New York Times Article: "Ogre to Slay? Outsource it to the Chinese"

[Gibb]

Hey guys,

It's been awhile...I just noticed an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/technology/09gaming.html) in yesterday's New York Times (on the front page no less) about the rapid increase of "gold farmers" in MMORPGs like WoW. The article basically notes how lazy Americans will pay overworked Chinese people to earn gold and advance through the ranks. It notes how how gold farming is becoming such a major phenomenon that some companies like Sony are beginning to sanction the practice. It's probably nothing new to you guys, but nonetheless, it's a good read and gives some mass public exposure to a phenomenon of the gaming community. Check it out here (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/technology/09gaming.html).

A companion article (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/technology/09gameside.html) is from a gamer's perspective and discusses the gaming community's perception of gold farming and its perceived ethicalness (is that a word? well it is now). Also an excellent read (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/technology/09gameside.html).

Peace,
Gibb

[The_Maker]

Erm... no offense or anything but, Who. Are. You? :o

And for this topics sake,
That is rather... "interesting" stuff but this is kinda weird. Playing games and getting REAL money for it? That's cool yet just weird at the same time, if I could do that on certain games for a living I would be up for it. BUt then again I would probably have no social life, no relationships with anyone, and more than likely be looked at as the sterotype nerd.

Strange.

[Seal]

Gibb is ORG staff, foo. daily ORLY for ya

this sidebusiness related to MMOs is kinda disgusting tbh :p

[DrawingBlanks]

Gibb was the original Webmaster of Starcraft.Org before it got handed over to BSTRhino...

...and yes. The article is nothing new to me. I'm amazed that it didn't get coverage with Everquest and all those other MMORPGs already...

[Neo]

Gibb is elite =P

Been a damned long time Gibb.

Interesting article... Meh. Seems kind of sad though :/

-Neo

[Battlecruiser]

Well, I personally don't think its fair, but since both sides, the farmers of the gold, and the people buying it seem to be happy, I guess it is a win-win situation for them. But I can't understand how they possible have any fun playing the game that much. If I had to stare at the computer screen that long, I would probably die from a super huge headache. I hope none of them die from playing too much, like those other chinese people that did.

[GenocideAlive]

The article basically notes how lazy Americans will pay overworked Chinese people to earn gold and advance through the ranks.
Why miss an opportunity to bag on Americans. It's not that the Chinese government is a despotic tyranny with little promise of reward regardless of effort, it's that the Americans are lazy.

The internet ruins the propagation of local economies, this is nothing new. India has been doing it for years in the computer industry. Labor in America never has been cheap, we have too many "lazy" human rights laws. Stupid fucking Americans.

[UnHoly-Assassin]

Why miss an opportunity to bag on Americans.
Stupid fucking Americans.

***

I don't see what's the big deal with farming. The only problem with MMORPGs are that the fun is in leveling and getting rich. That's why other games like FOM (http://www.fomportal.com/) are that much more unique and enjoyable. However, if people really would perfer to trade time for money or vice versa, I don't see a problem with that. I might disagree with the rationale behind it, but I do not see much impact it has on the gaming economy. All they can do is make it harder for people to level...

[GenocideAlive]

That was sarcasm. Bitter, biting sarcasm.

[BlackHawk]

Personally, I think it ruins the game -- games are meant to be played for fun. I think that those who opt out and purchase their character or equipment don't get the feeling of accomplishment when you finally reach that new level, or get that great piece of equipment. If they want to spend their money on spending $200 on some pixels, well, go ahead, but I still think it ruins the game and should, if possible, be stopped.

[Spartan-II]

So your saying that people who have little time for gaming but still want to be competitive should have to suffer?

Let the people do what they want. It's their money.

[BlackHawk]

So your saying that people who have little time for gaming but still want to be competitive should have to suffer?

Let the people do what they want. It's their money.

That's not being competitive, it's cheating. If I were to use a cheat code in some game because I have "little time for gaming" so that I could be "competitive" and was then invicible, would you consider that fair?

[GenocideAlive]

I'd agree if we were talking about a game that required skill. However, this is an MMORPG, which is almost solely dedicated to timesink and raid partying for exp and othersuch itemwhoring. There are no prizes in this game, for anything. It's just a dumbass fucking hack-n-slash game meant to eat up your money and spare time.

Here's a small graph for WoW.

Time Spent>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Skills