Coffee Talk #126: Would You Pass on a Console Due to Child Labor?

The National Labor Committee (NLC) posted an interesting report on a Chinese factory that makes several Microsoft products — including Xbox 360 controllers and remotes. As you can imagine, the factory’s conditions were deemed horrid. Children as young as 16 allegedly work shifts exceeding 15 hours in an extremely small space without air conditioning. The workers allegedly sleep 14 to a room and can only take sponge baths.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Sergio Martinez achieving boxing greatness at 35, the disgusting tale of Edwin Valero, or the first round of the NBA playoffs, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The National Labor Committee (NLC) posted an interesting report on a Chinese factory that makes several Microsoft products — including Xbox 360 controllers and remotes. As you can imagine, the factory’s conditions were deemed horrid. Children as young as 16 allegedly work shifts exceeding 15 hours in an extremely small space without air conditioning. The workers allegedly sleep 14 to a room and can only take sponge baths.

Microsoft corporate vice president Brian Tobey claimed that Microsoft inspects the factory regularly. He recently stated on the company’s corporate blog that, “We take the allegations raised this week quite seriously. Another comprehensive on-site audit of the facility will be conducted next week, with a specific goal of investigating the allegations raised in the NLC report. In addition, we will have monitors on site pending the results of the inspection.”

There are loads of products we buy and use that are manufactured under harsh conditions like the ones pointed out by the NLC. My question for you today is this: If you were aware that a gaming product you want was built in a factory that exploited teenagers and had inhumane working conditions, would you still buy it?

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

52 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #126: Would You Pass on a Console Due to Child Labor?”

  1. Yes I still would. I don't think because they are exploiting teens that is any worse than exploiting adults. China has some of the worst human rights in the the civilized world. That's communism for you.

  2. i would be more inclined to buy a console whose parts were manufactured by children in chinese sweatshops…..i hate kids

  3. I would like to say no but I would still make the purchase. While I do not agree with exploiting people, I do live in the US and we do outsource a lot of jobs to keep costs down. I can not take the high road on this one because the shoes on my feet where probably made by someone under the age of 13.

  5. So the Edwin Valero story has taken another gruesome twist. After being arrested for stabbing his wife to death, he killed himself in jail. It's sad and disgusting. I hope his kids are taken care of.

  7. This past weekend I did something I may very well regret…I unfroze my WoW account.

    I also picked up SCC. Playing on realistic and love it.

  9. @topic

    I would love to say yeah but there's so many things out there outsourced that it will be hard to track of if they were made by child labor or not. I know if i try to avoid it someday i'll run into and someone will call me on it.

    @valero

    He had so much more boxing in him. I wasn't aware that he had gotten out of rehab. My friend text me this morning about it and i was like WTF! wasn't he in rehab. It's sad what happens to most boxers at times they either die tragically or end themselves tragically.

    @sergio martinez

    It was a good fight. better than the sorry hopkins v jones jr fight and berto fight. hbo boxing needed this card to get people excited about Mayweather v Moseley May 1st.

  11. @BB

    360. I do not think it is on PS3. Should have the game beat soon. Will do some coop then. Add me, Restloy

  13. @tokz_21 For assorted reasons, Valero never lived up to his potential. I'm positive that 20 years from now people will be saying he could have been an all-time great…if he didn't have that metal plate in his head…if he could have gotten licensed in America sooner…if he didn't have substance problems…if he didn't have mental illness.

    I enjoyed Martinez win. I thought he got hosed against Paul Williams and flat-out robbed against Cintron.

  16. ok so im going to make a new xbox live name…i HAVE to have an original name with no cheating (I's for L's)

    John Matrix (arnolds name in commando, which is hysterical, cause thats not austrian at all!)

    Bernie Lomax (im dead so often in mw2, this one might actually be appropriate)

    i really wanted squirrelmaster, but the only way i can do it is if i cheat and use the I for the L…i hate to admit it, but im leaning toward this one

  18. @rpad

    Really you think so? I mean there's going to be someone else they talk about in 20 years. I don't think Valero will be someone boxing fans or writers will be thinking about in next year. It's tragic but i don't think they're going to want to bring up a woman beater and now killer up on any broadcasts. You didn't miss much with that last UFC ppv it was such a lackluster card, I fell asleep for 15 mins during it. Thank god i didn't order it but my friend did.

  19. i have 232 movies on my ps3 hard drive, and i went through them all to find funny names, but EVERYTHING IS TAKEN

    tried…dusty bottoms (REALLY WANTED THAT ONE)

    emmett fitzhume

    austin millbarge

    hunk golden

    bob wiley

    captain insano

    captain freedom

    dr charles nichols

    johnny utah

    uncle rico

    bill lumbergh

    duncan pinderhughs (wouldnt fit, but bonus points for whoever knows that one!!)

    and patrick bateman

    NOTHING!!!

  28. @ Smartguy

    I'm all over that. Alas, my reasons for not getting a 3GS have come to fruition.

  29. @Thundercracker

    Johnny Utah would have been a good one too!! lol

    @Topic

    the whole issue seems ethically bad…but it makes me think of a song that goes "Now philosophically you'd be opposed/to one inhaling coke via mouth or the nose/But economically I would propose/that you go eat a dick as employment froze." I thought of this song when I was reading this article (which I totally took the title to mean another type of child labor, haha)…yeah it is ethically and morally bad in our American opinion to have child labor make our products, but as was pointed out earlier, we don't get our products from Japan or the US anymore, our stuff comes from China and that is just how it is done in a communist society. Sucks, but that's life.

  31. I would still buy it. I don't condone it though. Kinda like Nintendo being the least green company and Apple making all of their products out unicorn horn. People don't care about how stuff gets to them as long as it gets there. I don't want to know how the cow was killed just give me the steak.

    Why are they going to wait a week to investigate it? Giving them plenty of time to get it cleaned up over there so the report ends up a false allegation I suppose

  33. @topic

    I'll be clear, if there was a console made not in China, I would buy it over one that is. The problem is that we don't have a choice.

  34. @Sandrock

    What if the console (for argument's sake let's say it is made in Mexico) is like the Wii, but the Chinese console is the 360. Do you still only buy the mexican machine?

  36. @smartguy

    I'd buy both, but lets say the PS3 was the one made in Mexico. I would buy the PS3 as it is a much better economical solution. I get ~ the same power as the other console, and I help create more jobs in Mexico so les of ours are illegally taken here in the US.

  37. @Slicky

    yeah i linked that earlier in this thread. Neat stuff, too bad the article can't tell us speeds and memory.

  38. @smartguy & SlickyFats

    Ether of you think it is wrong that they ripped some dudes phone apart and have made no attempts to return it to its owner. I don't care big of a news article it makes, there are some things you don't do.

  39. @Smartguy

    Lol. sorry didn't see it. Yeah Engadget is saying it has 80Gb of storage but I don't know how they got that. I wish they would let the people over at ifixit tear it apart before someone gives it back to Apple. Or at least let someone who can crack it and get it back up and running get it.

  40. @Sandrock

    I had never thought of it actually being SOMEONES phone. Yeah its wrong but the person is probably getting fired either way. As long as they put it back how they found it, that make sit okay right?

  43. @SlickyFats

    Messing with someone's cell phone is never cool. It's honestly worth more as a beginning chip than as an actual product anyway. It's still a prototype so nothing in it is set in stone and can/will change. Better to call Apple up an tell them you found their phone and would like a first hands on with the final product.

    I don't think she/he will get canned. If they gave it to someone, they probably gave to someone high enough on the totem pole to not be able to fire them over this. Sure, he/she will have a harder time getting advanced, but they won't get let go. I doubt Apple wants to pay their severance pay anyway.

  44. So yeah, over the weekend I started playing FFXIII again and I hit a spot in the game that was way compressed. I'm on the last disc and all the disc before it had very little compression in them. I wonder if the rest of the game will be as compressed? (assuming I can ever beat Barth Doom Remix *twitch twitch*)

  45. @Sandrock

    Losing a prototype like that can void your contract in most cases. Pertaining to severance, bonus, and stock warrants. Personally I'd have tried to get a 15inch i7 and a new 27inch iMac for returning their prototype. That's just me though…

  46. @smartguy

    That is if they actually work in the prototype division. That iPhone was to well hidden and put together to be something the prototype division would still be handling. I'm thinking the product is at the point were they start giving them out to most of their big people. Still not final, but close enough for that they won't miss a few if they went missing. (like this one)

  47. @Sandrock

    I call it a prototype since it isn't available for consumer use and Apple hasn't talked about it. I intended the term to be used somewhat loosely. I agree though, it would seem that the unit was fully functional.

    I think someone will lose their job over that. Either by the old fashioned way or resigning. Then again, Steve Jobs is an egomaniac and could have put that dumby unit out there to throw everyone off!

  48. Also, I was just thinking…I bet if there was an EVDO chipset in that thing then someone DEFINITELY would have been canned…..but you could also call the thing a fake a hell of a lot easier.

  50. @ Thundercracker

    If you don't know Navin Johnson, you need to download and watch The Jerk right now.

  52. @ Thundercracker

    It's much funnier when you see it as an adult.

    @ Wrestling fans

    Impromptu Raw invasion by Smackdown tonight (Raw roster stuck in Europe because of the Icelandic volcano eruption).

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