SAG-AFTRA has been on strike against eleven top videogame producers — including Activision, Electronic Arts, Disney, and Warner Bros. video game units — since Oct. 21, 2016.
Has this strike meaningfully impeded voice acting casting or video game releases in general? That is: is it working?
This is a factual question, but I suspect the discussion will become GD-ish.
It’s basically made it impossible to cast known Hollywood talent for video games, which is a major draw for some flagship titles, but there are millions of non-SAG voice artists out there who are happy to do work for lesser games.
The main sticking point is residuals (currently game publishers don’t pay them; SAG wants them.)
Whether the strike has actually affected the bottom line of game companies is hard to say. My guess is that it hasn’t affected it much. Game companies are not as dependent on SAG as TV or film producers, who would basically be paralyzed by a strike.
SAG did famously strike for over seven months back in 1945, though. That one occasionally got violent. Would be a fun subject for a game. 
ETA: One advantage that SAG has over other labor unions is a robust strike fund, owing to the small minority of their members who make crazy amounts of money.
Bricker, as Eugene V. Debs is my witness, it never occurred to me that you have even the merest interest in video games. Still don’t, point of fact. I can see you making doilies quicker than playing a video game. However, couple of points for the tenderthumb.
Of the names listed, only EA can be universally described as Satanspawn, joyless, artless and greedy. The rest, no better than they should be.
Stay away from Dark Souls. Don’t ask, just do it.
You might be surprised, 'luci. Bricker is always quite active in the Pokemon threads, at least. I’m not sure what other games he plays, but I’m sure there are some.
The only games I play that have recognizable names doing voice work are Starcraft 2 and Diablo III (though both would have finished recording before the strike anyway), and I note that Blizzard is not on the list of struck companies. Then again, Blizzard uses their named voice talent more for building up hype among the base than as a selling point in itself: They’re not likely to put an easy title out the door just to capitalize on a few names, like some of those companies would.
I have not seen any effect yet but then AAA game titles (which are the ones that would want to hire and could afford A-list actors for their games) take 3+ years to produce. As such there is a lot of lag time in this and can also serve as a cushion. If they keep it up indefinitely I would not expect to “feel it” for a a while yet.
And as mentioned it is not like A-list actors are the only good voices out there. They are just easier to find and cast. With a bit of work I am sure there are people out there who can do the work who are not SAG members.
…the purpose of the strike is not just to “meaningfully impeded voice acting casting or video game releases in general.” This is a negotiation. And withdrawing labour is a perfectly acceptable negotiating tactic. Here are 45 games where SAG-AFTRA have independently negotiated a deal. Is it working? Its a bit early to tell, don’t you think? But SAG-AFTRA appear to be having successes. Shall we just let this thread rest, and we come back in six months to see what has changed? Because I’m not sure what the debate is.
…video game commentator Jim Sterling argues passionately that performance matters. (NSFW language warning) Sure: you can get Andy in accounting to do voice over work. (And that has happened in real life.) But it makes a difference.
One proposition: “name” voice talent is/is not pivotal to the success of some video games. See post 7.
There are games that I have bought because of the voice actor. There is no way I would have ever gotten Brutal Legend without Jack Black, for instance.
I do know that the quality of the acting matters to me, but I would need evidence that the quality suffers without these “named” actors.
It does sound like we have an experiment currently ongoing, so it would seem we could get our answers if we just waited. There should, as people have said, be a 3 year gap in results.
I have not watched that video yet but I would agree wholeheartedly that performance matters.
Most recently Mass Effect: Andromeda was panned because the writing and acting were shit. I love that series and believe me I was seriously bummed about it.
That said I would argue there are plenty of good voice actors out there. You just have to find them. I doubt the few hundred known actors in Hollywood are all there is in US population of 300+ million.
Known actors just make casting easier. Less searching to do which makes the extra pay worthwhile.
My guess is the video game industry will tell SAG to go pound sand. There just is not enough money in most games to add residuals just so they can say Joe Blow actor voiced a given part. A few will probably try but I doubt the financial math will work to make it worth the game developers money to go there.
…those “good voice actors” are probably SAG-AFTRA members anyway, so will not break the strike. This is skilled work that makes a big difference to the final product.
It isn’t just about “known actors.” Most people don’t know who Troy Baker, Jennifer Hale, or Keven Conroy are. But their voices are iconic.
There are 45 games currently in development that haven’t told SAG to pound sand, but have independently agreed with them. So my guess is that your guess is wrong. The two sides will eventually come together, negotiate, there will be compromises and both sides will claim victory.
By “known actors,” are you talking about people who are already celebrities for their non-voice work? Because those aren’t the people who are striking.
…well its your thread: what do you think?
I have no idea. I can’t say I have ever played a video game and thought, “Man, that character voice lacks a certain nuance and timbre that I’m sure would be cured by a SAG/AFTRA casting choice,” but I’m only a very casual, dilettante video game player. Except Pokemon, where I rule the roost. But the 3DS Pokemon series of games have no voice aspect.
I’m also not sure I understand the equity (ha! performance union name pun!) of voice actors who spend ten days recording their parts being granted residuals, while programmers who spent the past three years working fifty hour weeks churning out code getting a plaque at the release party. Which they’re too busy to attend, because they are already on the next project.
But these reactions arise from a place of profound ignorance. Is what I just said true? Or is voice work more onerous or development work less so? I truly have no idea.
…did you actually do any research at all into this before you posted the OP? This is probably the most commonly asked question about the strike, and the most commonly answered one. Wil Wheaton give his perspective here:
[QUOTE=Wil Wheaton]
I can’t speak to the fairness or unfairness of residuals or lack of residuals for programmers, artists, composers, and others who game developers and publishers, because that’s not my job, and I don’t know what, precisely, their contracts are. I certainly don’t believe that there is some sort of feud or lack of shared interest between us (the actors) and them, and I fully support all the people who work on games — especially the huge blockbuster games that pull in profits that are in line with the biggest blockbuster movies — getting the very best contract, with the best compensation and best working conditions that they possibly can.
[/QUOTE]
Voice actors have an obligation to stand up for the rights of voice actors. Are the programmers probably getting screwed over by the game publishers? Yes they are. The stories are legion. If you want to make a valient stand and “stop the crunch” I’m sure game programmers would love to have you represent them pro-bono. But it isn’t the job of the voice actors to stand up for the rest of the industry: just as it isn’t the job of the cleaners at the police station to stand up for the rights of the police.
And Wheaton’s second point is:
The strike isn’t just about residual payments. Its about safety during motion capture. Its about knowing about the project before they sign up to it. Its about long term damage to health. There are a number of genuine issues at play here.
The unions positions are here.
https://www.sagaftra.org/interactive/negotiations-information
Regarding residual payments: this is what they are asking for:
If a game doesn’t hit 2 million sales: then no residual payment. To give some perspective: The latest Legend of Zelda had 3.84 million sales to March this year. So for residual payments to kick in games need to be doing at the very least “Zelda good.” With revenue of nearly 200 million: I don’t think a residual payment of a few thousand dollars is too much to ask. Should the programmers get a piece of that pie as well? I think they should. But it isn’t my responsibility nor is it the actors responsibility to fight their fight.
Since we’re talking about video game voice acting, I feel like this is obligatory. Warning: NSFW.
I can’t imagine using known actors makes a difference at all in video games. Take, for example, when two games came out around the same time. Beyond Two Souls featuring the actual Ellen Page sold 1.6 million, while Last Of Us featuring an Ellen Page looking character sold 5.9 million on PS3 alone. (*According to Vgchartz.com) Of course there are tons of other factors going into that difference, but both were great games and clearly the known voice actor didn’t make a difference sales-wise.
As mentioned above, the only time I can ever recall an actor really “making the game” was Jack Black in Brutal Legend. But that was so much more than just his voice, it was his whole persona.
If anything, I think having a known actor can take away from the experience. I remember playing Call of Duty and thinking, “Hey, what is Kevin Spacey doing here??”, it just takes you out of the immersion IMO.
In general, are most professional voice actors also SAG members? If not, I don’t imagine any impact at all, but if, for example, the voice of Geralt in the Witcher series were to go on strike, I could see people being turned off from future sequels. Even then, it might be a jarring difference but not so much that people wouldn’t buy the game.
Thanks for sharing, very informative post! Everything in the link seems very reasonable to me.
…I think the thing you are missing is that it isn’t just about “name recognition.” Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson were an integral part of The Last of Us. They killed it. They were fantastic. The overall game play experience is (subjectively) better with the right voice actors, the game gets better word-of-mouth and reviews, and from there better sales.
Since we are talking about the Last of Us, a couple of videos. (Open spoilers for the end of The Last of Us, and a plot point on the expansion.) The first is a funny behind the scenes of an alternate take of the ending that shows that voice acting is more than just talking behind a microphone.
The second is the impact that voice acting (and the script) can have on the gamer. (And the video Ashley is referencing)