The Chinese government has banned gold farming and trading of virtual currency for real money. This is a big deal for China as about 85 percent of gold farmers are believed to be based in China. Gold farming is believed to generate between 200 million to one billion annually worldwide.
The banning is set to have an effect on the hundreds of thousands of people that farm for gold, but that may be a good thing. Most people that farm for gold go do it all day long and earn next to nothing for the work they put into it. Sure, it's not hard work at all. But being hunched over, looking at a computer screen all day and doing the same thing over and over can have a really sh*tty affect on your body and life.
[via GameIndustryBiz -- Image]
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Contest:
9:30 PM on 06.30.2009
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Sounds like that job market is going to purge to another country perhaps.
My mind is fucking blown.
Even if the law is enforced, the companies will probably shift to someplace else, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, etc. An "industry" that makes that kind of money is unlikely to disappear.
I knew this was big business but I honestly never thought China would give s shit, considering how lucrative it is.
I mean, wow. Gold farming and power-leveling has been a thorn in Blizzard's side fro quite a while now. Aside from the extreme gaming of the system and unregulated/no legal recourse nature of dealing with these guys as a consumer, there's also account hacking. Its atleast alleged that account hacking has been spured greatly by these farmers to get an edge in their market by using hacked accounts for ad spamming and quick vendor gold.
Its going to be a special episode of The Instance podcast this week. One of the hosts was hacked by chinese farmers himself a few years ago.
Good for MMO players.
But surely this amount of persistance and grinding on a screen could be used for a more legitimate venture?
If that virtual stuff then takes no resources to make and takes no space, I dunno that its the worst thing in the world.
Also, gold farming brings in revenue from other countries.
That sounds more like a minimum wage and other workplace 'fairness/safety' laws issue rather than something bad about the work itself.
Also, I'm sure they are kind of biased against a sector that makes money off virtual financial goods in this economic climate, haha!
Oh well, at least they've done sómething. Next step: official gold selling from the game companies themselves.
Maybe they should take a pointer from CCP
I speak Chinese and have lived in China. I have had the chance to chat with some of these people in game. They are really not that different from you and me that want to make an admittedly temporary living doing something they at least moderately enjoy so they have a roof over their heads and eat.
I guess I can calm down now. whew!