Following the deaths of over a dozen of its workers in recent weeks, Nintendo has declared it will be investigating the working conditions at Foxconn, one of the Chinese companies responsible for manufacturing the Wii.
Sixteen employees have jumped from the rooftops of Foxconn buildings over the past few months, attempting to commit suicide rather than face work in factories that stand accused of failing to meet basic human rights standards.
Japanese business daily Nikkei reports now that Nintendo, concerned over the conditions (or the public relations disaster surrounding the conditions, take your pick) will be launching its own independent investigation into Foxconn facilities.
What they’re going to find – and what they’re then going to do about it – is anyone’s guess.
Nintendo to probe Foxconn conditions: report [Marketwatch]
Michael Barnes
Friday, May 28, 2010 at 8:30 PMGood on you Nintendo. I cannot believe a company would help drive people to do these things this day and age.
Cheese
Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 1:57 AMI can believe it. The same way I believe the people who post on Kotaku and read it’s stories continue to buy product made by the people who exploit other humans like this.
People who purchased their products are just as responsible.
lcb
Friday, May 28, 2010 at 10:20 PMfind another company that does the exact same thing?
Marx was right about the upper class abusing the masses.
Thing is, we (western world)are all upper class and the rest of the world can suck our balls.
Chris McAlister
Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 12:38 AMThere’s a reason that this sort of stuff is made in China, they just don’t have the laws to protect the worker’s conditions or pay. It’s a lot cheaper to pay somebody $131.80 per month than to pay an employee in a country such as Australia. Workplace safety and conditions aren’t an issue in China either, it’s in the same vain as Workchoices really.
Brewer74
Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 12:13 PMPeople complain about the price of games in AUS, and then we see stuff like this. It really goes to show the amount of onvestment needed to release a game into shops, if they still cost 100 bucks and they are getting them made this cheaply with such low conditions for the workers. Imagine how much it would be for us gamers if they made them in a western country. People would be up in arms at the cost.