Bayonetta actor sparks debate over paying video game artists after ‘insulting’ offer | CBC radio

Players around the world were eagerly awaiting the release of bayonet 3the latest in a series of stylish action games for the Nintendo Switch.

But the publication is mired in controversy after the actor, who voiced the main character in previous episodes, instead urged fans to boycott her.

On October 15, British actress Hellena Taylor posted a series of videos on her Twitter account saying that developer Platinum Games had offered her $4,000 to reprise her role bayonet 3. She called the offer “an insult.”

She then called on players to boycott the game and donate to charity instead. The videos have been viewed more than 9.7 million times on Twitter.

“I didn’t want the world, I didn’t ask for too much. I only asked for a decent, dignified, living wage. What they did was legal, but it was unethical,” Taylor said, adding that they were breaking a non-disclosure agreement to speak out online.

The resulting fallout has also revived arguments that video game and animation voice actors are often paid far less than their TV and film counterparts — arguments that erupted during a nearly year-long strike that began in 2016.

Different accounts

Platinum Games co-founder Hideki Kamiya didn’t directly address Taylor’s allegations, instead tweeting, “Sad and regrettable for the stance of untruth” later in the day.

Kamiya, who is notoriously quick to anger on Twitter, has temporarily shut down his account after blocking scores of fans who expressed their support for Taylor.

On Tuesday, a report by Jason Schreier of Bloomberg offered another account. It cited unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations who claimed Platinum Games offered Taylor between $3,000 and $4,000 per recording session bayonet 3for a total of about $15,000.

That’s about three times or more the standard minimum per-shot pay for a video game artist, according to the SAG-AFTRA union’s rate sheet.

According to the Bloomberg report, Taylor turned down the offer, demanding a six-figure salary and arrears on the game’s sales, after which negotiations collapsed.

In an email to Bloomberg, Taylor called this account “an absolute lie.”

With Taylor out, Canadian voice actress Jennifer Hale will voice Bayonetta in the upcoming game. CBC has reached out to Nintendo of Canada, Platinum Games and Taylor for comment. Nobody answered. CBC also reached out to Hale and SAG-AFTRA, and both declined to comment.

Fans disagreed

Woolie Madden, a Montreal-based video game streamer and podcast host, says Taylor’s performance as Bayonetta was just as important as any lead actor in a TV show or movie.

“It’s one of the main factors that brought this character to life and made him as popular with fans as he is. So it’s as important as it gets,” he said.

But Madden, a self-proclaimed “huge fan” of the Bayonetta games, says last week’s controversy has been “incredibly confusing” with its evolving and conflicting stories.

“It also wouldn’t be the first time voice actors have been underpaid or undercut or treated in any way in the video game industry [as] Disposables,” he said.

A few years ago, David Hayter found himself in a similar situation.

The Canadian actor and screenwriter has voiced the main character Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series since 1998. But 2015’s Metal Gear Solid 5 instead starred Kiefer Sutherland as Snake’s English voice.

The decision angered many Western fans, who identified Snake with Hayter’s raspy voice.

“It was extremely disappointing and I don’t think it was handled with the respect that I felt I deserved at the time,” Hayter said of the situation.

“But at the same time, I work in the film business and franchises are evolving. People make different decisions. Actors are replaced. It happens.”

Hayter said he held no ill will toward Sutherland for taking the job and similarly tweeted that fans shouldn’t upset Hale for taking on the Bayonetta role.

uproar on Twitter

Fans and online watchers have expressed their anger at Platinum Games, Kamiya, and even Hale.

Some players have posted screenshots of their canceled pre-orders for the game. But after the Bloomberg report introduced an alternative account, others accused Taylor of lying.

Hale said on Twitter that she could not comment directly on the situation due to a non-disclosure agreement, but urged “all involved” to “resolve their differences in an amicable and respectful manner.”

platinum games They broke their silence Thursday nightthanked “everyone who contributed” and offered their support to “Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta” on Twitter.

“We ask people to refrain from further comments that would disrespect Jennifer or any other contributor to the series,” it said. Taylor did not name the statement.

Fight for more wages, residuals

Taylor’s videos have sparked renewed debate about how much voiceover work pays off in games and animation.

“There’s this misconception that voice actors are like celebrities and we get paid, you know, just loads of money. And the reality is we don’t and we never really have,” said veteran voice actor Ben Diskin.

“The average voice actor just lives paycheck to paycheck, doing what they can to make ends meet.”

He noted that it is “perfectly reasonable” for longtime speakers in lead roles to charge or negotiate more than union pay. These negotiations are not usually made public.

Video game voiceover work does not typically offer residuals or royalties as television shows or films typically do.

Some actors confirmed this with their own social media accounts.

Sean Chiplock said he was paid between $2,000 and $3,000 to voice a minor character in Nintendos The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwhich has sold more than 27 million copies to date.

“My two lines off-screen in [the film] Detective Pikachu made me more than all [Breath of the Wild] did,” he noticed.

In 2016, voice actors from the SAG-AFTRA union went on strike against several major video game companies, demanding better pay, including back payments on the sale of a game, and other workplace protections.

By the time it ended, the union had secured several protections, as well as additional payments for additional recording sessions. Final payments linked to sales, however, remained off the table.

“There’s only one concrete wall in the industry to stop that from happening,” Hayter said.

Industry observers have speculated that game companies are reluctant to pay actors arrears because if they did, game developers could argue for them, too.

“It would be wonderful if everyone — the programmers, the animators, everyone who works on these games — just got a tiny, tiny tiny fraction of a percentage of those sales to help them get by in this life,” Diskin said.

Buy or boycott?

When Taylor made her bombastic statement, Madden said he was considering a boycott bayonet 3. But he’s less sure that’s the best answer he can give as a fan, as new and conflicting reports have complicated the narrative.

He says he’ll likely play the game he’s been waiting for since it was announced nearly five years ago. But neither is he against those who choose not to buy it.

“I think the most important thing is … not just pretending the problem doesn’t exist,” he said.

“You don’t necessarily have to berate each other for making these decisions, but certainly don’t pretend that issues that may exist don’t exist.”