Actors Union, Publishers Compromise
Actors get more money, Developers get to use Actors
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The possible strike of Hollywood actors against video game developers has been avoided. Both sides have agreed upon a new structure that will give actors more money, but at the same time game companies will still only have to pay them a flat fee, not a percentage of game sales.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) were fighting to receive profit sharing benefits, claiming that without the actor's voices the games wouldn't sell as well. Developers rebuked by saying that the dialogue is only a small chunk of a game's development and doesn't have enough stake to warrant the demands of the unions.
In the end, the age old art of compromise was called upon to create agreeable terms for both sides. Under the new agreement, union performers will get a 36 percent increase in minimum pay over the term as well as an increase in benefits and greater protection. The Unions still need to make their final approval of the agreement before it goes into effect.
The union plans to keep struggling to get their members payments for each game sold, something that is common in movies and television already. The best selling game of 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, featured popular culture notables including Samuel L. Jackson and Peter Fonda as well as Halo 2, which featured lesser known Miguel Ferrer and Keith David (collectively known as 'those' guys from 'those' movies).
Source: CNN/Money
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) were fighting to receive profit sharing benefits, claiming that without the actor's voices the games wouldn't sell as well. Developers rebuked by saying that the dialogue is only a small chunk of a game's development and doesn't have enough stake to warrant the demands of the unions.
In the end, the age old art of compromise was called upon to create agreeable terms for both sides. Under the new agreement, union performers will get a 36 percent increase in minimum pay over the term as well as an increase in benefits and greater protection. The Unions still need to make their final approval of the agreement before it goes into effect.
The union plans to keep struggling to get their members payments for each game sold, something that is common in movies and television already. The best selling game of 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, featured popular culture notables including Samuel L. Jackson and Peter Fonda as well as Halo 2, which featured lesser known Miguel Ferrer and Keith David (collectively known as 'those' guys from 'those' movies).
Source: CNN/Money