Video Game Voice Actors Go On Strike

[64K]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/its-official-unionized-video-game-voice-actors-are-on-strike/

I didn't even know they had a union. Apparently they want royalties.

From the article:

"The possibility of a strike has caused a bit of a schism between voice actors and some game developers, most of whom are not unionized themselves and do not receive royalties for their programming, design, and artistic work. As Ubisoft Montreal Creative director Alex Hutchinson put it last year, "If @WilWheaton gets royalties on a game before myself or any of the others who spent years (not weeks) working on it, the system is broken."


The strike applies to games made by the following companies:

• Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Blindlight, LLC
• Corps of Discovery Films
• Disney Character Voices, Inc.
• Electronic Arts Productions, Inc.
• Formosa Interactive, LLC
• Insomniac Games, Inc.
• Interactive Associates, Inc.
• Take 2 Interactive Software
• VoiceWorks Productions, Inc.
• WB Games, Inc.

 

[Ebo]

This is completely nuts.
They get paid to do a job, end of story after that they have absolutely no right to royalties at all, they have ben paid once.

 

[Slizzo]

This is completely nuts.
They get paid to do a job, end of story after that they have absolutely no right to royalties at all, they have ben paid once.

Yeah, this exactly. They were paid to do their job of voicing whatever was put in front of them. If they didn't like the pay for the job, they could skip it and move on to another. In many cases they're only there recording for a day; the developers usually have been working on the game for the previous 2 years or more. THEY deserve a larger cut of any profits than anyone else.

 

[dorsetknob]

They get paid to do a job, end of story after that they have absolutely no right to royalties at all, they have ben paid once.

They then need to negotiate new Contracts to include Said royalties
good luck ( guess they won't get new hire's )
and
ps
it cannot be applied retroactively

 

[erocker]

Considering there are many places on the web to find voice actors, I don't see this union winning anything anytime soon other than perhaps a handful of "good" ones.

 

[yogurt_21]

Considering there are many places on the web to find voice actors, I don't see this union winning anything anytime soon other than perhaps a handful of "good" ones.

which apparently what they're complaining about. Recognizable names will get a settlement, nobody's won't. Their complaint settlement will mirror their complaint.

 

[Frick]

Do voice actors in other mediums get royalties? Say those in Futurama or Venture Bros. Given how much the actors in The Simpsons gets per eposide I'm guessing no.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I agree with most of the points here on the voicing being short time span work, not worthy of royalties like that of devs whom put a lot of time into such projects. That said, some pretty good voice actors are under payed, as are concept artists.

I also don't feel it's right if more well known actors like Wil Wheaton get royalties, when others don't. If his voice and/or likeness are worth more, it should be a bigger salary up front, or royalties on extraneous items like action figures, that don't affect profits of others.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Wil Wheaton has virtually no presence in the gaming industry. Giants like Jennifer Hale (she is listed) and Nolan North could make that argument but I'd still argue they don't deserve royalties. Why? Because even in voice-heavy games, their contribution is less than 10% of the total workload. On top of that, virtually no one gets game royalties except those who own the IP (the ones at the very top). Even those people usually don't get directly paid--it goes to the company that published it.

 

[alucasa]

This reminds me the main voice actor for GTA 4.

The dude complained he was getting paid too little and result? Rockstar games omitted him from further expansions.

 

[yogurt_21]

Wil Wheaton has virtually no presence in the gaming industry. Giants like Jennifer Hale (she is listed) and Nolan North could make that argument but I'd still argue they don't deserve royalties. Why? Because even in voice-heavy games, their contribution is less than 10% of the total workload. On top of that, virtually no one gets game royalties except those who own the IP (the ones at the very top). Even those people usually don't get directly paid--it goes to the company that published it.

you do realize you could say the same about film? How much do the actors do compared to the production staff (rigging, stunt men, scene artists, etc) , producers, marketing, post production editing?

They show up get worked on by costume and makeup artists, the set is already built, studio already rented, camera's, lighting, etc already acquired/setup/configured...Then the do their "work" for a few hours, the director says "cut" and then food just appears. They eat white the stunt men do their work, then get worked on again by makeup/costume work a few more hours before they head back to the trailer. Meanwhile the set crew has to setup for tomorrow, runners need to make sure all the "needs" of the stars are being met, people are getting the next costume and makeup kits ready for the next day, someone orders the food and schedules delivery, and marketing takes a few choice shots to send off to investors to help pay for production costs.

Then after filming is done the actors get to go home and maybe do a few promotions depending on how important they are. Then post takes over and works on the damn thing for the next 3-12 months. Marketing keeping investors interested the whole time and working on the previews for the public, setting up events, scheduling the stars on late night shows, etc.

I'd be surprised if all the actors combined actually did 10% of the work. Doesn't change the fact that all the hardworking people are lucky to make enough to afford to live while the lead stars take home 40 mil plus royalties.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Just like the voice actors....I'm saying nothing...

 

[Jetster]

Then they need to do a better job. The acting is horrible

 

[WhiteNoise]

you do realize you could say the same about film? How much do the actors do compared to the production staff (rigging, stunt men, scene artists, etc) , producers, marketing, post production editing?

They show up get worked on by costume and makeup artists, the set is already built, studio already rented, camera's, lighting, etc already acquired/setup/configured...Then the do their "work" for a few hours, the director says "cut" and then food just appears. They eat white the stunt men do their work, then get worked on again by makeup/costume work a few more hours before they head back to the trailer. Meanwhile the set crew has to setup for tomorrow, runners need to make sure all the "needs" of the stars are being met, people are getting the next costume and makeup kits ready for the next day, someone orders the food and schedules delivery, and marketing takes a few choice shots to send off to investors to help pay for production costs.

Then after filming is done the actors get to go home and maybe do a few promotions depending on how important they are. Then post takes over and works on the damn thing for the next 3-12 months. Marketing keeping investors interested the whole time and working on the previews for the public, setting up events, scheduling the stars on late night shows, etc.

I'd be surprised if all the actors combined actually did 10% of the work. Doesn't change the fact that all the hardworking people are lucky to make enough to afford to live while the lead stars take home 40 mil plus royalties.

Compared to the actors sure but the workers have a union though and make pretty good money. One of my closest fiends has been in the movie business for years now. He does well. Of course you have to pay your way into the union which costs quite a bit.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Compared to the actors sure but the workers have a union though and make pretty good money. One of my closest fiends has been in the movie business for years now. He does well. Of course you have to pay your way into the union which costs quite a bit.

Agreed. Here in "Hollywood South" (New Orleans) all the workers of every type make a good living.

The actors get paid more because that is what people go to see in the movie. It's not the same with video games. Although great and even big name voice actors can seriously improve the quality of a video game, I seriously doubt anyone buys a video game because of who it's voice actors are.

 

[D007]

Want a real job? Get an education.. I'm sorry people don't want to make you rich, for saying a few words in audio...

 

[Kanan]

Just because someone is doing only 10% of something, doesn't mean that 10% is only worth 10% - it could be worth a lot more. Same with actors, or singers, or, or, or.... you get the picture. Simple mathematics here is plain wrong. Example: Actors get paid multi millions of dollars? But only a few of them. And that's because they are the face of everything, they basically sell the movie and do things others can't. If you think otherwise, let the producers do the acting, or the stylists - you'll quickly learn the difference and why those actors are so expensive. Life is much more complex than basic math.

Also, !fuck! real jobs. Let's remove all the entertainers, artists, etc. from the planet and then let's see how boring, stupid and worthless this planet will be.

 

[Jetster]

Also, !fuck! real jobs. Let's remove all the entertainers, artists, etc. from the planet and then let's see how boring, stupid and worthless this planet will be.

I would be 100% fine without them. If you think the planet is boring without them then I feel pity for you. You can have all the sports too.

Edit Okay maybe some I would miss

 

[rtwjunkie]

I would be 100% fine without them. If you think the planet is boring without them then I feel pity for you. You can have all the sports too.

Edit Okay maybe some I would miss

All aspects of art are what give us our enlightenment and humanity. How poor the world would be without any of the arts or entertainment.

 

[Kanan]

I would be 100% fine without them. If you think the planet is boring without them then I feel pity for you. You can have all the sports too.

Edit Okay maybe some I would miss

Pity yourself maybe. Even scientists are some kind of artists. Yeah let's remove them. Sports lol ... you are funny. Too bad the best of their kind in sports, like Michael Jordan are regarded as artists too.

 

[Frick]

Want a real job? Get an education.. I'm sorry people don't want to make you rich, for saying a few words in audio...

This is such a strange statemen.

 

[Ithanul]

All aspects of art are what give us our enlightenment and humanity. How poor the world would be without any of the arts or entertainment.

Indeed, art, design, song, etc. are built into a culture and enrich it. Hell, art design is used in GUIs and designs of vehicles.

Heck, if he wants it all gone. Say good buy to those games everyone likes.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The actors get paid more because that is what people go to see in the movie. It's not the same with video games. Although great and even big name voice actors can seriously improve the quality of a video game, I seriously doubt anyone buys a video game because of who it's voice actors are.

I think that is the important distinction. People will watch a Jackie Chan movie just because it has him in it. Very few people will buy a game just because Jackie Chan voice acted a character. When you look at it from that perspective, royalties for the movies make sense.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Tell Troy Baker, with a net worth of $6,000,000, he doesn't have a "real job". I dare say it's a far bit more than anyone here is worth. It's not like these people aren't needed, it's just that it's a far stretch from saying you don't think they should be paid royalties for a short stretch of work, to implying they're useless. We'd all miss quality voice acting if most games we play didn't have it.

 

[Slizzo]

Wil Wheaton has virtually no presence in the gaming industry. Giants like Jennifer Hale (she is listed) and Nolan North could make that argument but I'd still argue they don't deserve royalties. Why? Because even in voice-heavy games, their contribution is less than 10% of the total workload. On top of that, virtually no one gets game royalties except those who own the IP (the ones at the very top). Even those people usually don't get directly paid--it goes to the company that published it.

You make this statement, but I know of an exception, and a rather noteworthy one at that:

I know someone who works on the Call of Duty team at Treyarch. He receives royalty checks on how well his studios' games do, and he is hardy "high up the chain" in terms of position in the company; he's a character artist. One of many that are employed.

Of course this is just one exception, but coming from a company that people love to hate (Activision), this is strong evidence to their working environment at least being appreciative of their workforce.