Game Industry Dodges SAG Bullet

Rosenberg

The recent scuffle between the Screen Actors Guild and the video games industry may have came at an opportune time for game makers.

In the SAG elections held late Friday, Alan Rosenberg has been tapped President. Rosenberg is head of the Membership First faction of the guild, whose platform rests on getting a larger piece of the pie in labor negations with studios, networks and advertisers. Membership First now controls by a three-seat majority.

SAG recently conceded a smaller three-year contract with the video game industry, which gave a 36% increase in vidgame work (at $556.20 per session) but failed to negotiate residuals into the pact. (In the case of video games, residuals would equate to money towards voice actors for the number of sales the game makes.)

With the result of recent elections, such a concession in the future seems unlikely.

From Variety:

“I ran a campaign that offered a simple and straightforward promise: I will fight like hell to get actors their fair share,” Rosenberg said. “For working actors, the stakes have never been higher. Our employers must understand that we will aggressively protect the interests of working performers – and we will not yield on residuals.”

The SAG elections are unlikely to have an immediate effect on the gaming industry. However, the call to arms may result in a fight for more royalties for voice acting work when the contract expires on Dec. 31, 2008.