Gacha games are predatory by nature, employing elicit tactics to swindle consumers out of money as well as using deceitful marketing tactics such as advertisements and sponsored shills to promote their game and wares.
We’ve heard the story all before, some retard racks up tens of thousands of dollars in debt, or stealing collective crowdfunding money, or outright draining their own families bank account all in the name of microtransactions and gacha rolls.
One thing you rarely do see however are gacha games claiming peoples lives, though undoubtedly I am sure that some of these moronic sheeple undoubtedly have killed themselves following lifelong debt accumulation rolling for virtual JPGs.
Gacha games continue to be predatory, especially those home grown in the country of China, because quite clearly the likes of miHoYo among many others specifically pay these companies large amounts of money who then in return milk the livelihood out of Chinese citizens by contractually forcing them to stream specific games for hours on end.
As reported by outlets like Hong Kong 01 and Nownews, on November 10th a third-year student majoring in Computer Science and Applications at Pingdingshan University in Henan Province passed away while resting in a rented residence outside the school following five consecutive all-nighters streaming the game Genshin Impact.
The student had chosen Henan Qinyi Cultural Media Co., Ltd for a six-month internship assigned by the university, the student had signed a contract to stream a grand total of 240 hours per month.
miHoYo pays Henan Qinyi Cultural Media Co who then in turn force their slave labor force to stream whatever game that miHoYo requests of them, essentially driving up traffic on stream platforms with a whole swarm of these individuals streaming the game for upwards of nine hours daily brings new players onto the game who’ll hopefully become another victim to the cycle of gacha by fueling the machine to unlock new characters.
The contract in question when translated mentions the following in the highlighted segment:
Including Basic Income
During the cooperation period within a single natural month, if Party B’s online live activities meet the conditions, Party C promises to provide the following basic income:
A. For a single natural month of Party B’s live data, the following conditions must be met:
a) The streamer’s effective broadcast duration is 240 hours per month.
b) The streamer’s effective broadcast days are 26 days per month.
c) The streamer uploads 15 short videos per month.
B. Party C promises to provide a guaranteed amount of 3,000 yuan, which should be paid to Party B’s corresponding account no later than the 31st of the following month, starting from the first month of cooperation, continuously paid for one month.
Give or take the Chinese student was contractually obliged to stream a minimum of 8 hours per day on average, with a hard requirement to stream on at least 26 days per calendar month, while also having to upload 15 short videos per month.
The contractual obligation here is to stream a minimum of 9.23 hours per day, all while attending university? Such a contract would be absolutely insane, especially for a student studying Computer Science.
All of this to earn a minimum of just 3000 Chinese Yuan per month, with the streamer garnering 80% gross revenue from revenue generated during streams, with 3000 Yuan roughly converting to just $420 USD.
Four hundred and twenty US Dollars, per month, with a requirement of streaming 240 hours per given month across 26 days, this poor fucking sap died working for $1.75 USD per hour.
The parent of the student expressed his outrage with the company, asserting that their child was generally healthy, with no health issues detected in regular check-ups. The parent remarked that the company admits its accountability and offered a condolence payment of 5000 yuan.
$700 USD for a dead child, but then again, it was the student’s own fault for signing his life away for contractual slave labor.
The company’s “game streamer” recruitment advertisement.
The company denies responsibility, but experts point out the existence of a de facto employment relationship. In response to an interview with Pengpai News, the company’s legal representative denied any responsibility, asserting that the contract resembled a cooperation agreement and clarified that “there was no employment relationship or labor contract between the two parties.”
They added, “Given that the incident occurred in a rented residence, we currently do not hold any responsibility.” However, they also pledged to encourage content creators to prioritize a balanced work-rest schedule and steer clear of overnight work in the future.
Yeah right, steer clear of overnight work when you’re specifically praying upon the college student demographic with mandatory 8+ hour workday requirements, students who simply cannot wave off their education throughout the day can only resort to fulfilling their contractual requirements during the evening onwards of any given day.
Though it begs to question what would the ramifications have been if a contracted streamer were to “fulfil” their quota by simply doing a sleep / chair stream, because I can assure you that if the streamer themselves weren’t actively engaging in the product / audience they’d have their hilariously low pay withheld for a contractual breach.
This essentially just boils down to absolute peak China, one of the world’s most densely populated nations and a notorious one for horrible treatment of its citizens with dire living conditions, while technically the blame falls upon the student for being essentially swindled into a blood pact that had asinine requirements such as 240 hours of stream broadcasts across a minimum of 26 days per month, I find it absolutely hilarious how this cancerous Chinese “media company” or “stream guild” can simply deflect any and all responsibility simply because the death occurred in a rented unit.
Furthermore, when Hong Kong 01 consulted with a lawyer from a Beijing law firm, the lawyer indicated, “While many content creators enter into cooperation agreements with companies, in practice, many of these agreements involve employer-employee relationships. Therefore, the family could argue that there was indeed a labor relationship between the student and the company, and in the event of injury during work, the company, as the de facto employer, would be required to assume corresponding responsibility.”
But at least Henan Qinyi Cultural Media encouraged their contractually employed lemmings to ensure that they maintain a healthy dose of nightly sleep, given how this particular contract requires 8-9 hours per day streaming on average, I am absolutely sure that university students can easily juggle those requirements alongside time for classes, studies and of course sleep.
