The Official 'Afrika' Thread

[Avalanche]

No one ever seems to mention this game. I take it upon myself to re-introduce it to the masses.

IGN:

It's unknown what kind of game Afrika actually is. The trailer showed off a hippo, a giraffe, zebras, a yak, and a rhino (oddly enough, the developer of the game is Rhino Studios) going about their business in the grasslands of Africa, and... That was about it, really. There were no guns, no summon spells, and definitely no bikini-clad babes fighting to the death.

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/706/706072/afrika-20060522033117447.jpg

There's a ton of speculation surrounding Afrika. Is it a game like Pokémon Snap where you take photos of the animals in their natural habitat? Is it a life simulator where the player acts as a god and bestows rain or rains plague on his creations? Or is it a poaching game where you go out and get your game on?

The truth is, we're not too sure what kind of game it is, but that's why it's so intriguing. What we do know is that the animation is top-notch. The animals themselves move very smoothly and realistically, and the look of the game is very natural.

Trailer: http://streamingmovies.ign.com/ps3/article/728/728100/afrika_082506_01_wmvlowwide.wmv

My money is on it being a wildlife reserve simulation game.

[Avalanche]

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/731/731581/afrika-20060907085508164.jpg
http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/731/731581/afrika-20060907085509414.jpg

[Zenien]

The word Wildlife reserve reminds me of Steve Irwin, thus I am sad. :(

A wildlife reserve simulation sounds appropreate, given that they specifically focus on the animals just being animals. I guess we'll see more come this TGS.

[Axid]

Can I shoot or run over anything?

[AgentDenton]

Yeah, I'd only play this if I could make a species extinct or something.

[Axid]

Hopefully you can run up to a gazelle and just snap it's neck :up:

I don't know...maybe as a 'mercy kill'

:dry:

[AgentDenton]

I bet the Rhino can at least ram things and kill them that way. I wonder if I can ram stupid safari *******s?

[Panophobia]

I'm curious as to what kind of game this will turn out to be. I think it'd be awesome to play an animal and kill other animals... and people.

[WhatsHisFace]

It should be a Spelling Bee simulation.

[Avalanche]

Maybe we get to play the predator. It's a hunting simulation. :p

[Panophobia]

Maybe we get to play the predator. It's a hunting simulation. :p

Yes! It's brilliant! :woot:

[Mr. Credible]

Maybe we get to play the predator. It's a hunting simulation. :p

that would be...... awesome.


either way, it's a great looking game.

[TheCardPlayer]

That game is intriguiing. I hope it's a predator game too.

[Mentok]

Does it have Zombies?

[Avalanche]

No.

But it has the antelope.

[Aiden]

Zombies > Antelope

:(

[Avalanche]

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

But the zombies could never catch the antelope.

[Aiden]

Ahh

So in that case: Antelope > Zombie

Y'know what'd be cool, a Zantelope. It'd be super fast and could make other Zombie like animals...

[Avalanche]

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2006/263/932983_20060921_screen001.jpg
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2006/263/932983_20060921_screen002.jpg
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2006/263/932983_20060921_screen003.jpg

[Avalanche]

That's a lot of Wilderbeest. All that's left is for Scar to drive them into a ravine, and for Mufassa to....no, I can't say it out loud.

SIMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

[imdaly]

I'm curious as to what kind of game this will turn out to be. I think it'd be awesome to play an animal and kill other animals... and people.


OH! OH! I wanna be a stingray! I hear those things can be nasty.





















....okay....I'm going to hell...

[Avalanche]

^

You are going to hell. :(

And there won't be any Stingrays on the African plains, you fool. :p

[Zenien]

http://blog.wired.com/games/index.blog?entry_id=1561160


You're the head of Sony's worldwide development studios. What the hell is up with that Africa game?

Video games have a function in life, and that is: wish fulfillment. You can become a mercenary, a fighter pilot. On PS3, we can expand the realm of that experience. Africa allows you to experience a very interesting part of the world, a safari in the plains of Africa. The gameplay is entirely non-violent. You don't kill the animals. It emphasizes the positives rather than the negatives.

It's about collecting experiences and keeping them for posterity.

What's up with the guy riding in the Jeep, shown at the end of the trailer?

That's you. Or rather, that's one of the people you'll control. (He stops himself from saying anything else.)

[CM Punk]

Is this even a game? :confused:

[Avalanche]

So this really is some kind of national reserve simulation?

I can't see where else they might take it.

[블라스]

This just NEEDS to have Toto's Africa as the main theme :up:

[Avalanche]

New Trailer:

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/afrika/media.html

The graphics and animations are actually pretty good.

[KALEL114]

Finally.....

Sony had showcased a very unique title several years ago during E3 2006 titled Afrika. Well, it’s now 2009 and the title has seen a release elsewhere in the world but not in North America. That’s all about to change.

Natsume will be bringing Afrika to North America later this year.

What is Afrika? Afrika is a photography simulator for the PS3. Players will take pictures of wildlife on the savanna and try to get the best pictures possible. You’ll come across lions, zebra, and a variety of other wild animals. Don't go thinking this is just a walk in the zoo, either. Animals will attack you and inflict damage to you. So beware.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12218-Providence-Video-Game-Examiner~y2009m5d26-Afrika-announced-for-North-America

[Electro UK]

Finally? You've been waiting for this game? Now to check the first page to see if I made any amusing comments about this years ago...

[Electro UK]

Nuts!

[KALEL114]

Finally? You've been waiting for this game? Now to check the first page to see if I made any amusing comments about this years ago...


Not Finally!!! OMG!!!

Finally.... Meh.

[Electro UK]

Ah okay.

Finally, jeez.

[DeGenerate10]

I'd rather play Pokemon Snap!

[KALEL114]

Snap was the shiznit! :up:

Chronicling Afrika’s Journey To North America

Natsume picked up the rights to Afrika, a PlayStation 3 wildlife photography game announced when the PS3 made its debut. Afrika will finally come out in North America this August, one year after it was released in Japan.



Great to see Afrika stampeding stateside. You know, there is another story behind its release. The link between Natsume, Afrika, and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is a hungry fish!



Afrika was released in Asia with an English translation. Is Natsume using that for the English release?



Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations: As the core foundation, yes. Afrika carries three licenses and it’s going to carry three licenses in the US which are National Geographic, Sony cameras, and Suzuki automobiles. Those three licenses are in the game so National Geographic was involved with the Japanese and Asian release.



A lot of the database information comes from National Geographic, live video, and live shots. You have to go through the National Geographic process and work with National Geographic.



We’re just tweaking lines here and there. Were trying to make a few modifications to the game to fit the US market better.



That was going to be my next question! What kind of modifications are you making?



First and foremost there is going to be a trophy system, which wasn’t in the Asian release or Japanese release. There have been other suggestions from us and other parties. So, we’ve been working with Rhino Soft and Sony now to tweak it. Obviously, that’s not the final version out there so we’re trying to see what we can do to help make it a touch better.

How come you didn’t call it Hakuna Matata?



I don’t want to upset Disney! [laughs]



As soon as it came into us we thought should we change the name? Should we go for it? There was a lot of press behind it, 2006 TGS when Sony was promoting it. It was right there with the PS3 launch, Sony was showing it, there was a lot of press with Afrika. Afrika was the name so why get rid of that install base and the known fact of what that is? So we called it Afrika.



It also fits too. Afrika is straight to the point other, than they spelled the name wrong, but that’s the way it’s supposed be spelt in this particular game.



How did you get the rights to it? I thought at one point National Geographic was publishing this on their own?



image You know we were never involved from Afrika on day one when it was released and that sort of bidding thing. We have a relationship with Sony Japan. You might remember Finny the Fish? That game was done by Sony Japan. So we licensed that game from them. We have a little bit of a history with their licensing department in Japan.



It just so happens that one day we received an e-mail — I don’t know about the backstory, but I heard different things that National Geographic was doing it, this and that — Hiro [ed's note: the President of Natsume USA] received an e-mail from Japan saying, “you know what we got a PS3 game would you be interested in it?” Granted, they were probably farming it out and showing it to other people too.



It really fits with the Natsume theme. That is it’s non-violent, it’s in nature, you know animals, being one with nature, you’re taking pictures and not running around with a shotgun or a baseball bat. So it fits in the encompassing umbrella of what Natsume stands behind. Long answer short, it went from there and we got it.

Trophies confirmed.

[eternalinferno]

Ok so exactly wat kind of game is this, just wondering

[KALEL114]

In Afrika, the player assumes the role of a photojournalist hired to take images of various animals. Gameplay is mission-driven; players receive e-mails at base camp instructing them as to which animals they must photograph. Players may then travel by foot, jeep, or hot air balloon to the areas where requested animals are found in order to photograph them.[6] The in-game camera is controlled by the Sixaxis. Depending on the quality of the photograph taken, the player will earn in-game money. This money can be used to purchase new supplies such as an upgraded camera.[7]

Additional to the actual gameplay are unlockables such as various footage and real-life snapshots of the animals that can be encountered, which are collected and stored in the “Animal Library”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_(video_game)

[ttotheusher]

I've been intruiged by this game for a while, the addition of trophies certainly helps.

[eternalinferno]

Ah....not my cup of tea, this one, I'll pass

[KALEL114]

I've been intruiged by this game for a while, the addition of trophies certainly helps.

Same here. It looks to be a nice diversion from the other games I'm playing.

[ttotheusher]

Yea, I like the idea of a peaceful game that still has challenges and objectives.

[Soapy]

Most definately. I'm really interested in this game for that reason. It also makes me wish that Endless Ocean would be ported to PS3 or 360.

[Havok83]

I hope they dont charge $60 for this. I can see it being $40 and even a PSN download

[ttotheusher]

When does this get released again?

[Soapy]

August, I believe.

[TheBat812]

For this game to be at all appealing to me, it would need photorealistic graphics or something. I can understand finding it interesting, but I can't understand paying 60 bucks for it. Will it retail at less?

[Electro UK]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/103/1032352p1.html

Well, IGN just spanked this game into submission.

That's for all you people that anticipated this crap fest!