Two actor organizations which purport to represent Union video game voice actors is threatening to go on strike.

Voice actors have worked under a contract with game publishers since 1993. But now that video games generate nearly as much revenue as domestic movie ticket sales, actors say they want a piece of every game sold rather than one-time up front fees.

Shockingly, I don’t care. Perhaps it’s because the last game I worked on was an MMO with voice acting limited to shopkeepers saying, “You can’t afford that!” and character races saying “I’m out of mana!”

Or perhaps, just perhaps, I think the publishers should prioritize other industry fixes ahead of voice actors, the majority of which could be replaced by the producer’s sister-in-law without any player ever knowing the difference. Yes, there are exceptions. Talent of that caliber can surely negotiate a deal that they want.

I’ve never been a huge fan of a game developer’s union, but there should be an industry-wide mutiny if the freakin’ voice actors get guarunteed royaltees before the guys writing the code and drawing the art.