sweatshop
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Apple pulls sweatshop game from App Store
Apple has a strict set of rules governing its iOS App Store. Run afoul of them and you may be kicked out of the playground. One of the latest apps to feel the wrath of Apple's banhammer is Sweatshop HD, a tower defense game in which players run a factory sweatshop. According to PocketGamer, Apple booted the game because the Cupertino company was "uncomfortable selling a game based around the theme of running a sweatshop." The game was released in November 2012 and stayed under Apple's radar until earlier this year. Littlecloud, the game development company behind Sweatshop HD, changed the game's description to add that players are not forced to run the factory as a sweatshop. It also made it clear that the game is less a game and more "a sympathetic examination of the pressures that all participants in the sweatshop system endure." It's a compelling sell, but Apple didn't buy it and kept the ban in place. If you want to play Sweatshop, the game is available online as a Flash-based title.
Motorola MOTOACTV coming to the UK to motivate armchair marathon runners
We feel strongly about exercise -- the only time you ever need to run is to escape from violence or, you know, Black Friday mobs. Others think it's an acceptable recreational activity, and it's these people who will be excited that the Motorola MOTOACTV's arriving in the UK. It's packing the same features we showed you before, including GPS tracking, 4,000 song capacity and being able to connect calls on your compatible Moto phone. It's an exclusive at specialist retailer Sweatshop for £250 and will be hitting shelves on December 1st. Just don't make us go in there, we might fall faint from thinking about all the exertion.
EVE Evolved: The RMT problem
Of all the problems that plague MMOs, RMT (real money trading) is perhaps the most disruptive to normal gameplay. By design, almost every MMO has some form of tradable currency that can be collected through normal gameplay. The time it takes to collect that currency has an inherent value, which varies from player to player as not every player values his free time at the same level. It's inevitable that cash-rich players who value their time highly will often want to shortcut normal gameplay by buying the currency directly for cash. The negative impact of RMT and its associated problems is felt in every popular MMO, and EVE Online is no exception. The direct balance issues inherent in allowing players to buy ISK with cash are just the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg. Players who buy ISK from shady websites and services are the reason that the rest of us have to put up with spam-bots in popular chat channels, rampant account hacking, and macros taking up a disproportionately large cut of EVE's in-game resources and server load. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look into the problems caused by RMT, why macro-farming operations have become so wide-spread, and what CCP has done to combat this growing problem.
Another death at Foxconn, CEO makes statement
Looks like Foxconn's troubles are far from over -- hiring an exorcist must not have worked, because another worker jumped to their death last week. That's the 10th such employee death at the plant where many of Apple's parts are manufactured. Foxconn's CEO made a statement earlier this week saying that "we are not a sweatshop," and promising that the company will "soon be able to stabilize this situation." The company has also starting hanging nets around factories to try and save jumpers (that's pretty grisly), and they've asked all employees to sign a pledge to help stop the problem, which Gawker has obtained. The pledge asks workers to seek help before doing something to harm themselves, and to help those around them who need it. Foxconn claims it's not a sweatshop, but reports say the company is asking employees to work 60 hours of overtime a month (far over the legal limit of 36 hours of overtime), and paying only about $132 a month. Clearly something is wrong at the company that Apple depends on for much of its manufacturing labor.
The bright side of gold farming?
Let's face it. Gold farming and RMT are the bane of many players' experiences in MMOs. Bots spam poorly-spelled gold ads in every MMO title with anything even resembling an in-game economy. From a player's perspective, it's a huge problem, and not surprisingly leads many to dislike the idea of RMT. But aside from the occasional media coverage of 'digital sweatshops,' most of us know relatively little about how gold farming operations are actually run, or what effects they have on real world society. Professor Richard Heeks from the University of Manchester has put together a substantial piece of work on gold farming. The Working Paper's abstract states Heeks' intention "to provide the first systematic analysis of the sub-sector." The paper is titled "Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on 'Gold Farming': Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games." (Say that three times fast.) It provides an overview of gold farming followed by an in-depth analysis of its economics, sociology, enterprise, and development. In terms of development, the paper considers the benefits gold farming may create, particularly for workers in Asia. While there is a wealth of information in Heeks' work, one aspect that stands out is a question it raises: Which is more important in the grand scheme of things, socioeconomic progress for people in real life, or the enjoyment of a game?[Via Virtual-Economy]
The first iPod nano clone rears its fat head
Of course, we all know that the knock-off producers in China never rest, but this new iPod nano clone you're looking at was definitely turned around in an impressively short period of time. Right now we have only this photo -- apparently taken at a Shenzhen factory for use in piquing importer's interest -- to go on, but it certainly isn't any kind of surprise that the copy-cats have already put the dirty deed in motion. Just remember guys, you're taking food off of Steve Jobs' table... which is made of diamond-studded platinum.[Via GenerationMP3, thanks BrianB]
EA an awful place to work. Awful great!
var digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/16/ea-an-awful-place-to-work-awful-great/'; Remember when the online buzz about Electronic Arts was all about overworked staff and unpaid overtime? That's so two years ago. The new buzz, apparently, is that EA is the second best place for new graduates to work, according to a Fortune Magazine list.They make a decent enough case -- EA employees get five to ten free games per year, heavy discounts on games and systems, plus amenities like an on-site gym, a DVD library and stock options. Still, given the past complaints, we can't help but gape at Fortune's statement that EA employees "might not have time to spend any of the $60,000 starting salary that's offered to the average entry-level worker." They had to understand the irony dripping from that line when they wrote it. Didn't they?[Thanks Keavin]
Schilling talks Green Monster Games
Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox ace pitcher and warrior-nerd (term applied to us nerds who happen to be physically fit), is a well-known MMO fan. In fact, he is such a fan he decided to start his own company -- Green Monster Games -- just to make one of his own. Now, he is giving us a little more details. In an interview with the Escapist, Schilling explained the inner workings of his company and a little bit of his vision. In an indirect crack at EA, Schilling explained he is building his company with the employee in mind; he is offering 100% insurance and matching 401k, a pair of oddities in many businesses. He states that even with Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore on the team, he won't simply bank on their names and wants to make a game that appeals to everyone. Schilling is certainly on the right track. A major key to making a great game is making sure your employees are happy. Building a Mordor-style slave camp doesn't help the quality of games, or the bottom line. Hopefully Schilling's employment strategies pay off with a good game; we'd be more than willing to support it.
"iPod City" admits labor law violations
In what would seem to be a 180-degree reversal from last week's vehement denials concerning the Daily Mail's "iPod City" exposé, Hon Hai Precision Industry's Foxconn factory has now come forward to admit that it has indeed been in violation of Chinese labor laws. Even though the company -- which was accused of underpaying and overworking employees -- had initially threatened to take legal action over the story, ChinaCSR is now reporting that a Foxconn spokesperson has publicly copped to the fact that its workers are forced to be on duty an extra 80 hours a month, which is 44 more hours of overtime than Chinese regulations allow (or 1.5 to 2 extra hours per day depending on the length of their work week). On the plus side, company representative Li Zong did point out that the workers are being paid according the minimum salary standards of the Shenzhen local government, so at least all those extra hours will help them maintain the highest standard of living for the scant amount of free time they get to spend in their overcrowded dormitories (supposedly pictured above). We realize that a lot of people are arguing that it's not fair to single out Apple when this is an industry-wide problem, but the fact of the matter is that Apple has been called out, and this new revelation only makes it that much more important for the company to conduct its promised investigation in a thorough and open manner.Update: It should also be noted that the ChinaCSR article quotes Li as saying that "Apple has sent a special team to investigate, but has found no problem with Foxconn." While it's not clear when this investigation took place, we're hoping that Apple has more to say on the matter, because it sounds more than a little shady if Cupertino gave Foxconn the thumbs-up while these admitted violations were occuring.[Via The Inquirer]
Foxconn denies iPod sweatshop accusations
Apple's promise to investigate "iPod City" allegations wasn't quite the flat-out denial we were expecting for a situation like this, but the accused iPod manufacturer, Foxconn Electronics (aka Hon Hai Precision Industry), was a little more straight forward. Spokesman Edmund Ding stated that there were huge discrepancies between the truth and the claims in the report, and that Foxconn reserves the right to take legal action over the report. A couple notable facts include Ding's claim that Foxconn has a worldwide workforce of about 160,000 -- compared to the 200,000 in one factory claimed by the report. Foxconn's website has also denied them even having a factory in Suzhou, which was mentioned as an "iPod City" in the accusatory article. Ding was also careful to mention that Foxconn abides by the employment law of China for minimum wage, and has been actively making improvements to workers' living conditions with the addition of free laundry service, sports facilities, libraries and other facilities. We're sure we haven't heard the last of the plight of iPod workers, but at least according to their employer it doesn't really sound too terrible.[Via iLounge]Read - Foxconn denies allegationsRead - No iPod city in Sozhou
