The Untold Cost of Gaming

Mass suicide threats at a Microsoft plant in China raise awkward questions

You've got to be lucky or blessed or both to really enjoy work. Let's face it; most of us drag our sorry selves out of bed and away from our consoles of choice in the mornings only because the rent's not going to pay itself! When you really think about it though, things aren't too bad. We have labor laws protecting us from unfair dismissal and providing minimum wage standards; even if those laws aren't always strictly upheld at least we know that there's some protection for us.

That's certainly not the case all over the world, as proved lately by reports leaking out of a factory in China where, you guessed it, Microsoft's Xbox consoles are put together for us. The reports are on the sketchy side, but essentially it seems that Chinese workers were informed that their production line was shutting down and that while some workers would be transferred to another line, others would be leaving with no severance whatsoever.

Understandably the employees weren't best pleased by this turn of events. Rather than taking to pen and paper to craft a strongly worded letter of complaint, they decided to head right up to the roof of the six-storey high building informing plant owner, Foxconn, of their intention to jump together should their demands be overlooked. Mass suicide doesn't look good for any company anywhere in the world, so understandably a settlement was quickly, and peacefully, reached. It was enough to prompt Microsoft to look into the situation however, to see exactly why these Chinese workers were willing to take to the rooftop to demand fair treatment.

It's not just Microsoft that has its products crafted in the country of China of course. Apple, Sony, Dell, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard and many, many other companies also utilize Foxconn as their manufacturer of choice. Employing more than 800,000 workers, there's a good chance that these Foxconn factories had a hand in the production of at least one of your gadgets or gizmos.

Although the conditions in Foxconn plants are, on the whole, better than in the garment factories that we hear horror stories about, suicides aren't uncommon for Foxconn who, in 2010, dealt with 14, along with another 18 attempts. Although steps have been taken to improve things with Buddhist monks on hand to cleanse your evil spirits, music therapy rooms, a pay increase of a third (taking things to 1,200 yuan, or around $200 a month to you and me) and even nets put up in an attempt to catch 'jumpers', things are obviously still in need of improvement.

But where is the finance for that improvement to come from? Would we object if a surcharge was added to the Xbox 720 for improvements in factory conditions? Or would we simply be concerned that the extra cash was going to line the pockets of executives rather than being used to give factory workers a little more than their $200 a month? With Bill Gates so forthright in his discussions on philanthropy doesn't it seem strange that workers in Chinese factories producing Microsoft products are still working long hours at monotonous tasks for incredibly low pay?

Of course, when you look at the figures and see Microsoft reporting profits of $5.74 billion in the final quarter of 2011 it's hard to understand why they couldn't just foot the bill themselves. That's more money than the average American can even imagine! Surely some of it could be funneled into improving conditions within the plants that make our consoles.

This is not an invitation to boycott Microsoft until they make some changes for their workers. It's not supposed to be a tear-jerking and guilt-ridden commercial that has us reaching for our wallets to support the latest and greatest cause. After all, conditions are far worse in many other places in the world; the employees of Foxconn making Xbox consoles for Microsoft aren't slaves; they have chosen to work there. However as gamers around the globe we have a powerful voice, and we have a responsibility to realize the untold and often overlooked cost of our gaming.

If you would like to know more about working conditions in China or would like to get more involved there are a number of charities and non-profit organisations working within this area, for example China Labor Watch.

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