PlayStation arcades taking over African country

In some parts of the world, people are making profit off arcades hosting consoles. In particular, business in Sierra Leone of Africa is booming due to the popularity of the PlayStation brand. Head over to the full article for more details.

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