More Reviews
REVIEWS Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D Review
Gamers have gone bananas for Nintendo's 3DS, but can this port of Retro Studios' 2010 Wii game make the jump to your portable?

Pandora's Tower Review
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but swords and chains excite me. Should you climb the towers in Xseed's JRPG/adventure hybrid to save your cursed (and tragically whiny) girlfriend?
More Previews
PREVIEWS The Last of Us Preview
With Naughty Dog releasing a new IP in just a few short weeks, we got hands-on one more time. But don't worry: This is a spoiler-free preview.
Release Dates
NEW RELEASES GRiD 2
Release date: 05/28/13

Fuse
Release date: 05/28/13

Remember Me
Release date: 06/04/13

The Last of Us
Release date: 06/14/13


LATEST FEATURES Everything I Learned About Call of Duty: Ghosts Last Week
I wasn't allowed to talk about the new Infinity Ward game last week when I met with Activision, and I don't have much to say now that Xbox One spilled the beans.

Xbox Infinity: Everything (We Think) We Know About Microsoft's Next-Gen Console [Updated... Again]
Microsoft is pulling back the curtain on their next-gen gaming box tomorrow. Here's an updated look at what we're expecting to see.
MOST POPULAR FEATURES 7 Best Video Game Franchises Of All Time
Gaming is home to some incredible IPs. Here you'll find a slightly objective, yet heavily biased, list of the absolute best of the best.
 
Coming Soon

LEADERBOARD
Read More Member Blogs
FEATURED VOXPOP nick_olsen
Welcome home, Mario; we’ve missed you!
By nick_olsen
Posted on 05/13/13
[ Editor's Note: As Nick Olsen is a writer for Theory of Gaming, this won't be counted in the monthly Vox Pop prize. However, it is very much a worthy read. ] By Nick Olsen Co-founder, Theory of Gaming In 1985 Nintendo started a revolution when it...

GAMING NEWS

Chinese Prisoners Forced To Gold Farm

Posted on Friday, May 27 @ 15:49:52 Eastern by


According to a prisoner from a Chinese labour camp in Jixi, Liu Dali (whose name has been changed to protect his identity) says that he was just one of the many prisoners who were forced to gold-farm. During the day, he would perform physical labor by breaking rocks, but at night, the 54-year-old was forced to slay demons - an unusual, if not as cruel, punishment:

Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour. There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [about $800] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off.

If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things.

Jin Ge, a researcher from the University of California San Diego, says that these virtual but literal gold farms are rampant and problematic, but ultimately enticing for their owners, particularly as a form of prison labor:

You would see some exploitation where employers would make workers play 12 hours a day. They would have no rest through the year. These are not just problems for this industry but they are general social problems. The pay is better than what they would get for working in a factory. It's very different.


[Source]


More from the Game Revolution Network




Comments
  • Lien
    Lien

    Joined: Feb 2008
    Posted: May 27th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
    So... this is corruption in the jail? And who would they complain to: unicef or blizzard-activision?
  • usaglory
    usaglory

    Joined: Mar 2009
    Posted: May 28th, 2011 at 7:26 am
    Leave it to the Chinese to come up with such a scheme.
  • 213EDD
    213EDD

    Joined: Sep 2007
    Posted: May 28th, 2011 at 9:01 am
    See i told you playing WoW is punishment.

Post a Comment
LOGIN or REGISTER to post a comment or rate this article.
More On GameRevolution