygaming.co.za/news/news/62447-titanfall-sa-cancellation-not-due-to-cpa-complaint.html
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 16:01
The plot thickens.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 15:45
So what if we can convince MS or Sony to host servers in South Africa for a membership fee. Now Sony did a nice thing with TESO. You don’t need PS+ to play because they charge subscription. Titanfall is free to play online I think? Not that it will grace the PS anytime soon.
So they will host the game on the server but it will cost players a fee every month to keep the servers running. Maybe, I don’t know who, can fire of the idea in their direction to see if we can maybe work something like that out. Test the waters to see if it’s viable.
The only problem then is XBOX live. You need that and a subscription to play TESO. Charging the consumer double wont work at all.
Labey-Kun
March 7, 2014 at 16:00
If it’s extra R50-R100 then I don’t mind paying.
Hammersteyn
March 7, 2014 at 16:04
Same here, Planetside 2 is scheduled for the PS4 so I would like to at least see how it feels to play locally.
Labey-Kun
March 7, 2014 at 16:17
Yeah that would be pretty awesome
B4d R0b0t
March 7, 2014 at 15:45
If anyone wanted to engage with Microsoft to understand more about cloud services and the possibilities of Azure extension into a local DC I believe this is the guy to get hold of: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/nick-keene/1a/a77/478
Labey-Kun
March 7, 2014 at 16:02
Looks like he is not good at making deals with EA
Rikus
March 7, 2014 at 15:45
“EA, Respawn and Microsoft have been testing
Titanfall all over the world, including South Africa, and we’re
confident that players worldwide will have a great experience when the
game launches in March. Of course, we’ll always be looking to improve
that experience over time – whether that’s through local resources or
other enhancements – but we have no other news on that today,” was the
official response from EA.”
So I guess this was a lie then EA, Respawn and Microsoft
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 15:45
Think I am going to do this for Diablo 3 expansion. 😀
bluegoon
March 7, 2014 at 16:12
DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. lol, you could though. I reckon Blizzard will probably just sell it anyway, because Blizzard. 🙂
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 7, 2014 at 15:46
Thanks to the assclown a who brought this to the CPA BEFORE THE GAME WAS EVEN RELEASED!!!!!!!
While I understand why you would do this, surely you should have only complained AFTER the final product was released? Yes, EA have screwed us before, but we didn’t know BF4 was going to be that bad until we got the final product.
Geez, was really looking forward to this game. Dammit……
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 16:00
The physics don’t change bud. Whether beta, alpha, patched versions. The ping difference is going to be the same. 🙂
I was looking forward to this too. Defended it against that Tim fellow in every post 😛 But no local servers is a no buy for me, and other consumers should be informed about this too.
Ultimo_Cleric N7
March 7, 2014 at 16:03
Ya, just read LJ’s earlier posts about why he raised a CPA complaint. And from his side it was actually justified, a sticker saying no SA servers would have done the job 100%.
Hope its not the start of a growing trend…….
Labey-Kun
March 7, 2014 at 16:03
ESO FOR THE WIN!!!! EA Keep your games I am spending my cash on a better game.
Verrayne
March 7, 2014 at 16:19
To give you an indication here is an Azure server we rented that was in the US…
US server to US server: http://i.imgur.com/7G5Ys5c.png
US Server to SA Server: http://i.imgur.com/9T2fVux.png
That is the quality of Azure servers to SA. It might have been okay during the beta but in a real world environment Azure is unfeasible for South Africa
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 16:52
Hi guys,
What I did, I did for you guys, for me as well, but for all of us as a whole. I really didn’t expect EA to run away this fast! I have ZERO issues with MMOs, turn based games, games which take latency into account like BF, SC2 etc, but twitch based FPS games which has a minimal latency available to us at 200ms is going too far, not in terms of playing, but in terms of R500-800 depending on your platform of choice.
I really feel bad and responsible for EA running away from SA with it’s hair on fire. All I ever wanted was a damn sticker which pointed out that the bloody servers weren’t hosted in South Africa and that the product would not perform as advertised all over the internet. This complaint wasn’t about guys like you, reading this post, it was meant for the general public, which makes up the plus Billion Rand industry we have here locally a year. I was also doing EA support a favor by raising the complaint and riding the shit out of it, they would have had a shitstorm on their hands if they pushed this product.
Again, I am MOERSE sorry about this pulling of the game, and hope the hardcore gamers, like myself, can find a way (VPN?) to purchase the game off of Origin and enjoy it, even with the nasty ping handicap.
Guys we need to moan when people set us up with bad deals, if we don’t, those people won’t mind, they need to make money with as little resistance as possible, lets all for once, make them work for their money.
Cheers.
Regards.
LJ Roos.
LJ
March 7, 2014 at 17:22
The post above has no affiliation nor any association in any regard to the movie Braveheart starring Mel Gibson.
oVg PAYNE
March 10, 2014 at 08:44
freeeeeeeeedom!! 😛
MichaelMatusowsky
March 7, 2014 at 20:30
This is why piratebay
BuildOurTitansZA
March 8, 2014 at 13:22
Sign the petition to get Titanfall to South Africa: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/respawn-entertainment-give-south-african-gamers-the-choice-to-play-titanfall? It might not work but we can go down fighting
Rags
March 8, 2014 at 19:56
Cart before the horse. We need Azure servers first.
Titanfall ORIGIN CD-KEY Preord
March 8, 2014 at 22:40
Titanfall ORIGIN CD-KEY Preorder GLOBAL
R4ziel
March 10, 2014 at 14:36
Hey guys, Ive just finished pre-loading the client from the US servers, where they can already preload in anticipation for game launch in +- 12 hours (their time zone)
The VPN works, even with a ZA Origin client, once you have connected and it established a connection you can disconnect the VPN and have the same latencies as you had in the Beta, which did not break the game I might add…
We did get screwed over with this yes, but its still playable and once I get a day or two play in I will contact Vince Zampella again informing him that the VPN solution is working for me, so why wont a normal straight connection work. Ill try and keep you guys posted, if I remember hehe.
Ill feedback wednesday morning after I have played it for a couple of hours.
Forgot to mention, dont be in a hurry when you do download the client… its 28GB (it shows 50GB but downloads 28GB) although it goes at near max line speed, this will still take a couple of days. I downloaded this at work and it still took me a whole day!
Gareth
March 13, 2014 at 01:32
we will eventually get servers.
Just will be a while..need more jobs in this country..more people with money to buy nice things and get internet to play online with us etc..
Right now Battlefield 4 group on FB doesn’t even have 1000 members and its a massive title..if we actually had a community of South African gamers larger than 5000-10,000 people we would actually have a case..it will come in time..just like 100Mbps lines being rolled out slowly..we will eventually be able to stream games, upload large files to youtube quickly (which gives allot of people money if they do it daily and have allot of supporters..
We have a good stable growth of new gamers every week..eventually we will have local servers for every game…even if we have to pay for them ourselves which IMO TitanFall should of done…just made it 8v8 or 10v10 options for server owners to set to fit as many local guys in a game as possible =)
Xelus
March 14, 2014 at 11:59
Had a peak at a 4k video of some Titanfall gameplay, and while I’m saddened to see that it won’t be released here, I can also understand EA’s point. Do yourself a favor and look at SA’s technology, we’re far behind the rest of the world, whether we like it or not, things will get worse. I mean really, SA’s fastest line speed is internationally the lowest line speed. On average, more gamers overseas have a higher speed line in their home than what SA has as a whole. (Ask me, a few of my friends sit with 100mb lines overseas in their homes.)
I have many friends overseas, and hearing what these guys have, makes me question SA for its lack of advancement in anything really. I don’t blame EA and Respawn Entertainment for their move. SA is behind, no matter how proud you might be of SA, it is very far behind the rest of the world in terms of technology and many other things.
It would’ve been great to see this game roll here, but alas, I would like to see SA getting up to date sooner rather than later, as it is affecting everyone in every department of SA. Things will unfortunately be getting worse for us unless we can somehow up the technology in SA soon.
Anon
October 22, 2014 at 02:52
South Africa fuckin sucks, man. I really have nothing more to say than that.