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NEWS: SAG-AFTRA Union Goes on Strike Against 11 Video Game Companies

A better idea/solution would be for the State of California to just pass a Right-to work law and move on. States that have these laws (Texas, Indiana etc.) prohibiting Unions from forcing workers to join a union without choice simply have better job growth/economic growth.

BUT the part where they asked for a portion of game revenue is just silly.

StrangeIslands wrote:

A better idea/solution would be for the State of California to just pass a Right-to work law and move on. States that have these laws (Texas, Indiana etc.) prohibiting Unions from forcing workers to join a union without choice simply have better job growth/economic growth.

except they don't always work - http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/11/right-to-work-laws-explained-debunked-demystified/#472cc5381f38

You even said 'but what's often missed in this equation is that the cost of living is much, much lower in these states thus more affordable.', California is anything but affordable. Housing is still expensive especially around LA and San Francisco.

So yeah, how about NO on Right-to-Work and let's all just see where this goes.

How about you actually read the article you posted? That article is actually quite biased in favor of unions/left wing politics. Do you ever wonder why California is so damn expensive? It's because the government there over regulates everything (Including the economy).

Texas (A right to work state) is governed differently. It's not a perfect state by any means, but it's a better place to do business than California.

How about you think real hard and research these different points of view before saying no to these laws just because one leftist article said so.

Dunno what "make educated descision" means other than maybe knowing if they're going to voice the main character or just a minor one

This isn't anime. I have never, in my entire life, bought or played a game beause a certain VA was in it. I don't even know the name of a single game VA that hasn't done some anime voice work as well. So no, I don't think they deserve part of the revenue. No way in hell.

FenixFiesta wrote:

Quote: someone who does a few weeks of recording and, let's be honest, rarely contributes to the selling of a game Except when the VA talent quality IS significant to the game experience, if a big budget title nets a few great voice actors that have to do the "heavy lifting" the sometimes quality talents deserves a guarantee for there efforts and so does the guy being forced to do original grunts and screams for our big budget multiplayer experience.

I should have specified, their work rarely contributes to the sales of a game. Very, very few people are buying a game because X VA is in it, their buying it more-so for the gameplay experience.

Snakebit1995 wrote:

FenixFiesta wrote: [ Except when the VA talent quality IS significant to the game experience, if a big budget title nets a few great voice actors that have to do the "heavy lifting" the sometimes quality talents deserves a guarantee for there efforts and so does the guy being forced to do original grunts and screams for our big budget multiplayer experience. I should have specified, their work rarely contributes to the sales of a game. Very, very few people are buying a game because X VA is in it, their buying it more-so for the gameplay experience.

So, you're saying that voice acting is not part of the "experience"? Might as well get any joe-blow off the street to do it then right? Or why even bother with VA's and let's just make it all dialogue text based? What good actors do is contribute to the success of a game, which can then lead to sequels (added sales?). I get a terrific kick out of Brina Palencia playing Moxxi in the Borderlands series. I'm reminded that Claudia Black was praised for her role in Dragon Age Origins and many fans wanted to see her character return. I guess that added to the experience? Maybe?

So when gaming companies show up at Game Cons with VAs in tow and sit down at a panel they are not contributing to selling the game? Then you have VAs that go to conventions sometimes for self-promotion and people show up to see them. I guess they have fans, perhaps? Maybe those fans enjoyment is enhanced when their favorite VAs play a role? Sure most people aren't going to buy the game just for the VA it is the whole package after all , but to act that they don't add value to the game? I know when there is good dialogue and good acting along with the game I'm more likely to recommend it to friends. Does that not add value or contribute to potential sales? If the voice acting is praised by game reviewers does that not potentially add to sales too? I also seem to recall some people desiring that games being adapted to anime would have the same VAs. Maybe a selling point for some people? Yea, the VA by themselves aren't going to sell the game or guarantee its success, but I don't think you can dismiss that there is value being added by good voice acting which contributes to sales.

One-Eye wrote:

Snakebit1995 wrote: FenixFiesta wrote: [ Except when the VA talent quality IS significant to the game experience, if a big budget title nets a few great voice actors that have to do the "heavy lifting" the sometimes quality talents deserves a guarantee for there efforts and so does the guy being forced to do original grunts and screams for our big budget multiplayer experience. I should have specified, their work rarely contributes to the sales of a game. Very, very few people are buying a game because X VA is in it, their buying it more-so for the gameplay experience. So, you're saying that voice acting is not part of the "experience"? Might as well get any joe-blow off the street to do it then right? Or why even bother with VA's and let's just make it all dialogue text based? What good actors do is contribute to the success of a game, which can then lead to sequels (added sales?). I get a terrific kick out of Brina Palencia playing Moxxi in the Borderlands series. I'm reminded that Claudia Black was praised for her role in Dragon Age Origins and many fans wanted to see her character return. I guess that added to the experience? Maybe? So when gaming companies show up at Game Cons with VAs in tow and sit down at a panel they are not contributing to selling the game? Then you have VAs that go to conventions sometimes for self-promotion and people show up to see them. I guess they have fans, perhaps? Maybe those fans enjoyment is enhanced when their favorite VAs play a role? Sure most people aren't going to buy the game just for the VA it is the whole package after all , but to act that they don't add value to the game? I know when there is good dialogue and good acting along with the game I'm more likely to recommend it to friends. Does that not add value or contribute to potential sales? If the voice acting is praised by game reviewers does that not potentially add to sales too? I also seem to recall some people desiring that games being adapted to anime would have the same VAs. Maybe a selling point for some people? Yea, the VA by themselves aren't going to sell the game or guarantee its success, but I don't think you can dismiss that there is value being added by good voice acting which contributes to sales.

You completely misquoted me that's not what I said at all. Yes Voice Acting adds experience to a game, but rarely, if ever, will someone purchase a game because a specific VA is in it. I love Matt Mercer, but i would never spend 50 bucks on a game just to hear him.

Snakebit1995 wrote:

BUT the part where they asked for a portion of game revenue is just silly IMO, guys who actually made the game and the key components in the dev cycle rarely get that offered to them and someone who does a few weeks of recording and, let's be honest, rarely contributes to the selling of a game, does not deserve revenue sharing.

The amount of money they get from the game revenue would be pretty small since a game that sells 8 million copies would only net them an extra $1,800 or so with the desired rate. Also, while SAG-AFTRA does have a lot of big names to it, lesser voice actors (including some people from SAG-AFTRA) would be lucky to only do just voice acting for a living; they usually have to do work other jobs just to make enough money. Yes, developers get treated horribly, but voice actors don't have it better off. Also, SAG-AFTRA winning any ground on this could be beneficial to developers too in the long run; it's not like developers really have the same kind of power to push for better conditions since they aren't unionized like voice actors are.

You completely misquoted me that's not what I said at all. Yes Voice Acting adds experience to a game, but rarely, if ever, will someone purchase a game because a specific VA is in it. I love Matt Mercer, but i would never spend 50 bucks on a game just to hear him.

I should have specified, their work rarely contributes to the sales of a game. Very, very few people are buying a game because X VA is in it, their buying it more-so for the gameplay experience.

someone who does a few weeks of recording and, let's be honest, rarely contributes to the selling of a game.

If you're voicing a main character and doing motion capture, you have the right to request some share and to fight for it. Especially in some game that gets praised for the acting.

I hope they can get as much as they can from these corporations. They've been dicking people over since inception.

This needed to happen because the games industry's labor practices are disgusting. Grueling hours, terrible pay, and mass layoffs are an industry standard on the developer side of things and it needs to stop.

BUT the part where they asked for a portion of game revenue is just silly IMO, guys who actually made the game and the key components in the dev cycle rarely get that offered to them and someone who does a few weeks of recording and, let's be honest, rarely contributes to the selling of a game, does not deserve revenue sharing.

People also argue that laws like Right to work are anti-union. To that I say Hogwash. Unions are still in right to work states they just can't force people/non-union workers to join them as a condition of employment.