Gold farming might be a joke among many MMORPG players, but, according to a recent Manchester University study, it certainly is a lucrative one. The study estimates that the industry is a $500 Million market, with over 400,000 employees (80% based in China) earning an average of $145 a month. Professor Richard Heeks, who authored the study, had this to say:

“I initially became aware of gold farming through my own games-playing but assumed it was just a cottage industry. In a way that is still true. It’s just that instead of a few dozen cottages, there turn out to be tens of thousands.”

Hundreds of thousands grinding away in games like World of Warcraft and Runescape, for low wages and in poor conditions. This is the ugly side of globalization manifest in virtual worlds. It’s almost surreal to imagine, but apparently gold farming is becoming a major sector in the economies of the countries involved.

Major enough but unregulated enough to allow the participation of organized crime. That criminal aspect of gold farming makes the Manchester study not entirely accurate, Heeks said. Meaning his estimate could be twice as low, and gold farming could actualy be a billion-dollar industry.

Source: BBC (via Gamasutra)

No, it’s not the name of a new console for Dracula, but China’s most blatant knock-off yet. Attempting to ride high on Nintendo’s coattails, the system comes with plenty half-assed facsimiles of popular Wii software from Bowling to Cooking Mama.

Unlike the Polystation or TriStar 64, the Vii seems to have a surprising amount of effort put into its marketing. How can you deny a glowing recommendation from industry luminary “James,” sometimes known as the Reggie Fils-Aime of the East? Hit the jump for a highly questionable product demonstration.

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