Slashdot Mirror
SAG Approves Gaming Contract
GameDailyBiz reports that the Screen Actor's Guild has finally reached an agreement with the gaming industry over the work of voice actors. From the article: "The new 3.5-year contract gives actors a 36 percent increase in minimum pay, more contributions to benefit plans and other amenities. It does not, however, give voice actors for video games any residuals based on sales of titles, which was the bone of contention between the two unions and the video game companies--the actors felt they should be entitled to residuals on games that sell in excess of 400,000 copies."
I don't see what the big deal is. This is exactly like how painters get a cut of the profits when someone sells a house that the painter was previously contracted to paint.
Oh wait - that's right, that doesn't happen anywhere but Hollywood. Get a real job and quit crying you little voice-acting pussies. Really, I don't care if a completely unknown person does the voice acting. It's actually preferred and they'll probably do a more believable job.
It's not like voice talent sells games, its currently a novelty at best to have SAG actors doing voices in games. The only games that go to trouble to point it out are usually doing to distract us (cough * EQ2 * cough).
The only thing that developments like this are going to acomplish is a reduction in the use of SAG "talent" in games.
Most people have a finite amount of money to spend on "entertainment"...movies, video rentals, DVDs, music (CDs/iTunes/etc), video games...
The SAG has a hand in Theatrical Movies, video rentals, and DVDs as well. As video games take off (this is partly to blame on the economy...video games, magazines, books, etc all have better sales when the economy sucks because it's cheap/reusable entertainment) the SAG is starting to see their other forms of income shrink...
The problem is, and I don't know if they understand this...the whole video game industry can do without them...it is a novelty at best to have a well known name do voice acting in a game...some even prefer unknowns as it enhances the sense of realism...
I was really hoping we wouldn't have to keep SAG voice actors in games. If they weren't in games, less people would buy shitty franchise games (and less would be made), games would be cheaper to produce, and we we'll be guarenteed never to have to suffer through a J-Lo game...
Shut your whiney pie-hole. Developers, who are *undoubtedly* more responsible for the success or failure of a title than someone who comes in and says "Zug zug" are ahead of you in line.
Had game publishers agreed to residuals for voice actors, I'm pretty sure all holy hell would break lose. (Or at the least, you would've seen a mass exodus of developers).
I sure as hell wouldn't stick around in the industry while some prima-donna comes in, gets paid $150+ an hour, and then walks away with residuals for what amounts to 5-10 hours of work.
I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.
i never got the point of this argument...there's like 5 games total where voice acting isn't awful
"Oh wait - that's right, that doesn't happen anywhere but Hollywood. Get a real job and quit crying you little voice-acting pussies. Really, I don't care if a completely unknown person does the voice acting. It's actually preferred and they'll probably do a more believable job."
*disclaimer*
The OP doesn't speak for slashdot, or it's subsidiaries, nor even the human race. No warrenty is granted, and any damages are your own fault for beliving him.
---
"The "are you a script" word for today is atheism
So much bitching from so few people who get paid so much to do no work! Quit complaining and get a real job!
screen actors shoudl stay on the screen. the Voice Actors Guild has been getting shafted by the movie, and gaming industries. in all the big budget animated movies, and video games, theya re getting SAG people to do the jobs that VAG people shoudl be doing. and generally doign a terrible job of it. take the movie Madagascar for example... absolutely terrible voice acting! there are talented voice actors out there that can do a much better job. but these SAG people are getting them jsut for the name recognition, and i think its rediculous. heres an interesting interview with Billy West (voice of Fry on Futurama, and Ren and Stimpy). he talks a bit abotu how screen actors are takign their jobs... http://redesign.theonion.com/avclub/node/240/1/1
My hand touched her hand. Her hand touched her boob. By the transitive property, I got some boob! Algebra is awesome!
"So much bitching from so few people who get paid so much to do no work! Quit complaining and get a real job!"
Let me guess. You hate unions.
If I were in the games dev business (hey, what do you know, I am!), this would hopefully lessen my reliance on "storytelling" aspects of design and allow me to focus on "gameplay".
-gary
Sounds like Hollywood has been massively overinflating the worth of its actors again. Who cares if a game has a big name actor in it? It makes no difference to me who did the voice so long as it's appropriate to the character. The amount of effort contributed by a celeb compared to the effort a coder puts in just shows how overpaid these actors really are. I mean you're just paying someone to sit on their arse and read from a script in an air conditioned studio for an afternoon. Hardly taxing is it?
In fact I think some games have been spoiled by the inclusion of some "big name". Just look at the use of Kelly Brook and Brook Burke in Need For Speed Underground 2.
That's not to say some voice actors don't deserve a decent paycheck, David Hayter, Michael Ironside and Ray Liotta were all excellent in their games and Charles Martinet is Mario. But for every one of them there's a miscast celeb who knows nothing about games except that he can get a paycheck out of it.
This could be a Two Edge Sword. If the games are AWSOME Like GTA: San Andreas then the voice actors will get good reps with game players. But if the game Sucks it could hurt the actor in the process not to mention the game company. This might make a demand for more High Quality games instead of trash games.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
That being said, why is everyone here bashing voice actors and their careers? The voices might not be the most important part of a game, but I guarantee that if they weren't there, you'd notice. Voice actors are people with a talent who are trying to make a living, just like game developers. I doubt that either one could do the other's job adequately.