Source Joystiq Korean gamers massacre Chinese over etiquette dispute Posted Feb 21st 2006 3:00PM by James Ransom-Wiley Filed under: Culture, PC, Online, RPGs, MMO According to recent reports, South Korean Lineage players have been ganging up on Chinese players in an attempt to wipe them from Korean servers. The recent killings are a response to rumors that Chinese gamers have not been following the unspoken rule: don't take money or items dropped by a monster slain by another player. Items from the game are sold for real money on online trading sites, and Chinese gamers have been reportedly joining South Korean servers because there are greater opportunities for making real money in these matches due to an abundance of trade. Unfortunately, Korean gamers have begun to see the Chinese presence as a threat, prompting some of these players to stage violent massacres. In areas like the Island of Dreams, where it is relatively simple to earn money, gangs of Korean players have been hunting down any Chinese player that dares to enter the region. One Korean player claims, "you can tell they are Chinese because they can't speak Korean." Lineage continues to be plagued by identity theft, which may be linked to reports that suggest there are Chinese sweatshops where workers play ceaselessly to earn money using Korean identities. More than 220,000 South Koreans have reported their identities stolen. NCsoft, makers of the game, are aware of the virtual genocide and have begun blocking Chinese IP addresses on Korean servers. NCsoft has sided with Koreans because the company is against item trading, which NCsoft apparently considers an exclusively Chinese practice.
lol... my brother was all irate over this happening in final fantasy whatever, which apparently fucks up the in game economy. You'd think it only takes the company to give a shit to stop the money for items stuff going on.
I have to take the side of the Koreans in this, at least at this time, because it seems like they're the ones being cheated by predominately Chinese item theives. Anyone who's ever played an MMO can understand the frustration of having items stolen and if it happens enough the entire server will eventually react. It doesn't appear that they don't want them in the game it's just they don't want people not playing by the rules and that's fair, I assume there's a chinese Linage server and if chinese players are switching to Korean servers purely for profit rather then gameplay, then the reaction by the Koreans (and NC Soft, though their reasoning is a little odd) is fair, that's my Opinion anyway.
The same thing is happening in WoW, EQ2, and other MMORPGs where guilds, groups, etc. will not let foreigners join them because they think that they will just take their items or are there for farming items, etc, that sort of thing. I love it how you said massacre lol
This goes back to an earlier post about online "economies" It seems people are possibly working in sweatshops to obtain "virtual goods" to be resold. I can't say that I ever agree with sweatshops, but geez they aren't even making a real life product in this instance.
I'd say this is a bit different than the situation in Second Life, becasue here we have people profiteering off the company (NC soft) as well as some real world crime going on - identity theft and sweatshop labor. Whereas in Second Life you're selling the fruit of your labor, here it's people reselling stuff the game gives you free anyway.
Its the same situation but unlike second life this morally wrong. The first argument was against selling "virtual goods" and this is the same thing except people are getting hurt.
Still don't think selling virtual goods is wrong, provided nothing illegal or explotive is taking place.
What an intelligent strategy! I could never imagine that Now thats ironic: being pay (maybe almost nothing) to sit you ass and work in a game...
[font="] That isn’t really the case, the hours are very long, boring, and the pay is usually 50 cents an hour. But a lot of the kids working in these places come from very poor families, and they do sleep in the facility they work for. From the farmers I ran into on WOW, they loved it, they have a safe place to sleep, food, and some side money. They also have compactions with other farmers, and they always want to help if you catch up with them.[/font]
Never played Lineage but If the Chinese were going to work in "gaming sweatshops" it should be a game where pking isnt allowed. They should play FFXI and all be black mages. I have FFXI but havent started yet, but I hear that getting a group of 18 Black Mages to all cast area of effect spells on targets simultaneously practically nukes every enemy in the game to kingdom come. Should be good strategy to get good items, but I havent played yet, so I dont really know.
Im still sorta playing kal online... sometimes i just think might as well blow £2 on some credits in the game otherwise its too long to make cash.
Dude the Nike slaves get like 10 cents/hour and they have to work in those crappy ship factories with no food or bed. If you ask me, this "MMO sweatshop" is like getting paid 14 bucks/hour here for doing the same.
What if some rich gamer guy opened up an Internet Cafe (all with FFXI) and paid people to play MMOs for the black market in rare items / game MMO currency in the US? Is that illegal?
Not at all, like I said before, they usally go to poor areas where kids dont even know what a computer is (they can pay then next to nothing), but get them to farm for hours at a time. But they get away with paying them next to nothing due to the fact food and housing is given to them. It is like inmates in jail, they get payed ten cents an hour for doing work, clause in that food, bed, showers is provide by the state/provence.
The only way to do that and not being sued to death for exploitation would be if you let them play for free, but you cannot give them anything back or else they can say you should give them more. The point is that they cant be aware that you are making a profit of them. Honestly, I would sell pr0n, is easier...
