Video Game Voice Actors Will Go On Strike this Friday Unless a Deal is Reached

[ffronw]

Video Game Voice Actors Will Go On Strike this Friday Unless a Deal is Reached

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1356/1356221.jpgAfter more than 18 months of negotiation, video game voice actors will go on strike unless a deal is reached this week.

The vast majority of video game voice actors may be on strike come Friday, October 21. Since February of 2015, negotiations have been going on between SAG-AFTRA (the union that represents video game voice actors) and companies in the video game industry. The union is pushing for a new deal because of what it calls, "radical changes in what we are required to do on set and in the recording studio."

Those changes are detailed in the official strike notice [http://www.sagaftra.org/files/strike_notice_1.pdf], which says,

"Games have evolved to provide increasingly immersive and cinematic experiences that compete with television and theatrical motion pictures for consumer dollars. It is time for this now mature industry to pay and treat professional performers according to the standards and precedents that our union has established and defended for generations."

Before the strike commences, the union says that it will hold a series of meetings today, tomorrow, and Wednesday in a final attempt to reach a new contract agreement. However, a post [http://www.sagaftra.org/interactive] on the union's site doesn't hold out much hope of a positive outcome. It reads,

"Despite years of concerted effort and negotiating sessions, video game employers have steadfastly refused to reach a fair deal during our contract negotiations... Based on past experience, we are not confident management is willing to make the changes necessary to bring this contract up to the standards of our other agreements."

The post also gives a list of the video game companies that will be affected by this strike if it kicks off on Friday.

"Unless you hear differently from us, effective Oct. 21 at 12:01 a.m., you should be prepared to strike the following video game employers with regard to all games that went into production after Feb. 17, 2015." The list includes:

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.

"All games that went into production after Feb. 17, 2015," is a pretty big list of affected titles, but it's still possible that some games won't be affected. "Not all games or video game employers will be struck. Please check back soon for a list of video games to strike."

Obviously, this could have major impacts on games that are currently in development. A voice actors strike - especially one that lasts a while - could have some lasting repercussions on the industry. We'll keep an eye on developments in this story as the week goes on.


Permalink

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I know nothing about the situation, so I really don't know what to feel.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Power to the people I say. I hope they can get everything they want. Considering how much the CEO's of those large publishing houses make for ruining the gaming industry it's kind of sad that more employees aren't outraged. But sadly, employees such as artists and programmers can be easily replaced due to fierce competition. Voice actors not so much.

 

[Zydrate]

I know nothing about the situation, so I really don't know what to feel.

If it becomes anything like the Writer's Strike, it has the power to derail great games.
Heroes died because of a shitty season (and a half) and I think Lost took a narrative hit but I don't remember.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I know nothing about the situation, so I really don't know what to feel.

If it becomes anything like the Writer's Strike, it has the power to derail great games.
Heroes died because of a shitty season (and a half) and I think Lost took a narrative hit but I don't remember.

When I think of the Writer's Strike, I always remember the Late Night Wars, that crossover thing with Stewart, Colbert, and Conan. That was hilarious, maybe somehow we get a video game equivalent of that.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

This could get ugly, especially with how game companies keep trying to push this "cinematic" angle as of late. And hell, let's face it, due to companies using the same actors over and over again if Troy Baker and Nolan North went on strike there would be mass-panic for all the wannabe auteurs. Also, funny thing I noticed about the struck companies: they primarily deal with Western games, with some exceptions.

 

[pookie101]

what ever commander shepard wants they should give it to her

 

[Lufia Erim]

So let them. Voice acting costs too much as it is. I say we go back to good old text. Back in my day, we had to read in our videogames. And we liked it!

 

[Battenberg]

I know nothing about the situation, so I really don't know what to feel.

A comment worth writing.

For my part I'm glad to see them taking action like this. Voice actors get treated incredibly crappily by the games industry (with a few notable exceptions who are arguably overused). There was a Jimquisition a couple of weeks back highlighting the sort of treatment that even big names in voice acting get from some publishers/ devs and it's clear the industry isn't looking to fix the problem until they absolutely have to so good on these guys and gals for being proactive about it.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I know nothing about the situation, so I really don't know what to feel.

A comment worth writing.

Eh, it is the beginning of wisdom to say "I don't know". Or something. Plenty of people will have decided how to feel without knowing anything about the situation.

 

[Renegade-pizza]

Jim Sterling had an excellent video on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiQ9kdPLXJw

 

[Neverhoodian]

STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE!!!

...What can I say, I was raised by a pro-union father. I tend to automatically side with the workers when stories like this crop up. Seeing companies like Activision, EA and WB Games on the list only bolsters my view, given their sordid track records of screwing their employees.

And hey, maybe better pay will mean more people pursuing a career in voice acting, resulting in more variety. I'm getting deathly sick of the usual suspects cropping up everywhere I turn (Nolan North, Steve Blum, Jennifer Hale, etc.). I'm not saying they're bad, just that they're so ubiquitous that I can't suspend my disbelief anymore when I hear their voices coming out of characters' mouths.

 

[Damir Halilovic]

"Games have evolved to provide increasingly immersive and cinematic experiences"

Too bad voice acting in games hasn't.

Last I checked they had ridiculous demands like royalties.

I say good riddance, we need fresh blood in thise waters anyhow.

 

[HomuraDidNothinWrong]

The ridiculous demands the voice actors wanted back when they started this nonsense likely haven't been reduced. So i doubt this will get resolved. Like, they want residuals from the game sales. No one is buying a game because BigVoice McGee is in it. Its not hollywood where the name sells the movie. They also want 4 hour recording sessions to be reduced to 2 hour sessions. Without cutting the pay for the session. Lunatics.

 

[Jamash]

Is video game voice acting really something someone can effectively go on strike from?

I mean, it's not like it's daily work and the lack of workers will have an immediate noticeable affect and bring production to a halt. As far as I know, most video game voice acting is recorded separately from the main project and recorded during a set period of time during the production, it's not an ongoing endeavour and for the majority of the time, as far as one project is concerned, the voice actors are on "strike" anyway.

Also, as Rockstar proved with GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, you don't actually need to deal with and bend to the whims of demanding actors (like they had done in the past with some of the celebrity who worked on Vice City and San Andreas) to produce a game with good and well acted vocal work, there are plenty of people who can do the job just as well, if not better, than professional voice actors if they're given strong enough material and direction.

Is this striking union really numerous and powerful enough to hold the industry to ransom, or will video game companies just hire the many available actors, undiscovered talent and the non-actor and non-unionised talent (e.g. musicians who do vocal work) for the work instead?

Without a confirmed list of every voice actor (and by extension, every video game character and the game they're from) taking part in this strike, I can't help but feel that this will end in tears for the actors who may think they're more vital to the games they're hired for than they actually are.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

So let them. Voice acting costs too much as it is. I say we go back to good old text. Back in my day, we had to read in our videogames. And we liked it!

Don't underestimate the power of Voice Acting, Warhammer Dawn of War would be nothing without its increadible voice acting:

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

"Games have evolved to provide increasingly immersive and cinematic experiences"

Too bad voice acting in games hasn't.

Last I checked they had ridiculous demands like royalties.

I say good riddance, we need fresh blood in thise waters anyhow.

Except you won't get fresh blood. This could actually keep a lot of young voice actors from going to games and instead focus on stuff like animation or anime dubbing (of which there is no shortage). Fact of the matter is that this is on the pubs and devs. They wanted to push this "cinematic" angle and go for lots of VA and pushing narrative. Eventually the VA industry was going to push back and demand better treatment if companies were going to make more and more money off of their efforts. This was a long time coming and the games industry had best tread carefully.

 

[Saelune]

At first I was annoyed...then I was thinking something...then I saw Bethesda wasnt on the list...dang. Could have been a good excuse to make TES go back to text.

 

[SomeGuyOnHisComputer]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought the request for residuals was absurd.

 

[Dornedas]

Great what nice and absolutely reasonable demands.

Contingent Compensation:
I guess this is their royalty clause. How nice that they only want royalties for successful titles. So they outright say that they want to be treated better than the developers. I mean aside from the fact that, should the title be unsuccessful, they just don't get their royalties as oppossed to the developers who get their pink slips.

Vocal Stress:
So for "stressful sessions" you want the time reduced to half but the pay to remain the same, just say that you want your pay to be doubled. At least be honest in your demands.

Transparency:
So you want to be told ahead of time what your job will be. Because otherwise "deprives the performer of the ability to make a meaningful decision about whether to accept a role or to negotiate appropriate compensation if they do." So, once again, just say outright that you want more money.

Stunt Coordinators:
Ok on this one I'm completely on their side. Dangerous work needs someone that overlooks it. But if this has already been clarified in the "Interactive Media Agreement" then there is no need to include this here. Besides sympathy points. You don't need to negotiate something that was already negotiated.

And finally the ultimate lie: "We have consistently conveyed [...] our willingness to come to a reasonable deal."
Well I guess this isn't a complete lie since I remember that they had something about "every voiceactor must be part of our union or he won't be allowed to work in this field". So you dropped the Mafia act. I guess that would clarify as reasonable. Kudos to you.