Purchasing an Xbox LIVE Gold Subscription in South Africa
30 Sep 2009 
35 Comments
Even though Microsoft’s been promising it for years, South Africa still doesn’t officially have Xbox LIVE for multiplayer gaming. According to Microsoft this is due to low bandwidth availability, but even so local gamers have been playing on the UK and US Xbox LIVE servers for years.
Playing on Xbox LIVE requires three things:
- An ADSL Internet connection
- An Xbox Live Gamertag
- An Xbox Live Gold Subscription
A Gamertag is free and can be created on your console, while a Gold Subscription will cost you somewhere between R150 and R500, depending on the supplier and the length of the subscription.
The following instructions assume that you have an Xbox 360 running the NXE (New Xbox Experience) dashboard. If this is the case, the interface you see after you turn on the console will look like this:
If your Xbox 360 is running the older dashboard software, the interface will look like the image below and although the screenshots later in the post will look similar to what your console displays, they won’t look exactly the same. You’ll be prompted to download the free NXE update after you’ve set up your Xbox Live Gamertag:
Creating an Xbox LIVE Gamertag:
Start up your console, then connect an Ethernet cable from your ADSL Router to your Xbox 360 (or alternatively use the Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter accessory).
If your ADSL Router uses DHCP (it automatically assigns IP addresses to computers on the network), skip the following step explaining how to manually configure your network settings.
Press the Guide (Xbox 360) button on your controller, navigate to the right-most section (“Settings“), and select “System Settings“. Select “Network Settings“, then “Test Xbox LIVE Connection“. If the test fails, you’ll have to select “Configure Network” on this screen and enter the Xbox 360’s IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway Address, Primary DNS Server, and Secondary DNS Server manually. For example, if your ADSL Router’s IP Address on the network is “192.168.1.254“, your settings would be:
IP Address: 192.168.1.123 (the first three numbers should be the same as your router, the last number should be between 1 and 250 and unique on your network)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.254 (Your ADSL Router’s IP Address)
Primary DNS Server: 192.168.1.254 (Your ADSL Router’s IP Address)
Secondary DNS Server: 0.0.0.0
Press the Guide (Xbox 360) button on your controller, then select “Create Profile“. If prompted, select whether you want to store your profile on your Hard Drive or a Memory Unit (if you store it on a Memory Unit you can easily take the MU with your profile to a friend’s Xbox 360).
Enter a profile name when prompted. This might change later depending on the availability of the name on the Xbox LIVE network.
Select an avatar for the profile when prompted. You can customize this later if you want.
Select “Join Xbox LIVE“, then choose “Yes” if prompted whether you’d like to exit your current session.
Select “Sign Me Up“, then enter your (real) email address to create / select a Windows Live ID. If you have an @live.com or @hotmail.com email account that you use with MSN Messenger, you can use that address to see your MSN Messenger contacts on your Xbox 360. Enter and confirm the password for your Windows Live ID, then select “Continue“. When prompted, select “Save Password“.
Select a secret question when prompted and provide its answer, then enter your date of birth. These details will be used to recover your account if you lose your password.
When prompted to review your details, make sure that your Locale is set to “United Kingdom” (if you’re using a @live.com or @hotmail.com address for your Windows Live ID, you may need to update this setting online as well), then select “Continue“.
Accept the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Privacy Statement when prompted, then select “Continue“.
Select “I don’t want a Gold membership“, and if you’re offered an Xbox LIVE 1 month Gold Membership Free Trial, select “Continue“.
When prompted whether you’d like to add payment information to your account, select “No, add it later“.
Enter your First Name, Last Name, and Phone Number when prompted (you can use “000 000 0000″ for the phone number), then select “Continue“.
Sign up for the Xbox.com Newsletter if you’d like, then select “Continue“.
When prompted to choose your gamer zone, select any option.
Set your Time Zone to “GMT+00 London” and Daylight Saving to “On” when prompted, then select “Continue“. Select “Continue” again to confirm your details, then “Continue” again when informed that you’ll be asked to create your gamertag.
Enter a gamertag (Xbox LIVE nickname) when prompted. If the gamertag is unavailable, you can enter a new one or select one of the on-screen suggestions. Select “Continue” to finalize the creation of your account.
When prompted whether you want to show your avatar as your gamer picture, select “No, just exit” (you can change your gamer picture later).
You’ll be logged into your new Xbox LIVE Account and returned to the Xbox 360 Dashboard. If prompted to download the free NXE update, do so.
Purchasing an Xbox LIVE Subscription:
Because South Africa doesn’t have an official Xbox LIVE presence, South African credits cards can’t be used to buy Xbox LIVE Subscriptions directly from your console.
However, there are several local and International websites that sell Xbox LIVE Gold Membership Subscription Cards (redeemable voucher numbers), including:
http://www.take2.co.za/
When you buy vouchers from these websites, make sure that you buy “UK” or “Worldwide” vouchers if you set your Xbox LIVE Gamertag’s Locale to “United Kingdom“, other vouchers will not work!
At the time of writing, the following options are available on the above-mentioned websites:
http://www.evogames.co.za/:
12 Months Membership (World Wide) – R389.00
3 Months Membership (World Wide) – R169.00
http://www.take2.co.za/:
Xbox 360 Live 12 Month Gold Card (UK Import) – R592
Xbox 360 Live 3 Month Gold Card (UK Import) – R240
http://www.gamepointsnow.com/:
Xbox 360 Live 12 Month Gold Membership (Worldwide) – ~R400
Xbox 360 Live 3 Month Gold Membership (Worldwide) – ~R176
Xbox 360 Live 1 Month Gold Membership (Worldwide) – ~R105
When you purchase a Gold Subscription from any of these companies, you can contact them and ask that they email the voucher code to you instead of mailing the physical card. Even with the international www.gamepointsnow.com website, I’ve never had to wait more than two days for the code to be emailed to me.
After you’ve received your voucher code, start up your console and press the Guide (Xbox 360) button, navigate to the right-most screen, and select “Account Management“.
Select “Redeem Code“, then enter your voucher code. The code will be processed and your Subscription will be upgraded from Silver to Gold, after which you can play online.
About Playing On Xbox LIVE in South Africa
Although a Gold Subscription purchased with the methods detailed above will let you play against international players, South Africa’s bandwidth limitations should be taken into consideration.
I have an uncapped 4Mbps line at home (currently the highest-speed residential ADSL connection available), but even so when I play against Europeans I usually have the worst ping. Connectivity lag can spoil your fun and accuracy, especially in first-person shooters, so you should ideally try to find South African players.
To find local players, take a look at and register on http://www.xbox360gamers.co.za/. After you’ve selected a game on this website, you will be shown a list of registered South African players of that game. Add these people as Friends on your Xbox 360 and you’ll be able to see when they’re online, join their parties and games, and take a look at their friend lists to find more people.
Feel free to add me as a friend on Xbox LIVE!
My gamertag is “LethalCarrion“, and I play on a United Kingdom account.
The multiplayer games I play include:
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
- Gears of War 2
- Guitar Hero: World Tour
- Left 4 Dead
- Rock Band 2
- Team Fortress II
- Unreal Tournament III
Related posts:
- How to claim a replacement Xbox 360 in South Africa after the Red Ring of Death
- Enabling iPhone Tethering and MMS with MTN or Vodacom in South Africa
- Configure Gmail IMAP accounts properly in Apple Mail and on the iPhone
- How to get a free iTunes Store account anywhere in the world
- South African cellphone network data access details
author
I’ve been using gamepointsnow for over 2 years and they are awesome.
Registration takes a little while as they actually snail mail you a confirmation code (takes about a week or so to be delivered) that you enter on the site to confirm you are who you say you are. Once that’s done though, it literally takes 10 minutes to buy and receive your subs or points.
I’ve never had any problems with buying points or subscriptions for my xbox from them.
They also supply points/subs for Wii, PS3 and a few MMORPG’s as well.
Great post, thanks for writing it! I am moving back to SA next year after 6 years in the US and I’ve been wondering if I will be able to keep playing. I wonder if you cab help me out with a couple other questions…
* Can I bring my US Xbox over or will I need to buy a PAL one locally?
* I’m thinking of bringing my NTSC plasma TV back and just using it for gaming. Or is there a way to even use it as a TV with DSTV?
Sorry for barging in with so many questions, but it looks like you know what you’re talking about.
Oh, and my gamertag is Bordesak
Hey Rian
If you bring your Xbox from the US, you’ll need to bring an NTSC TV too (else your games won’t work), all of the TVs sold locally are PAL.
I’m not sure whether you can use an NTSC TV with DSTV, but I would think not.
Cool, I’ll add your tag as a friend, thanks!
Hi Willem
I’ve just tried to connect to xboxlive for the first time and your intructions are great. One problem. Xbox asks for parent credit card details. My Dad has entered all the info but xboxlive asks for credit card address and won’t accept the South African postal on the statement (1686). We can’t use any UK code because it’s a South African Mastercard.
I don’t want to buy anything yet, just get parent verification. Any advice please ?
Thanks
Hey Callum
Right after you accept the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Privacy Statement, you should select “I don’t want a Gold membership“, then you won’t be asked for credit card details.
After you’ve finished creating your account, you can then use a purchased Redeem Code as explained above to activate your Gold membership.
Thanks Willem, that makes sense. So I guess I’ll bring my NTSC Xbox, DVD player, and Plasma TV for gaming and movies, and buy a local TV for DSTV watching. Only problem is I’ll then have to buy NTSC games as well — hopefully there’s a way to do that…
BTW, I see you’ve been playing COD4. Awesome game – can’t wait for Modern Warfare 2!
Hi, I have a problem joining live. When I “join”, I enter my email address, and then a password. But after entering my password and “clicking” on continue it gives me an error “xbox live signup is currently unavailable”. Can anyone help me out?
The problem is your live account’s country is set as South Africa, so you need to change it or create a new one using either UK or USA.
Thnx for all the help willem, im gettin xbox live next week and im so excited.But please explain how to find South African(SA rocks)players a bit more cause i dont understand.
Hope to see you on xbox live. But why dont you have halo3 best game ever. Please answer my questions. Im so amped for xbox live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Richard
If you register on http://www.xbox360gamers.co.za, search for the games you like and the website will show you who else also plays it. Make notes of their gamertags, then add them as friends on XBL.
Alternatively, add me as a friend (my gamertag is LethalCarrion), and take a look at the people on my friend list and what games they play. Most of them are South African, and if you add them as friends and take a look at their friend lists, you’ll find even more SA people.
It can take a little while in the beginning to find friends based on the games you play, but send me a message on Xbox Live and I’ll help you.
I actually do have Halo 3, but haven’t played it in ages.
If you liked that you should also try Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Gears of War 2 (in my opinion the best Xbox 360 First-Person Shooter ever released).
If you like Roleplaying Games, get Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 when they come out, they both look amazing.
For Japanese Roleplaying Games, try Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Star Ocean.
Have fun!
Fable 2 all the way, it kicks ass and im getting modern warfare 2. Looks insane:0. But how do you get evolution games to send you the subscription code and points code. And im sure they do something illegal cause there games are tooooooooooooo cheap. And dont you go to school cause how do you reply at 9 in da morning.
Thanx for all your help. 6 days untill i get xbox live, woooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooo:)
Flip, im like a rash but how do you see the full gamertag name, and im a noob so WAT THE HELLL IS A GAMERTAG!Is it taht thing wit da picture of a monkey or wateva you choose. (Mines a monkey HEHE)
WOW im such a rash. Sorry to bother you.
Richard, you should not make accusations like that about a company if you don’t have any facts to backup what you say!!
Willem, please anwer my questions and not Ricky, he confuses me
Haha, calm down guys.
Richard: A gamertag is the online nickname you chose for yourself. A gamer picture is the image.
When you place your order with Evo Games, ask in the ‘comments’ box that they email the code to you. Or, if you’ve already placed the order, just send them an email with your order number and ask them to do it.
Nah, I finished school a long long time ago, I’m working.
Lucky bugger, thnx for all your help but how are evo games soooooooooo cheap, they must be doin somethin illegal.
Done, set every thing up, very stressing, hope to play you soon.
Noooooooooooo! I cant be your friend because your friendlist is full. Pls delete someone!
Hey Richard
Please try again, I’ve taken off some Friends.
I have been trying to set up a mate’s Xbox 360 on Live for ages now – I can’t sign up for him on my or his Xbox – I get the currently unavailable story. Have been trying every few days for 2 months. I’ve tried a UK live account and signing up directly from the console. Anyone else having problems? I am going to try bounce off a proxy in the UK tonight…maybe they block signup from SA IP addresses now?
If you go onto that website with all those south africans it only shows you the first 3 letters. How do you see the rest of the name.
And im aloud to get two games, 1 cheapish and 1 expensive, im getting call of duty MW2 and what should i get for my other 1.Here are some of the ones i want but feel free to give me suggestions.
Army of two
Assasins Creed 1
Call of Jaurez BIB
GRAW 2
Im not sure which one.
Can some1 please help!
I have signed up with xbox live but my free month is finished!
How can I be sure that this works(what has been written above)
I have also tried to create another Xbox live account but keep getting the Set up is unavailable pop up!!
How can I create a new 1? Thank you
If you go onto that website with all those south africans it only shows you the first 3 letters. How do you see the rest of the name.
And im aloud to get two games, 1 cheapish and 1 expensive, im getting call of duty MW2 on Tuesday and what should i get for my other 1.Here are some of the ones i want but feel free to give me suggestions.
Army of two
Assasins Creed 1
Call of Jaurez BIB
GRAW 2
Im not sure which one.
Get Assassins Creed. GRAW2 is the same genre as MW2. If you like FPS in a battle environment, get GRAW, but Assassins Creed is a great game, a very big world. Will keep you entertained for hours. Forget Army of Two.
Two great sites:
http://www.metacritic.com
http://www.gamerankings.com
These sites take all the reviews and average them out
These are the top 20 X360 games, the last number is the average score. Everyone should have at least 10 of the top 20 games in their collection.
1 Grand Theft Auto IV 2008 98
2 BioShock 2007 96
3 Orange Box, The 2007 96
4 Gears of War 2006 94
5 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The 2006 94
6 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 2009 94
7 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2007 94
8 Halo 3 2007 94
9 Braid 2008 93 (Live Arcade)
10 Street Fighter IV 2009 93
11 Fallout 3 2008 93
12 Gears of War 2 2008 93
13 Guitar Hero II 2007 92
14 Rock Band 2007 92
15 Batman: Arkham Asylum 2009 92
16 Rock Band 2 2008 92
17 Forza Motorsport 3 2009 92
18 Assassin’s Creed II 2009 91
19 Mass Effect 2007 91
20 FIFA Soccer 10 2009 90
I cant play MW2 online anymore. It says this profile is not allowd. Im really freakin out. Before I played it it updated something, did that do something.
What can i doooo!!? PLeeeeease HELP ME!!!!!!!
I have 2 accounts that had xbox live for the free month, but both have expired (How depressing) but I think I used the Australian Location(Stupid me) but not exactly sure, How do I make sure it is and wil the worldwide Xbox live code work? And is there any Microsoft points I can get for the Austrailian location?
Add me. kalventer is my gamertag and I am getting the membership for Christmas so I need to know this, Thanks
Hi Willem
I have searching the net for a guide to setting up XBL from SA. I finally managed to connect last nite but had an issue with XBL being “unavailable”. Your guide has been extremely helpful in resolving it. Thanks for all the info. Is it possible to download games from XBL in little portions at a time as i only have a 250meg cap?
Hi Adiel
I don’t think so, sorry. You could try turning background downloading off, switching the console off in the middle of a download, then turning it back on to see whether it resumes?
Hi
When I buy a gold membership from gamepointsnow and enter it into my xbox, will it give all the gamertags on my xbox a gold membership or just one of the gamertags. I share an xbox with my bro.
Hey Rush
No, if you buy a subscription it can only be applied to one gamertag. I bought one for my gamertag, and me and my flatmate both used the same account to play online.
Hey guys
I’ve created a gmail account and entered my region as UK and i’ve also set the locale on my xbox 360 to UK however i am still unable to create an account on XBL, i get an error message everytime i get as far as confirming my password. What am i doing wrong?
I would like to create a silver account for now…please help?
Hi guys,
Im new to xbox live. been playing Fifa 10
Please add me as a friend
Gamertag is PandemoniaX
how do i buy Microsoft point for my xbox live account
Hi Daniel
You can use one of the websites mentioned in the post to purchase Microsoft Points too, just make sure that you buy either UK or US points based on the type of account you have.