When you think of video games, you may focus on gameplay mechanics, graphics or plot. Rarely do you linger on the voice acting. Yet, in many ways, it is one of the most important features. Globally, the video game industry is the fourth largest; behind gambling, books, and TV. It has blown past Hollywood in recent years, and in the US brought in $13.1 billion in 2014 (for comparison, the music industry made $6.9 billion in the same year). So why is it that voice actors in video games are only paid a fraction of what their movie counterparts make?
This issue appears to have reached its apogee, with video game voice actors voting in a general ballot with SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors in TV and film, regarding a possible strike. I believe this is justified, as voice actors are almost criminally undervalued within their industry. Video games have reached a stage where voice acting is held to the same standard as screen acting.
Indeed, crossovers regularly take place nowadays with examples being Sony’s After Dawn, featuring an exclusive cast of TV and film actors such as Peter Stormare and Hayden Panettiere, or, less successfully, Bungie’s Destiny featuring Peter Dinklage. Moreover, due to advancements in motion-capture technology, many games, particularly triple-A titles require the voice actors to also capture facial expressions. So in short, they’re required to act both vocally and visually.
It is, of course, possible to have a successful game without voice acting. Indeed, Nintendo have been a dominant figure in the industry for three decades whilst releasing games that have little or no voice acting such as The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon.
Furthermore, it may be wiser for developers to opt for silence if you consider the bafflingly awful script in Capcom’s Resident Evil, or the countless racial stereotypes and offensively bad dialects in Square Enix’s Just Cause 2. But this doesn’t count as a mark against voice acting for the same reason Tommy Wiseau’s performance in The Room, possibly the worst film ever made, does not discredit screen acting – variation exists within any form of media.
Voice actors themselves are anonymous within society as a whole. Mark Hamill has become iconic for two roles; Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, and the Joker in various Batman incarnations, yet only a handful would be able identify his performances in the latter. It is an unfortunate fact that, since the outset, the gaming industry has been dominated by a niche audience, and the average person would struggle to name a single voice actor. Some of the biggest names in the industry such as Nolan North, Troy Baker, or Jennifer Hale are relative nobodies compared to household names like Brad Pitt or Jennifer Lawrence.
It is an unfortunate fact that, since the outset, the gaming industry has been dominated by a niche audience, and the average person would struggle to name a single voice actor.
This is quite possibly the root of the issue and why I cannot see the strike having the effect those within the industry hope it will have – the demand is not there for the individuals. A movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio will have people going just to see the actor, but a game starring Nolan North will not have the same effect. Is this fair?
Perhaps not, but it’s how the market works. For now.