The Official 'Afrika' Thread

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.
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http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...y2009m5d26-Afrika-announced-for-North-America
 
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...
 
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.
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Trophies confirmed.
 
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”.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_(video_game)
 
I've been intruiged by this game for a while, the addition of trophies certainly helps.
 
Yea, I like the idea of a peaceful game that still has challenges and objectives.
 
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.
 
I hope they dont charge $60 for this. I can see it being $40 and even a PSN download
 
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?
 
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