“This rural county seat in northeast China has an Internet cafe on almost every street, 63 in total, and most of them are full of young people passing time.Parked in front of computer screens, they move through virtual dungeons to slay ogres and gather gold in online games.
But it’s not mere idleness. Many of the gamers are working.
A vast shadow industry has mushroomed in rural China. Savvy entrepreneurs harness teams to play popular online games, gathering magic spells, battle hammers, armor and other virtual assets. They then provide the assets to brokers, who sell them to rich players in the United States and Europe wanting shortcuts to gaming success.
At any given time, as many as half a million Chinese gamers are completing quests and gathering such assets as virtual gold pieces to sell off for real money. They toil in Internet cafes and in makeshift computer labs, sometimes sleeping on cots in nearby dormitories in shifts.
In industry lingo, the gamers are known as “Chinese gold farmers.” They do the cyber scut work, menial jockeying of the mouse that’s hard on the wrist but better than factory labor.
“It’s easier than making shoes,” said Wang Xin, 27, an entrepreneur who keeps 30 young people working in his stable of gamers. “You don’t work so hard. The physical pressure is not high. This is much less demanding than the sweatshops.”
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