Video Game Voice Actors Now on Strike After Negotiations Fail http://

[Zenotetsuken]

Outside of leads, there are hundreds of 'extras' voices in the industry that are often reused for "Soldier 1, Townsperson 3, Sorcerer 2" and so on for up to as many lines as a lead in a session. There are WAY more than "10-15". Also, it's an issue that's been boiling up as demand has increased. 10 years ago it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it is more recently. They've been internally raising concerns about it for years(I've talked with quite a few), but 'managing' it until more recently when more of them have been having to take off work for days/weeks from throwing their voices out.

I'm sorry, but "Soldier 1, Townsperson 3, Sorcerer 2" really have no bearing on anything at all. Literally anyone that can speak can do those voices. Hell, they could just do all of that shit internally if it weren't for the Union using them to justify protecting those 10-15 actual voice actors.

I'm not against Unions, or people needing to be treated fairly. I am against companies being forced into situations where they have to hire everyone that does a voice part, from a Union.
If you need a professional voice actor for the main character in your game, then every voice part in the game has to be done by the Union, and because every part has to be done by the Union, you as a company are obligated to adhere to contracts that are being propped up solely by the top tier professional voice actors.

It should be that you as a company make a contract with a voice actor, that voice actor negotiates for what they want/need, then you both decide to go forward or not. Unions should only exist to help their members get the best deal possible, and hold companies to their contracts, not hold an entire market hostage until their demands are met.

[unfilteredJW]

Good on them.

[Baracuda]

Blizzard dumped the voice actors for Arthas, Sylvanas and Varimathras in Wotlk so they're not saints either, don't think they kept the voice actor for Rexxar either. Though it seems they might have gotten original Rexxar VA back for HotS...

[Tech614]

Yes , they truly are the modern day heroes. Up in their eyeballs in motion capture gear and still speaking the lines! Give them a medal , statue and a million dollars each. They have earned it.

No, what they are is people who work their ass off to make the games people play as authentic as possible.

By all means though, let's go backwards to PS2 era acting in games. Sounds like a good time. Better yet lets have some shit voice acting done by game developers like Blizzard does because I know everyone takes God King Skovall serious.

[Deleted]

Blizzard's voice acting has always been toe curling bad.

[kail]

meh , i play 95% of game without sound. Get someone else to talk and chuck these prima donnas on the street.

Witcher 3 with it's current VA is like a 9.5/10 IMO. Give it shit VA and it would probably drop to 4/10. There are games that rely on good VA.

- - - Updated - - -

Blizzard's voice acting has always been toe curling bad.

WC3 had some cool sounding characters. KT and Anub took a nose dive in VA when they changed the actors for WoW.

[stomination]

Yeah, they treat the voice talent like garbage on these things. Have them working long hours in a few days destroying their throats as they have to scream, cry and yell their way through thousands of lines and onomatopoetic utterances.

Meanwhile they could be flipping burgers

[stomination]

And so could everyone else on the planet... what's you point? That you think VO is easy? Nice display of ignorance.

No I'm just laughing about your version of how these people get treated. As if they are the only people that work long hours for crap pay while the most they have to worry about is a sore throat.

You show true ignorance towards the thousand of other jobs out there that suck way more.

[Kurgulok]

Blizzard dumped the voice actors for Arthas, Sylvanas and Varimathras in Wotlk so they're not saints either, don't think they kept the voice actor for Rexxar either. Though it seems they might have gotten original Rexxar VA back for HotS...

They only dumped the voice actor for Arthas and that's because he asked for a better deal to voice the Lich King and wouldn't accept what Blizz was offering, so Blizz told him to stuff it and went with Michael Mcconnohie instead, who voices Uther and Kel'Thuzad and has since WC3. The other ones you mentioned are just plain not true, Rexxar has never been changed, neither has Sylvanas or Varimathras - it may sound like they've changed because the vocal enhancers they use for their edgy "I'm evil" voice is tuned differently but it's the same people.

WC3 had some cool sounding characters. KT and Anub took a nose dive in VA when they changed the actors for WoW.

Kel'Thuzad (and/or Kael'thas, whichever you mentioned) and Anub'arak have retained the same voice actors since WC3. Blizzard uses the same pool of voice actors for all of their characters and they never really change them. The only one they've truly lost is the one for Arthas from WC3, the others have all remained.

[Kralljin]

Blizzard's voice acting has always been toe curling bad.

I disagree, there are some not so great VA in WoW, but there are also some outstanding.

Characters like Garrosh / Cho'gall (Both heads), those have really decent voice acting.

Kel'Thuzad (and/or Kael'thas, whichever you mentioned) and Anub'arak have retained the same voice actors since WC3. Blizzard uses the same pool of voice actors for all of their characters and they never really change them. The only one they've truly lost is the one for Arthas from WC3, the others have all remained.

Mannoroth has a new voice actor in WoD, funnily he had the Warcraft 3 one in the Well of eternity dungeon.

Grom has a new voice actor.

Sylvanas had ~3 different voice actors by now.

Those are just a few characters from Warcraft 3, if you now go into characters that had voiced lines in the game over multiple expansions (Like Alexstrasza) the lists will get a bit longer.

Some characters kept it, some didn't, sometimes the change was intentional, sometimes not.

[stomination]

Actually that sore throat could seriously harm their earning potential. It's OK though, you're ignorant and I get it.

What they get sore throats/get sick like everyone else and have to miss work? OH the humanity.

[Jtbrig7390]

What they get sore throats/get sick like everyone else and have to miss work? OH the humanity.

Big ass difference between getting sick and having a sore throat and someone fuckening there throat up for life doing VO's.

Educate yourself on the topic at hand before commenting.

[Sykol]

Oh no, who else out of billions of people on this planet can fill those roles now?

[Jtbrig7390]

Oh no, who else out of billions of people on this planet can fill those roles now?

The real question is "Who else can do those roles as good" the answer is.....Not a lot. You do realize even movie actors do VO's. They get fucked on a VO it could hurt there movie career as well.

But hell by ur logic the PS era of VO was just fine.......

[Pendulous]

What they get sore throats/get sick like everyone else and have to miss work? OH the humanity.

Permanent damage. As a result of poor work conditions.

Oh no, who else out of billions of people on this planet can fill those roles now?

VERY few people. It takes acting skills to do voice over, and natural talent doesn't hurt. Think anybody can do it? Let's call up Steve-O and get him in a few roles. You'll be crying in thirty seconds, wondering why someone is murdering a cat next to a microphone.

[Chinese Bootlickers]

Good, maybe we can finally get some new blood in the industry that actually have talent.

[darkwarrior42]

Blizzard dumped the voice actors for Arthas, Sylvanas and Varimathras in Wotlk so they're not saints either, don't think they kept the voice actor for Rexxar either. Though it seems they might have gotten original Rexxar VA back for HotS...

I'm still sad about losing the original Sylvanas voice actor.

Good voice acting can bring a game to life, bad voice acting can destroy one.

[Sykol]

VERY few people. It takes acting skills to do voice over, and natural talent doesn't hurt. Think anybody can do it? Let's call up Steve-O and get him in a few roles. You'll be crying in thirty seconds, wondering why someone is murdering a cat next to a microphone.

I think a lot of people can do it. More than you give credit for. It's about time the same twenty or so voice actors quit showing up in every game, then complaining that their monopoly is damaging to them.

[stomination]

Scott Witlin, the lawyer representing the video game companies, says voice actors "represent less than one tenth of 1 percent of the work that goes into making a video game." So "even though they are the top craftsmen in their field," Witlin says, "if we pay them under a vastly different system than the people who do the 99.9 percent of the work, that is going to create far more problems for the video game companies."
The industry's final offer to the union included a 9 percent wage increase and additional payments tied to the number of recording sessions. Ultimately, Witlin says the strike is hurting the very people who are going out and "evangelizing" for the voice actors – the video game publishers.


Lets pay them more and then gripe about the price of the video game.

But SAG-AFTRA says voice actors don't receive residuals for their gaming work. Instead, they receive a fixed rate, which is typically about $825 for a standard four-hour vocal session.

[Theoris]

Rexxar has never been changed, neither has Sylvanas or Varimathras - it may sound like they've changed because the vocal enhancers they use for their edgy "I'm evil" voice is tuned differently but it's the same people.

Not true. All of them have had different voice actors.
Rexxar is voiced by the same guy as Rehgar in WoD and Legion (and Hearthstone). Although they brought back his original VA (Steve Blum) for Heroes of the Storm.

Sylvanas has had two voice actors. Her current VA was first brought in in Wrath. (Same with Varimathras)

Kel'Thuzad (and/or Kael'thas, whichever you mentioned) and Anub'arak have retained the same voice actors since WC3.

Kel'Thuzad's voice actor was changed in WotLK (apparently because it would 'cause confusion' if he and the Lich King had the same voice - go figure), and so was Anub'arak's.