Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese
FUZHOU, China - One of China's newest factories operates here in the basement of an old warehouse...
The people working at this clandestine locale are "gold farmers." Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they "play" computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash...
That is because, from Seoul to San Francisco, affluent online gamers who lack the time and patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are willing to pay the young Chinese here to play the early rounds for them...
With more than 100 million people worldwide logging on every month to play interactive computer games, game companies are already generating revenues of $3.6 billion a year from subscriptions..
That has spawned the creation of hundreds - perhaps thousands - of online gaming factories here in China. By some estimates, there are well over 100,000 young people working in China as full-time gamers, toiling away in dark Internet cafes, abandoned warehouses, small offices and private homes...
"It's unimaginable how big this is," says Chen Yu, 27, who employs 20 full-time gamers here in Fuzhou. "They say that in some of these popular games, 40 or 50 percent of the players are actually Chinese farmers."
For many online gamers, the point is no longer simply to play. Instead they hunt for the fanciest sword or the most potent charm, or seek a shortcut to the thrill of sparring at the highest level. And all of that is available - for a price....
The Chinese government estimates that there are 24 million online gamers in China, meaning that nearly one in four Internet users here play online games.
**********************
So the idea of playing a game to find out how good you are is a thing of the past.
It's rigging the results to put on a face to others pretending to be as good as you want them to think you are.
And this means Wm Blake was right, specifically as it may apply to George W Bush, who has quoted a Texican exression --
"If you're not willing to cheat, it means you don't really want to win."
William Blake? He said "People don't get what they deserve -- they get what they resemble."
In other words, many of us despise that spoiled brat sock puppet of a self-righteous sociopath BECAUSE he reminds us of ourselves.
Link
The people working at this clandestine locale are "gold farmers." Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they "play" computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash...
That is because, from Seoul to San Francisco, affluent online gamers who lack the time and patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are willing to pay the young Chinese here to play the early rounds for them...
With more than 100 million people worldwide logging on every month to play interactive computer games, game companies are already generating revenues of $3.6 billion a year from subscriptions..
That has spawned the creation of hundreds - perhaps thousands - of online gaming factories here in China. By some estimates, there are well over 100,000 young people working in China as full-time gamers, toiling away in dark Internet cafes, abandoned warehouses, small offices and private homes...
"It's unimaginable how big this is," says Chen Yu, 27, who employs 20 full-time gamers here in Fuzhou. "They say that in some of these popular games, 40 or 50 percent of the players are actually Chinese farmers."
For many online gamers, the point is no longer simply to play. Instead they hunt for the fanciest sword or the most potent charm, or seek a shortcut to the thrill of sparring at the highest level. And all of that is available - for a price....
The Chinese government estimates that there are 24 million online gamers in China, meaning that nearly one in four Internet users here play online games.
**********************
So the idea of playing a game to find out how good you are is a thing of the past.
It's rigging the results to put on a face to others pretending to be as good as you want them to think you are.
And this means Wm Blake was right, specifically as it may apply to George W Bush, who has quoted a Texican exression --
"If you're not willing to cheat, it means you don't really want to win."
William Blake? He said "People don't get what they deserve -- they get what they resemble."
In other words, many of us despise that spoiled brat sock puppet of a self-righteous sociopath BECAUSE he reminds us of ourselves.
Link
posted by Saintperle at
3:51 PM
