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[DxD]

The strike is toothless and the reason is obvious: How many games have you bought this year regardless of who was voice acting in them?

Seriously.
It is wasting a lot of other VA time. People have to work, but since a union is a catch-22, one for all or none at all system, you are screwed.
Like for anime and Japanese games, wow, so many vets are forced to use psuedonym names and can't even take credit for their role.
Fans have to create VA list to rightfully credit the VA, but some of them can't even acknowledge it but just nod/wink at it.

Heck, famous celebrities are slowly getting into the video game industry.
It is too hard to compete in the VA market.

 

[Bluth54]

How can they fix it? Why are you blaming them?
VA are demanding a % cut while devs don't even get a % cut.

It is an endless spiral that will never be resolved.

Also, a lot of these companies aren't headquartered in US so they won't care about SAG pressure.

II hate to say it that's how it works in the movie and TV industry. Typically an actor or actress get residuals on their work while most of the people behind the scenes aside from a few (like maybe the director, writer and producers on a movie or TV show) don't get residuals.

 

[dickroach]

edit

 

[tidus9000]

How can they fix it? Why are you blaming them?
VA are demanding a % cut while devs don't even get a % cut.

It is an endless spiral that will never be resolved.

Also, a lot of these companies aren't headquartered in US so they won't care about SAG pressure.

It's not a pure percentage but a capped bonus based on sales (maxing out at $3300 for 2 million sales or more). If you actually look at their demands, there is nothing here that is unreasonable. https://www.sagaftra.org/interactive/negotiations-information

And yes, devs don't get a cut when they should but this should be seen as a start to devs getting royalties, and not used as an argument against the strike

 

[dickroach]

How many games have you bought this year regardless of who was voice acting in them?

How many games have you bought this year regardless of who MADE them?

....
voice acting, directing, development, whatever. you want the best of the best when you buy a product.
word on the street is videogame VAs get paid like shit. that's not cool.

 

[Fried Food]

I know I'm not buying this game

 

[dickroach]

I know I'm not buying this game

prove it

 

[Marcel]

How many games have you bought this year regardless of who MADE them?

....
voice acting, directing, development, whatever. you want the best of the best when you buy a product.
word on the street is videogame VAs get paid like shit. that's not cool.

It isn't cool but people who enjoy video games most likely aren't willing to not participate on account of a strike that no longer has any visibility. They don't want to stand in moral solidarity with VAs because they're ultimately given no reason to care. And it doesn't help that you'd think it's business as usual with all the continuing franchises, new IPs and known VAs working anyway.

SAGAFTRA would need a strong position to bargain from and they don't have one at all. Publishers are basically proving themselves right. It's unfortunate but it is what it is.

 

[Council Pop]

The strike is toothless and the reason is obvious: How many games have you bought this year regardless of who was voice acting in them?

Lol you really think that's the point of the strike?

That's like saying "A McDonald's strike is pointless, who cares who serves you burgers?"- the point isn't the impact on the consumer, it's the fact that it'll be a logistical nightmare for McDonalds as they'll have to either pay extra to get agency workers or they'll have to close stores, either way they're making less profit.

For publishers, this strike means the pool of VA talent they have access to is greatly reduced, the actors they do have access to are often less experienced and have worse training, and most importantly it's a logistical nightmare as publishers are forced to change plans they've made years in advance and negotiate with agents and casting companies they've never dealt with, which will again result in them making less profit.

word on the street is videogame VAs get paid like shit. that's not cool.

It's not just their fees, it's the fact that VAs are often kept in the dark about what games they're actually acting in, which is outrageous. Imagine being an actor who records some scenes for a film- they're not told what it is, and they get paid the sort of rate you'd get for some low budget indie film. They later find out that they were actually acting in the new Star Wars film, which will make millions of dollars. Yet they've still been paid like shit, and couldn't negotiate as they weren't informed what film it is. Not really very fair, is it?

It isn't cool but people who enjoy video games most likely aren't willing to not participate on account of a strike that no longer has any visibility. They don't want to stand in moral solidarity with VAs because they're ultimately given no reason to care. And it doesn't help that you'd think it's business as usual with all the continuing franchises, new IPs and known VAs working anyway.

SAGAFTRA would need a strong position to bargain from and they don't have one at all. Publishers are basically proving themselves right. It's unfortunate but it is what it is.

Ok, firstly, there are many people who enjoy video games who are standing in solidarity with the VAs, but also- it doesn't matter. This is an internal industry issue, SAGAFTRA don't give a shit what gamers on the internet think, that's not what it's about.

Also, SAGAFTRA do have a strong position, which is why they're striking. They wouldn't bother otherwise, it would be pointless. Even if the VAs don't get everything they're asking for right now, they undoubtedly will eventually- this is just the beginning of the fight.

 

[DxD]

Imagine if programmers and graphic modelers unionized. It'd bring the industry to its knees.

There won't be an industry or very limited spaces and openings.
Each year we read about studio shutting down and lay offs left and right.
It is better to get paid than not making end meets.

Who wants to risk such a gamble? You are playing with fire, putting your life, wife, kids on the line.

 

[Marcel]

Lol you really think that's the point of the strike?

That's like saying "A McDonald's strike is pointless, who cares who serves you burgers?"- the point isn't the impact on the consumer, it's the fact that it'll be a logistical nightmare for McDonalds as they'll have to either pay extra to get agency workers or they'll have to close stores, either way they're making less profit.

For publishers, this strike means the pool of VA talent they have access to is greatly reduced, the actors they do have access to are often less experienced and have worse training, and most importantly it's a logistical nightmare as publishers are forced to change plans they've made years in advance and negotiate with agents and casting companies they've never dealt with, which will again result in them making less profit.

I think you're deeply overestimating the profit loss that would be felt by casting negotiations. VAs are not paid jack unless you are a known quantity.

 

[N7.Angel]

Gonna be a lot of faux outrage.

As long as the quality is there, good for them for still making the game, and good for her for standing her ground.

If it suffers/is lesser than yeah it'll be unfortunate, but I'm not gonna pass on the game for this.

Yup...

 

[Vashu]

Lol you really think that's the point of the strike?

That's like saying "A McDonald's strike is pointless, who cares who serves you burgers?"- the point isn't the impact on the consumer, it's the fact that it'll be a logistical nightmare for McDonalds as they'll have to either pay extra to get agency workers or they'll have to close stores, either way they're making less profit.

For publishers, this strike means the pool of VA talent they have access to is greatly reduced, the actors they do have access to are often less experienced and have worse training, and most importantly it's a logistical nightmare as publishers are forced to change plans they've made years in advance and negotiate with agents and casting companies they've never dealt with, which will again result in them making less profit.

Not just that, but the VA who do work with the game companies during a strike will be blacklisted by SAG-AFTRA, severely hindering their chances of receiving work on future games that have a SAG-AFTRA voice actor on board, or to get aid when they feel exploited or their rights trampled upon.

 

[DxD]

Not just that, but the VA who do work with the game companies during a strike will be blacklisted by SAG-AFTRA, severely hindering their chances of receiving work on future games that have a SAG-AFTRA voice actor on board, or to get aid when they feel exploited or their rights trampled upon.

How can they be black-listed?
People are using pseudonym names, and the SAG can't do anything about it because of loophole since these VA aren't credit for the role.

 

[Council Pop]

Not just that, but the VA who do work with the game companies during a strike will be blacklisted by SAG-AFTRA, severely hindering their chances of receiving work on future games that have a SAG-AFTRA voice actor on board, or to get aid when they feel exploited or their rights trampled upon.

That's good. It sounds harsh but, that's life. You're either a scab or you're not.

I think you're deeply overestimating the profit loss that would be felt by casting negotiations. VAs are not paid jack unless you are a known quantity.

It doesn't matter that VAs are paid- any disruption to schedules is money lost.

How can they be black-listed?
People are using pseudonym names, and the SAG can't do anything about it because of loophole since these VA aren't credit for the role.

We're talking about internal industry stuff- the fact that scab actors are publicly using pseudonyms does not mean they're going to be able to hide their identities internally. Also, in case you forgot, we're talking about actual actors here- it's kinda hard to hide your identity when your voice is all over a game.

 

[dickroach]

It's not just their fees, it's the fact that VAs are often kept in the dark about what games they're actually acting in, which is outrageous. Imagine being an actor who records some scenes for a film- they're not told what it is, and they get paid the sort of rate you'd get for some low budget indie film. They later find out that they were actually acting in the new Star Wars film, which will make millions of dollars. Yet they've still been paid like shit, and couldn't negotiate as they weren't informed what film it is. Not really very fair, is it?

i do think it's awful! i just don't put it into as many words as you.
but yeah

 

[Council Pop]

i do think it's awful! i just don't put it into as many words as you.
but yeah

Haha sorry, i do go on a bit.

 

[Vashu]

How can they be black-listed?
People are using pseudonym names, and the SAG can't do anything about it because of loophole since these VA aren't credit for the role.

Yeah, that is a loophole that needs some work indeed.

But, there are repercussions regardless of that loophole.

 

[DxD]

That's good. It sounds harsh but, that's life. You're either a scab or you're not.



It doesn't matter that VAs are paid- any disruption to schedules is money lost.



We're talking about internal industry stuff- the fact that scab actors are publicly using pseudonyms does not mean they're going to be able to hide their identities internally. Also, in case you forgot, we're talking about actual actors here- it's kinda hard to hide your identity when your voice is all over a game.

You must be credited for the role. That is the loophole.
Internally, from what I have seen from the index of contact information, everyone hides their name.
So what are you talking about internal industry stuff anyway?
How would SAG know unless the company releases the information out?

 

[Shredderi]

What is a "scab actor"? A VA who is part of the union but still works for publishers affected by the strikes?

 

[Council Pop]

So what are you talking about internal industry stuff anyway?
How would SAG know unless the company releases the information out?

Because the community will have some idea about who has been strike breaking and who hasn't.

What is a "scab actor"? A VA who is part of the union but still works for publishers affected by the strikes?

A scab is a worker who breaks a democratically agreed strike.

 

[Vashu]

What is a "scab actor"? A VA who is part of the union but still works for publishers affected by the strikes?

There's a good explanation about scabs and what happens here.

 

[Lime]

I can't believe this shit is still going on, game publishers are the worst.

 

[DxD]

Because the community will have some idea about who has been strike breaking and who hasn't.

And?
It has been 2-3yrs now.
Loophole exists.
People need to eat.
People continue to act.

 

[cj_iwakura]

There's a good explanation about scabs and what happens here.

Isn't that half the anime/RPG VA industry? If not all of it. How many dubs have uncredited casts?

 

[Vashu]

You must be credited for the role. That is the loophole.
Internally, from what I have seen from the index of contact information, everyone hides their name.
So what are you talking about internal industry stuff anyway?
How would SAG know unless the company releases the information out?

Hiding your name won't help if you break the union contract and your colleagues find out, and with such a thing as acting and voice acting, they will find out. Maybe not right away, it may take a while, but it will definitely happen.

 

[DxD]

Hiding your name won't help if you break the union contract and your colleagues find out, and with such a thing as acting and voice acting, they will find out. Maybe not right away, it may take a while, but it will definitely happen.

IT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!
Literally, every anime dubs atm.
So many new anime, still the same vets with stupid fake names.

Bro, they don't need to find out. Fans fricken create VA list to credit the proper VA for free.
SAG doesn't care because these VA aren't credit for the role.

 

[Shredderi]

A scab is a worker who breaks a democratically agreed strike.

But a non-union actor who works on non-union projects isn't one, right?

 

[Vashu]

And?
It has been 2-3yrs now.
Loophole exists.
People need to eat.
People continue to act.

It hasn't been 2-3 years, the strike started in 2016, most games coming out now aren't affected since they've been in development since before October 21st 2016.

The repercussions will be felt mostly next year and the year after.

Except for LiS: Before the Storm, since development of that game started after that date.

You know what happened during the Writer's Strike in 2007/2008? A ton of shows had to end, or got crappy seasons and it cost the industry as a whole a ton of money. Which is why the Writer's Strike threatened this year didn't happen. The companies didn't want to lose that much money again, so they accepted their terms under a tentative deal.

Once we see the consequences for the strike, and many voice actors are supporting the strike, even non-union ones, the publishers might sing a different tune.

IT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!
Literally, every anime dubs atm.
So many new anime, still the same vets with stupid fake names.

Bro, they don't need to find out. Fans fricken create VA list to credit the proper VA for free.
SAG doesn't care because these VA aren't credit for the role.

But anime series aren't part of this entire deal, so what's your point actually? It makes no sense and it has no connection to the Voice Actors Strike against game publishers.

PS: Writing in all caps isn't helping your case either, calm down.

PPS: Don't bro me.

But a non-union actor who works on non-union projects isn't one, right?

True, but if they grow within the industry they might want to get extra protection against exploitation and other dangerous things they are asked to do, or not get paid enough for their job etc. It can seriously hurt their chances to join the SAG-AFTRA which provides all those protections.

 

[DxD]

=Vashu;247687451
But anime series aren't part of this entire deal, so what's your point actually? It makes no sense.

Ah...Games? You think these people just do anime?
Laura Bailey started from there
Troy Baker started from there.
A lot of these VAs have role in game/anime.


Talking to you guys over this is driving me insane.
It is like you guys are heartless, and don't want "scabs" to earn money and feed themselves.
Is it their fault that there is a loophole?
Is it their fault that they still get hired?
But nope, yall want them to be blacklisted and never work in the industry again.

Alright, "BROSK"I?!?!

 

[spindoctor]

You know what happened during the Writer's Strike in 2007/2008? A ton of shows had to end, or got crappy seasons and it cost the industry as a whole a ton of money. Which is why the Writer's Strike threatened this year didn't happen. The companies didn't want to lose that much money again, so they accepted their terms under a tentative deal.

Once we see the consequences for the strike, and many voice actors are supporting the strike, even non-union ones, the publishers might sing a different tune.

The difference between the writer's strike and this one is that the writers had leverage. People can notice a dip in the quality of writing on TV. Almost nobody cares about a different voice actor in gaming.

 

[Vashu]

Ah...Games? You think these people just do anime?
Laura Bailey started from there
Troy Baker started from there.
A lot of these VAs have role in game/anime.


Talking to you guys over this is driving me insane.
It is like you guys are heartless, and don't want "scabs" to earn money and feed themselves.
Is it their fault that there is a loophole?
Is it ther fault that they still get hired?
But nope, yall want them to be blacklisted and never work in the industry again.

Alright, "BROSK"I?!?!

I am not saying I want them blacklisted or never see them working in the industry again, I am only telling you about the consequences. It is still their choice to go down that route, but any self-respecting voice actor doesn't want to hurt their own chances since a lot of projects are under contract with SAG AFTRA.

Again, calm down, you're trying to throw emotion into a discussion that doesn't need that kind of anger. It's a waste of your time and energy to get so worked up about this.

I am not heartless, not at all, but this is the way the industry works.

Alright, pal?

The difference between the writer's strike and this one is that the writers had leverage. People can notice a dip in the quality of writing on TV. Almost nobody cares about a different voice actor in gaming.

This is not true. Quality of voice acting is extremely important these days as a well written story with bad voice actors (bad timing, inflection, emotion) can kill a game the same way it can kill an anime, a cartoon series, an animated movie.

 

[cj_iwakura]

The difference between the writer's strike and this one is that the writers had leverage. People can notice a dip in the quality of writing on TV. Almost nobody cares about a different voice actor in gaming.

When a character hits a certain level of infamy, people notice. Travis Touchdown for instance. He's defined by his crazy voice and dialogue.

 

[Falk]

About scabbing:

There's been a veeerry similar situation with the music recording industry in LA, the AFM, and musicians essentially needing to work to make a living. While there isn't a 'strike' per-se, non-union sessions in LA are generally frowned upon, yet since 2012 'dark dates' (or working non-union while the union looks the other way) have been increasingly more common while gigs that had every right to be recorded in LA escape to London ($$$), Eastern Europe (not as $$$) or even other parts of the USA due to demands/requirements/residuals mandated by the AFM.

The other option to do it aboveboard would be to go fi-core, which simply isn't a very attractive deal to begin with.

 

[Garlador]

The difference between the writer's strike and this one is that the writers had leverage. People can notice a dip in the quality of writing on TV. Almost nobody cares about a different voice actor in gaming.

I think fans care, but not enough to matter.

How many voice actors have iconic characters like Dante had? Leon Kenndy? The Joker? Frank West? Big Boss? Lara Croft? Sonic? Sam Fisher?

Even Link's changed voices and I can tell. Not everyone can be a Mario voice forever.

We're CONDITIONED to get replacement voices all the time.

Voice acting is definitely worth championing, but by this point there's very few characters with the same "iconic" voice. Duke Nukem and Master Chief, I guess.

 

[Vashu]

I think fans care, but not enough to matter.

How many voice actors have iconic characters like Dante had? Leon Kenndy? The Joker? Frank West? Big Boss? Lara Croft? Sonic? Sam Fisher?

Even Link's changed voices and I can tell. Not everyone can be a Mario voice forever.

We're CONDITIONED to get replacement voices all the time.

Voice acting is definitely worth championing, but by this point there's very few characters with the same "iconic" voice. Duke Nukem and Master Chief, I guess.

Batman and The Joker were replaced in Batman: Arkham Origins, and that was very noticeable to fans. It changed the dynamic for a lot of people and they started to notice the things that weren't as good a lot more because of it.

It's like with bad CGI in series and movies, people care less about bad CGI if the rest of the rest of the show or film is extremely good. Once the performance or quality of performance starts to change compared to previous outings, people will notice all the other stuff that they don't like more.

What if suddenly Justin Roiland decides to step away from Rick & Morty as a voice actor and let two other people voice his characters? There will be outrage.

As a matter of fact, before Life is Strange Episode 1 was available to download for free, already 2.5 million people bought the game. Sometimes during a sale, but Dontnod was very happy with the initial sales too. It got 1 million sales before Episode 4 was out.

Before The Storm has less than 100.000 owners on Steam right now, according to SteamSpy.

Now, you can say this is because it's a different studio and the story isn't good and all that stuff, but a lot people heard and saw Before The Storm when it was showed at the E3 and the reception wasn't good. The scene that was shown just wasn't good, and a lot of people commented on the voice acting and how Chloe didn't sound right.

It still has an effect.

Uncharted 2 or 3 would probably have bombed if Nolan North decided to call it quits after the first game, for instance.

 

[Garlador]

Batman and The Joker were replaced in Batman: Arkham Origins, and that was very noticeable to fans. It changed the dynamic for a lot of people and they started to notice the things that weren't as good a lot more because of it.

It's like with bad CGI in series and movies, people care less about bad CGI if the rest of the rest of the show or film is extremely good. Once the performance or quality of performance starts to change compared to previous outings, people will notice all the other stuff that they don't like more.

What if suddenly Justin Roiland decides to step away from Rick & Morty as a voice actor and let two other people voice his characters? There will be outrage.

As a matter of fact, before Life is Strange Episode 1 was available to download for free, already 2.5 million people bought the game. Sometimes during a sale, but Dontnod was very happy with the initial sales too. It got 1 million sales before Episode 4 was out.

Before The Storm has less than 100.000 owners on Steam right now, according to SteamSpy.

Now, you can say this is because it's a different studio and the story isn't good and all that stuff, but a lot people heard and saw Before The Storm when it was showed at the E3 and the reception wasn't good. The scene that was shown just wasn't good, and a lot of people commented on the voice acting and how Chloe didn't sound right.

It still has an effect.

Uncharted 2 or 3 would probably have bombed if Nolan North decided to call it quits after the first game, for instance.

And here's where I WANT to agree... but don't.

Batman and Joker were replaced in Origins, but as a prequel people may have missed the old voices but many - even here on GAF - READILY prefer the new voices. Even I admit there's an energy to Batman that Conroy's lacked and Troy Baker's Joker is shockingly great. The problems with Origins were far more to do with the gameplay and story than the voice performances, because the voice actors they used are legit pros and did great work with the material.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm's 1 week Steam numbers aren't really a good comparison to the original's. I instead found info that Square Enix celebrated 1 million sales of the original before Episode THREE was released, for instance. That includes all platforms. It's not comparable yet.

And, to be honest, as amazing as Nolan North is as Drake, if Naughty Dog HAD released the games with a different voice actor (heck, even the guy doing male Ryder is Andromeda is pretty close), but kept the same story and gameplay, it still would've been a huge hit and still would have sold millions, because ultimately Nolan's performance is the delicious frosting on top of a very fulfilling and delicious cake with amazing setpieces and gameplay. But that's a hypothetical we'll never know.

But looking at every other example... do you think a new voice for Kratos will impact sales of the next God of War? Did Breath of the Wild suffer because Link's grunts aren't the same ones from Ocarina of Time? Metal Gear Solid fans vastly prefer David Hayter's voice overall and yet MGSV still exceeded all expectations sales-wise.

Even I was taken back by the voice changes in Final Fantasy XIV's expansions... but quickly adapted.

So I want to believe you but... well, I don't really.

 

[dickroach]

edit

 

[Wulfram]

It's not just their fees, it's the fact that VAs are often kept in the dark about what games they're actually acting in, which is outrageous. Imagine being an actor who records some scenes for a film- they're not told what it is, and they get paid the sort of rate you'd get for some low budget indie film. They later find out that they were actually acting in the new Star Wars film, which will make millions of dollars. Yet they've still been paid like shit, and couldn't negotiate as they weren't informed what film it is. Not really very fair, is it?

I don't see any fundamental reason why the pay should depend on the project, if they're doing the same work.

 

[Vashu]

And here's where I WANT to agree... but don't.

Batman and Joker were replaced in Origins, but as a prequel people may have missed the old voices but many - even here on GAF - READILY prefer the new voices. Even I admit there's an energy to Batman that Conroy's lacked and Troy Baker's Joker is shockingly great. The problems with Origins were far more to do with the gameplay and story than the voice performances, because the voice actors they used are legit pros and did great work with the material.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm's 1 week Steam numbers aren't really a good comparison to the original's. I instead found info that Square Enix celebrated 1 million sales of the original before Episode THREE was released, for instance. That includes all platforms. It's not comparable yet.

And, to be honest, as amazing as Nolan North is as Drake, if Naughty Dog HAD released the games with a different voice actor (heck, even the guy doing male Ryder is Andromeda is pretty close), but kept the same story and gameplay, it still would've been a huge hit and still would have sold millions, because ultimately Nolan's performance is the delicious frosting on top of a very fulfilling and delicious cake with amazing setpieces and gameplay. But that's a hypothetical we'll never know.

But looking at every other example... do you think a new voice for Kratos will impact sales of the next God of War? Did Breath of the Wild suffer because Link's grunts aren't the same ones from Ocarina of Time? Metal Gear Solid fans vastly prefer David Hayter's voice overall and yet MGSV still exceeded all expectations sales-wise.

Even I was taken back by the voice changes in Final Fantasy XIV's expansions... but quickly adapted.

So I want to believe you but... well, I don't really.

Then don't, but time will tell what effect the voice actor strike and the possible changes to known series will have.

In some cases they work, although despite the great sales for MGSV, there are a great many people who aren't just happy with how it didn't really end, but also that Sutherland's performance was lackluster. It was explained in the game why he sounded different though. He's a great actor, but I found his Snake to be a bit, well, mediocre.

While Troy did a great job as The Joker, the dynamic was noticeably different, which was my initial point. I never said they sucked, mind you. Both did a good job with the characters, but plenty of people didn't like it.

There are also people who aren't really happy with the change of voice actor for Kratos when that was announced, both here on NeoGAF and elsewhere. I get why they do such a change for series like Tomb Raider, which was a reboot, but the new God of War is supposed to be a sequel, so it's a shame they changed it.

It might not always affect sales, there's evidence to be found for both views, but you can't deny there is an effect.

And you're right, it may not be fair to compare the first few days for Life is Strange Before the Storm with the time period that Life is Strange had (I can't find the first week sales of Episode 1 for instance), but considering it's sold as a complete package, instead of on a per episode basis like the original release, it's not doing the numbers that Square Enix might've hoped.

Meaning 1 million sales on day one, since they have a pretty big fan-base of over 3 million players.

 

[Sorcerer Supreme]

I think fans care, but not enough to matter.

How many voice actors have iconic characters like Dante had? Leon Kenndy? The Joker? Frank West? Big Boss? Lara Croft? Sonic? Sam Fisher?

Even Link's changed voices and I can tell. Not everyone can be a Mario voice forever.

We're CONDITIONED to get replacement voices all the time.

Voice acting is definitely worth championing, but by this point there's very few characters with the same "iconic" voice. Duke Nukem and Master Chief, I guess.

western fans don't care but in japan you would never replace a voice actor unless they died.

 

[Star Orpheus]

I just don't think people care enough about voice acting to not buy a game over.

Look at Persona 4 and all it's spinoffs. By the time Dancing all Night came out only three of the original eight voice actors were still there. Yes fans complained but the spin offs still seemed to have sold well.

While voice replacements bug me there very rarely enough to make me skip a purchase.

 

[AntraxSuicide]

I'm super pro-labor, but they have no leverage. The TV Writer's Strike back in the day worked because the writing was so bad, it hurt ratings. I see no reason to think that'll be the case with voice actors. They're betting that people will notice, and then not buy the games, but at best I think people will do a "oh that voice is different" like they do with every other game that did that.

But still, strike away.

I don't see any fundamental reason why the pay should depend on the project, if they're doing the same work.

The idea is that if you know the studio is making a Star Wars project, you can assume their budget is large, and you can negotiate for a larger salary.

TV/movies are like that. If you want to cast George Clooney for a Marvel flick, he'll be asking for bank because he knows you've got it. But he works for peanuts when it's a Coen Brothers deal because he knows they keep a small budget (and he likes them).

 

[in2repid]

There aren't really other aspects of game development where the talent is guaranteed a royalty, such as they are asking for. Why does voice acting require something like this, but others don't, such as the outsourced VFX artists? Or the UI engineers? Or the audio content authors? Studios will sometimes pay out royalties to their employees, but that is part of a bonus structure that an employee signs on for when hired.

The voice talent has the ability to negotiate their terms at contract signing with the developer. If the situation demands it, they can write in royalties into their contract for the work - nothing prevents that. They could also ask for prices that are higher than what they are asking for. They are completely justified in doing so, and the market will decide if that is a fair price.

Although we could look at it and say "well it isn't much money," I am sure it is more complicated than that. There is the question of scaling something like this across everyone who participates in making a game. Or maybe that this is just stage one toward what they really want 5-10 years from now when they strike again.

I think that looking out for the interests of a labor force is a good thing. But in this particular situation I can't help but feel it is a bit off. To me, their argument is based on the fact that they get this structure in the film industry so it should apply here. They are paid and treated well in the games industry driven by contracts they negotiate... so what is the actual problem?

 

[Wulfram]

The idea is that if you know the studio is making a Star Wars project, you can assume their budget is large, and you can negotiate for a larger salary.

TV/movies are like that. If you want to cast George Clooney for a Marvel flick, he'll be asking for bank because he knows you've got it. But he works for peanuts when it's a Coen Brothers deal because he knows they keep a small budget (and he likes them).

But they still know they're working for EA or whoever, don't they? I don't think people are being tricked into working at "mates rates" or anything.

A fair salary for a piece of work is a fair salary for a piece of work, no matter what the budget of the overall project is.

 

[AntraxSuicide]

But they still know they're working for EA or whoever, don't they? I don't think people are being tricked into working at "mates rates" or anything.

A fair salary for a piece of work is a fair salary for a piece of work, no matter what the budget of the overall project is.

EA is a big publisher. They have a likely range of budgets for different projects, and stuff like Battlefront 2 (for example) will carry a bigger budget than PvZ (for example).

 

[Christhor]

I'm actually liking the new voice actor for Chloe a lot, don't regret buying this game. Shame about the strike thing, but I'm still going to buy games that look interesting.

 

[faridmon]

Square should have given her a better, more humane contract.

I don't mind the new voice actress, but the voice acting should have better working condition.

There aren't really other aspects of game development where the talent is guaranteed a royalty, such as they are asking for. Why does voice acting require something like this, but others don't, such as the outsourced VFX artists? Or the UI engineers? Or the audio content authors? Studios will sometimes pay out royalties to their employees, but that is part of a bonus structure that an employee signs on for when hired.

The problem is not the pay itself, but the working condition is not suitably worked in the favour of voice acting. Voice Actors gets rough treatment, for instance when they get sick, lose their voice and for the orst case scenario, get vocal chord damage. They work load is very heavy considering how much they can take and that get affected for their future prospect.

UI designer don't lose their hand, nether does the production team or whoever, voice acting is seriously hazardous work, and they never get work environment ad condition they deserve.

 

[Garlador]

western fans don't care but in japan you would never replace a voice actor unless they died.

Well, it DOES happen, but you're definitely right that Japan has a reverence for their voice actors that western audiences (or the studios that dub them) lack.

It's amazing to me that Goku is STILL voiced by the nearly 80 year old woman in Japan who first started voicing him decades ago.

And I lament the fact that we're getting Resident Evil 2 Remake... but none of the returning voice cast because the studio making the game is going with non-union actors instead because of the strike.

Again, I wish we did care more, but studios aren't going to stop making games for voice actors, and while gamers might complaint, they've also shown they'll still BUY the games despite the replacements.

 

[Wulfram]

EA is a big publisher. They have a likely range of budgets for different projects, and stuff like Battlefront 2 (for example) will carry a bigger budget than PvZ (for example).

But the fair pay for the work is the same, no matter what project they're working on.