The dark side of the PS2 (and other devices)

[quexos]

"Has the video game industry dug up its very own blood diamond?"

"Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms,"

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/...an-war/1231745

[Mikeblu]

intersting how they point out that Sony does it, not that Nokia or Samsung do exactly the same thing

[quexos]

Originally Posted by Mikeblu

intersting how they point out that Sony does it, not that Nokia or Samsung do exactly the same thing

That's why I added in the title "and other devices" cause I seriously doubt others have clean hands. So goes the world I guess but it's worth mentioning.

[Mikeblu]

Originally Posted by quexos

That's why I added in the title "and other devices" cause I seriously doubt others have clean hands. So goes the world I guess but it's worth mentioning.

I accualy read this same article a while back where someone looked into it and the overall amount and Dell and Apple PCs is 12x the amount of coltan the PS2s required

[Psx0005]

Imagine the number of kittens that died for every Dreamcast owner that played a Japanese hentai game

[Mikeblu]

Originally Posted by Psx0005

Imagine the number of kittens that died for every Dreamcast owner that played a Japanese hentai game

huh?

[Psx0005]

Originally Posted by Mikeblu

huh?

Just lightening the mood, story was too grim this early in the morning for me

[Mikeblu]

Originally Posted by Psx0005

Just lightening the mood, story was too grim this early in the morning for me

i like kittens!

[quexos]

Originally Posted by Mikeblu

I accualy read this same article a while back where someone looked into it and the overall amount and Dell and Apple PCs is 12x the amount of coltan the PS2s required

I guess we have to resign ourselves that we live in a world where people in third world countries have their rights somehow abused so that we can fill in our SUV's with gas, where kids are paid a dollar a day working in third world shoe factories so that we can enjoy our confortable sport shoes while walking in our streets, a world where our weapon factories have employment thanks to the sales to countries where innocents will be killed by those, a world where we pollute and destroy the planet so that we can have all the confort that "civilized" society provides (gas, air conditioning, electricity ...) a world where we over eat at fast foods while others starve and so on ...
So yeah why would playing games be the only clean and harmless part of our daily lives ?

I'm already feeling better to know that the Game Industry has it's full place in this big family that we call humanity

[Mikeblu]

Originally Posted by quexos

I guess we have to resign ourselves that we live in a world where people in third world countries have their rights somehow abused so that we can fill in our SUV's with gas, where kids are paid a dollar a day working in third world shoe factories so that we can enjoy our confortable sport shoes while waking in our streets, a world where our weapon factories have employment thanks to the sales to countries where innocents will be killed by those, a world where we pollute and destroy the planet so that we can have all the confort that "civilized" society provides (gas, air conditioning, electricity ...) a world where we over eat at fast foods while others starve and so on ...
So yeah why would playing games be the only clean and harmless part of our daily lives ?

I'm already feeling better to know that the Game Industry has it's full place in this big family that we call humanity

god i could do with air conditioning, first time weve had a heat wave sice 2005. (dont you just love britain, cold wet and prices are high)

Generally its all for profit more than comfort. You could do everything that you've described in comfort without harming anything/one but companys and indeed us take the cheaper route

[Mr.Sparkle]

Almost ALL computers, cell phones, and iPods have this in them, I have no clue why there singling out on PS2.

Xbox fanboy maybe?

[JonBidinger]

Plus Congo has only approx 1% of all the world's Coltan.

[quexos]

Originally Posted by JonBidinger

Plus Congo has only approx 1% of all the world's Coltan.

Well that would make the Congo kids's abuse even worse, if "worse" is possible

[Sith]

I wouldn't take a ps2 if someone gave me one for free...

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by quexos

"Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms,"

Well at least it's better press than "Kids in the Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary kids in the Congo in Resident Evil 5."

[SoCalTiger]

Originally Posted by Psx0005

Imagine the number of kittens that died for every Dreamcast owner that played a Japanese hentai game

STUPID HENTAI!

[quexos]

Originally Posted by Teazle

Well at least it's better press than "Kids in the Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary kids in the Congo in Resident Evil 5."

Oh most cruel irony v_v

[Mr. Hanky]

2 points off the top of my head:

-Don't forget automotive electronics...pretty much anything built by the mid-90's with considerable electrical gadgetry and/or complex electronic controls

-I'm also sure the sheer number of pc's ever built that contained a power supply and sophisticated dc-to-dc converters on the motherboard pretty much outnumber Sony consoles by orders of magnitude.

-Consider that it isn't the use of tantalum as a material from So Africa that is so sinister. It is So. Africa as a sovereign nation that has failed over the course of many lifetimes to develop a humane societal machine for its people to export this material as a viable source of national income. One could reason that the most humane policy is to not deal in that market. Realistically however, that just means some kids will be not working and starving, rather than working and being fed in a work camp. Either way, they are going to suffer. It makes no difference what the outside world does regarding business ties. It just sucks in that part of the world, period.

(Ok, I guess that's 3)

[ThePhantomOak]

All it claims is that Sony is at fault for increasing demand that drove up price on something that some warmongers then had a war over...

God forbid any company have a product that uses scarce resources...


BTW, I love how they cant tie Sony to any of this, except for price...

[ThePhantomOak]

Originally Posted by Mikeblu

I accualy read this same article a while back where someone looked into it and the overall amount and Dell and Apple PCs is 12x the amount of coltan the PS2s required

I doubt that matters. Read first... It says it is not the amount that PS2 uses, it is the timing of the demand PS2 drove.

1. PS2 is launched: tantalum=$49/lb
2. PS2 faces shortages and Sony moves to buy as much as they can: tantalum=$275
3. People start to fight over who will gain most from the windfall...

Sony could have bought zero grams from the Congo, and it could have still pushed up the price in the Congo. I would not be shocked if price stabalized in the last few years, and the "overall amount" of Dell and Apple had only a small slow effect on the price.

It is not the amount used. It is the sudden change in demand causing an oppertunity to gain windfall profit, not just profit.