Bayonetta OG Voice Actress Calls For Boycott of Bayonetta 3

[sc94597]

Kakadu18 said:

sc94597 said:

Do you have a source for this union standard pay? The article I found, referencing 2018 prices, seems to contradict this estimate you're giving. 4k for 16 hours was standard for any character, but main characters could potentially get more. And if the unions haven't negotiated higher pay in the last four years, then they are pretty bad unions given how rampant inflation has been. 

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/q-a-an-indie-dev-s-guide-to-hiring-casting-and-directing-voice-actors

"Pro studios might offer between $200-300 per hour for a 1-2 hour minimum session, and it's not unreasonable to expect to be paid between $500-$700 as a main character in a fully voiced, full length visual novel."

And while she has a pretty sparce track record, having been VA for the first two games definitely is a bonus in her favor. Remember, they initially tried to pay her less than 4k. 

Kakadu18 said:

Her entire behaviour is extremely unprofessional and entitled. She broke an NDA and will likely get sued over that.

Given that she only brought it up after Platinum Games lied about the reason she isn't VA I think the context sheds light on why she was less than "professional" in her video response. The only thing that was uncalled for was her attacking the other VA, imo. Also at least here in the U.S, I am not sure about other countries, it is usually illegal for an NDA to restrict discussing one's pay and with a few exceptions wouldn't be enforced by the courts. I'd be surprised if Britain doesn't also have similar protections giving how their labor laws tend to be stronger than here.  

4k for 16 hours is exactly what I said. Main characters can get more, but how is that a contradiction?

Bold: She clearly made up profit numbers of the franchise. Bayonetta can not have made anywhere close to as much as 450mil dollars. That is nonsense. That means she lied about one thing which puts everything she said in question. You shouldn't just believe things that easily.

250 per hour is right in the middle of what any character is paid. Notice it says "200-300 per hour" referring to any characters. For 16 hours that's $3200 - $4800. 

The source then goes on to say that a main character in a visual novel can expect $500 - $700 per hour, which would be $8000 - $11,200 for 16 hours. 

Assuming that Bayonetta requires more than a regular character, but less than a visual novel main character, you'd expect her voice actor to be paid something like $400 per hour or $6400. 

And those were the rates 4 years ago, before the pandemic and double digit YoY inflation. 

By the way, it is perfectly possible that she was misinformed about the revenue figures and wasn't intentionally lying. Why would she be an authority on Bayonetta's revenue? It doesn't even affect her point. Bayonetta as a franchise definitely has total revenue in the hundreds of millions given that the first game sold more than 2 million, the second almost 1.5 million, and there was the anime. Now compare that to the company explicitly lying and saying she isn't the VA due to "scheduling problems" that they never substantiate, even after being called out on it. 

Last edited by sc94597 - on 16 October 2022