Video Game Voice Actors Now on Strike After Negotiations Fail

Vocally stressful sessions...?

Primadonnas...

Couldn't care less. Go back to text based dialogue, get rid of the voice actors and we can all utilise our imaginations. Very rarely is voice acting in video games done well. And in games like Fallout 4 having voice actors for the main protagonists even limited the options available within the game. They start demanding more money etc, that is only going to be put back on the consumer and video game prices will increase. Developers/Studios etc will not absorb the cost.

I meet alot of VA actors, and it's not all puppies and rainbows, work can go on for months, and then abruptly stop. I work in film myself, and it's super hard for anyone to get in, I worked on 4 productions since I first started in the industry 4 years ago, so unless your in high demand, making a decent living is almost impossible, alot of actors take second jobs, just to make ends meet, which are mostly minimum wage, sad but true.

I'll take their spot.

LOL

The vast majority of voice acting in videogames is fucking dreadful.

i could only see this happening on company that use voice actor alot on the game for characters that speaks often.

I guess with the voiceactors gone companies gonna have to focus on gameplay. Such a shame.

Good, they need new voice actors. The biggest immersion killer of games in this era is that in a new game entry all the characters sound like Shepard, Wolverine, Kain, Nathan, Ezio, Harley... The world might look outstanding and the characters fresh, but then they open their mouth and all memories flow right back.

The same is sort of true in movies, but managing physical and vocal acting in front of a camera is a different thing, plus those people certainly have a real status. World would be weird if Clooney or Damon were allowed to star only in a movie or two and their other star roles would have been given to some random rookies. Like said many times before, potentialwise movies and tv shows are much more limited than games so we kinda have to accept that not just anyone can put himself in front of camera and make the movie watchable. When you see Aniston you expect her to sound like Aniston, but when I see the new star of a new game he/she usually looks totally different and it's jarring to hear she is voiced by "Femshep"

The other option is that voice actors actually learn to voice act. Hamill is one of the few who was able to change his voice to make characters different. Or look at The Muppets or The Simpsons, where about 5 people voice dozens of characters. That's the sort of skill and devotion that game voice actors in general need

This is a strange aspect of the video game industry. I love good acting/voice acting in games, but as a gamer, it's never been at the same level as my love of good acting in film. I simply don't care enough about that aspect when I'm playing a game. I cared more when I played games like GTA III - SA, but those were bigger Hollywood actors who I already loved for roles they've done elsewhere.

What I'm getting at is Rockstar Games stopped using actors at that level for many reasons, like pay, scheduling, "fame", etc. Bigger actors mean bigger headaches. We love certain video game actors who do a great job. The problem is if they start acting like they're at a higher level than they are, what would stop developers/publishers from just going with the bigger Hollywood actors? Being honest, I would rather have more seasoned actors doing roles in games. I just don't know what leverage video game actors currently have. I hate to say it, but the ONLY reason they're getting the amount of work they're getting is because they're easier to work with than actors who require more pay and more consideration of their schedules.

If everything balances out more, many video game actors will just be considered as lesser actors who expect just as much as better actors. I always thought they were in a really good place right now, but I guess I never considered how little impact the success of a game has on the actors who voiced the characters. It's just a fucked up situation, because I think the video game industry basically opened up a door for actors who couldn't get much quality work elsewhere. It just seems like they're overestimating their value and that's something that seems to happen all the time at different positions in the industry. There is always someone who can take your place. It's just the reality of the video game industry. If you're not the mind behind the game, everybody else can be replaced with someone else who can fill whatever role is required.

lol Voice actors smoking crack , they think they are on par with Hollywood actors. Not many people buy a game because a voice actor, is in it, they have next to no leverage.

These guys have no idea how lucky they are to even have their jobs. Before CD Roms took off, games had significantly less storage space. As a result, audio took a back seat to actual game play. Games can be made without them. If CD Roms didn't take off, we might still be playing on cartridges with less storage space for a while.

I'll be a voice actor for half the cost. Save some money.

It isn't going to impact anything I'm getting in the near future and likely won't last long enough to cause an issue...so not bothered. Still, fighting over money always sucks.

Way I see it those who are currently under contract will have to finish their VA work unless they want to be sued. And the gaming industry will hire more people from outside this organisation.

A lot of people here are saying it doesn't matter, just hire other actors. You may not think now that voice acting is that big of a deal in games, but wait until a game is released with horrible voice acting. It really does make a difference.

I think Naughty Dog should make LAST OF US based on the current plight and agony of the VAs lol.

You can make a case for both sides whether or not good voice acting is important to video games i honestly can't think of a game where despite it being good the voice acting was just so bad it made me hate it

Animation very different i can think of a lot of DC animated movies with somewhat decent stories that just are completely ruined by awful voice acting

There's really not a whole lot of key VA who should get paid more not entirely sure if the big guys like Troy Baker Nolan North and so on are in this union or not or what they get paid but if it's only this 100 dollars an hour yes those big guys should get paid big pucks and they probably do but to say every voice actor in this union should get paid more that's a big hell no from me because after the main character and maybe 3-4 others you could probably cast the rest of the voices with people off the street

Maybe this explains the remaster excess we have had the last few years hope this gets figured out eventually

They are going to end up screwing themselves out of their jobs. This isn't like animation, where VAs are necessary. Or like when actors go on strike, cause you can't make a movie without actors. Voice Acting in videogames is not a necessity.

@quintex96: Except, those VA's are going to end up WANTING SAG-AFTRA support, when the gaming industry works them like they do coders. Make no mistake; the big budget gaming industry has for a very long time, had a sweat-shop approach to everything. As few people as possible, working as long as possible, for as little as possible. The VA's are just the second group to finally cry enough.

They get paid over $100/hr + benefits? Uhhh, what the hell is wrong with that union. This is corporate greed or shall I say union board of directors greed as they just want more money off union dues. I doubt the voice actors themselves have a problem with what they're getting paid.

All it means is that we might hear some new voices in games, which is good.

STRIKE!!!

Extremely unfortunate and I really hope they can come to an agreement much sooner rather then later. Quality voice acting matters greatly in the overall quality of a game in my opinion.