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The day I have been waiting years for is finally almost here. Rhino Studios’ PS3 wildlife photography adventure Afrika has gone gold and is finally due for release throughout North America on October 6th, Natsume announced today. That’s only a few weeks away, I can hardly contain myself right now!

For those who haven’t been closely following Afrika and rabidly gnawing on every scrap of news about the title like a hungry lion like I have, it is a photography simulation game, developed by Rhino Studios in collaboration with National Geographic, in which you play as a freelance photographer sent out on an African safari to document the local wildlife. The game was first unveiled in a promo video during Sony’s 2006 E3 press conference, but after that went into hiding before launching in Japan last year and having its North American publishing rights secured by Natsume earlier this year.

Afrika features over 70 photo-realistic animals to photograph throughout more than 100 missions, upgradeable cameras and safari equipment, a photo grading system for added replayability, and real footage, photos and animal facts directly from the vaults of National Geographic.

“We are thrilled about Afrika’s upcoming release in North America. And it’s certainly been a pleasure working with Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios on the project,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume. “Afrika is a truly unique gaming experience. Anyone can pick it up and enjoy its beauty, but it has enough depth and challenge to satisfy even the most hardcore players.”

Again, Afrika will be in stores on October 6th and will retail for $49.99. Anyone else excited or am I the only one here?