World of Warcraft and the new virutal gold
June 11th, 2007As many of you are probably already aware, a vast virtual gold market is being developed off of virtual gold mining in world of warcraft. The gold in WOW has become the largest most tangible form of virtual currency to have ever existed. And with western gamers spending their hard earned dollars (or their allowance) on gold comes a new economic system which doesn’t differ too much from reality. A growing industry in China is setting up large defunct buildings that resemble LAN parties and paying employees near sweatshop salaries to sit in front of a computer all day and mine virtual gold. The gold is then re sold to wealthier gamers in the west.
The practice will most likely grow very quickly since Asia is a highly wired continent where internet access is plentiful, unemployment a constant problem, and the workforce tech savvy and young. World of Warcraft gold could become the Nike shoe of the 21st century.
Watch Ge Jin’s documentary Chinese Gold Farmers
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