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Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content to be Rockstar's Valentine's Day present to you
USA Today breaks the news that "The Lost and Damned" will be available as downloadable episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV on February 17th. As per the agreement between Microsoft and Rockstar, the episode will be exclusive to the Xbox 360. No pricing details were announced.
The USA Today story,which opens with a reference likely to be lost on the majority of GTA's fan base ("The upcoming episode...looks to be a wild one."), says the episode will feature the member of a Liberty City biker gang as it's new lead character. The character's name? Johnny Klebitz. I don't think I've ever played a game as a lead charcter whose name sounds like he'd be played by Dustin Diamond.
(Note to USA Today: That's how you make an audience specific cultural reference.)
Frankly, I'm disappointed they've chosen to go this route. Rockstar's undisputed strength is in world building, not storytelling. I'd rather they did something to give Niko -- a character I already care about -- more to do in Liberty City rather than trying to introduce a new storyline. Also, I wonder if they're intentionally trying to avoid using voice actors Michael Hollick and Jason Zumvalt, both of whom added immensely to their characters' appeal in the game and then went on to be spokesmen for how voice actors get shafted by the videogame industry.
By Greg at 12:21 PM ON 11/21/08
I'm trying not to comment so much, but you've had a lot of interesting posts, though here you skim over the most interesting aspect, the issues with Michael Hollick and Jason Zumvalt, and I had to do some of my own research.
So how did these guys get "shafted"? Did they not get paid for their work? Are they just complaining that they aren't getting a bigger piece of the pie (like Zumvalt seems to be doing on his YouTube video and Hollick does with the NY Times)?
I can't say I feel sorry for them because I'm assuming they signed some kind of a contract. And I'm thinking a lot of other people aren't getting residuals on this game. If you want residuals, you have to have a contract explicitly stating this and get your employer to agree. If not, sorry.
The bad thing here is because of Hollick's and Zumvalt's response, they are less likely to get future work in this industry, and possibly others, because other projects will probably avoid working with people who speak out against the project in any way. That's a shame because they did a great job. If I was the project manager, I'd probably be making the same tough choice by not working with these guys again, even though, they obviously did great work.
While wanting a bigger piece of the pie is natural, they are being short sighted. The great job they did here could have translated to bigger jobs down the road, as well as the power to negotiate a contract that includes residuals. This points to why they aren't getting residuals now. Until GTAIV gave them the opportunity, they didn't have much of a voice. Unfortunately the voice they could have had with the success of GTAIV, probably has been destroyed by their attitude. That's a shame for them and their fans.
The hypocrisy of Hollick’s statements adds a lot: “Obviously I'm incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity...Yes, the technology is important, but it's the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies." If there is a line for residuals for video games, voice actors should be somewhere behind programmers, artists, and designers.
If Rockstar would have trained a monkey to talk and play Niko, GTAIV would still have been a great success. Hollick probably took a straight salary because it was the safe thing to do. Next time, tell them you want a royalty only salary. Most voice actors would starve under this model. No, he wants it all.
Both Hollick and Zumvalt did fantastic jobs and deserved the future success they could have had. If I were them, my next step would be to shop around for a better agent/manager who would be smart enough to get these guys to shut up and allow him/her to negotiate the contracts.
Zumvalt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH2nirEuO-k
Hollick: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/arts/television/21gta.html?_r=1#
Greg:
I'm trying not to comment so much, but you've had a lot of interesting posts, though here you skim over the most in...More »