News of the Week – 7 October 2019

Troy Baker didn’t appear in Borderlands 3 for union reasons:

The voice actor Troy Baker turned in a fantastic performance for the beloved 2014 Telltale game Tales from the Borderlands, and it was expected that he would be reprising his role as the fun and interesting Rhys. However, that has not come to pass, and he recently stated that he was actually invited back to reprise that role but that Gearbox was unwilling to go through a union when dealing with voice actors, and so he was forced to turn the role down.

He did this because the Screen Actor’s Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has rules against signing to places that refuse to work with union workers. Thanks to this, Gearbox instead cast Ray Chase in the role, and after Baker explained the situation Gearbox released a statement to claim that they never discriminate against workers in unions, and legally can’t.

However, Gearbox, and especially their CEO Randy Pitchford, get into the news far too often for things that seem unscrupulous. So it was unsurprising that SAG-AFTRA came forward and released a statement to say that the reasons Gearbox gave are of no legal consequence and so it should not have stood in their way when attempting to get Troy Baker onboard. So… we have a game of he said she said going on and we’ll have to see who stops first.

Sources:

• Eurogamer – Troy Baker: I didn’t voice Rhys in Borderlands 3 because Gearbox “wouldn’t go union”
• IGN – Troy Baker didn’t star in Borderlands 3 because Gearbox ”wouldn’t go union,” Gearbox responds
• Kotaku – Troy Baker says he didn’t voice Rhys in Borderlands 3 because ‘they wouldn’t go union’ [Updated]
• Polygon – Gearbox ‘wouldn’t go union’ for Borderlands 3 – so Troy Baker wouldn’t voice Rhys
• Rock, Paper, Shotgun – Troy Baker isn’t in Borderlands 3 because Gearbox “wouldn’t go union”
• VG247 – “They wouldn’t go union” – Troy Baker on why Gearbox didn’t use him for Rhys in Borderlands 3
• VG247 – Gearbox was unwilling to sign the SAG-AFTRA contract and Texas law was “no legal obstacle at all” – the union response

PlayStation Now gets a price cut and new games:

If you have a good enough internet connection to handle the upcoming Google Stadia and you also happen to not have a PS4, well then PlayStation Now is the thing for you! The service is essentially their version of video game streaming, and there is going to be a substantial price drop very soon, and in addition they will be adding a bunch of new games to the service.

This is most likely because Google Stadia and the Xbox Game Pass have been seeing success and attention over the last few months, and Sony actually has something interesting to dangle in front of their prospective audience. They have a few exclusives, like God of War, Uncharted 4 and Infamous: Second Son. These games are clearly intended to attract people to the service and the reduced cost is there to keep them sticking around.

PlayStation has mostly ignored their game streaming service, but seeing as other companies are getting into the ring, they clearly also want a piece of the pie.

Sources:

• Eurogamer – PlayStation Now gets a big push and a permanent price cut
• Gamasutra – Sony lowers price of PS Now streaming service and adds ‘marquee’ titles
• IGN – PlayStation Now gets big price cut, adds God of War, GTA 5, more to lineup
• Kotaku – PlayStation Now price drops to $10 a month, adds new games
• VG247 – Sony cuts PlayStation Now price in half, adds GTA 5 and God of War for limited time

Bungie’s doing something non-Destiny:

Bungie have announced their plans to develop and release something that is not Destiny­ by 2025. They have been separated from Activision for some time now and they are close to releasing Destiny 2 as a free-to-play game so they can focus on turning it into the game they want it to be, and that should be viewed as a positive thing, but seeing something new from them should also be interesting.

They have received funding from NetEase, a Chinese publisher, and with that nice $100 million shot in the arm, they should have all they need to start developing their company into a far larger thing that does a lot more than just Destiny. It should be interesting to watch them going forward, and I’m sure many people are watching with rapt attention.

Sources:

• Eurogamer – Bungie says it will have new non-Destiny franchises “within the marketplace” by 2025
• Gamasutra – Bungie plans to launch more franchises, build up publishing group by 2025
• IGN – Bungie will release at least one non-Destiny game by 2025
• Rock, Paper, Shotgun – Bungie plan to have a new non-Destiny game out by 2025
• VG247 – Bungie wants to start another franchise by 2025

Duke Nukem 3D’s composer sues Gearbox and Valve:

Bobby Prince, the man behind the Duke Nukem 3D soundtrack, has been struggling with Gearbox for some time. Gearbox, a few years after acquiring the rights to Duke Nukem, decided to release Duke Nukem 3D 20^th Anniversary World Tour. This was a remaster of sorts that retained the old graphical style and added in a few new levels. It was meant to be a fun romp through a classic game from the nineties.

But even though Duke Nukem 3D was released back in 1996, copyright law still applies. Bobby Prince is entitled to compensation with regards to that soundtrack’s use, and because he has essentially been ghosted by Gearbox, despite assurances from Randy Pitchford that he would receive said compensation (who was mentioned just a few stories above this one), he has decided to sue the company. He has also decided to sue Valve because they refused a takedown request. So it looks like we should be getting ready for another man versus corporation showdown. Fun.

Sources:

• Gamasutra – Duke Nukem 3D’s composer is suing Gearbox, CEO Randy Pitchford, and Valve
• Polygon – Duke Nukem 3D composer suing Gearbox over the game’s music
• Rock, Paper, Shotgun – Duke Nukem 3D composer taking Gearbox, Randy Pitchford, and Valve to court

AlphaDream, the Mario & Luigi RPG devs, has gone bankrupt:

Another company will soon be hitting the chopping block. AlphaDream, the company behind the Mario & Luigi RPGs, which had its start all the way back in 2000 under the name Alpha Star, is officially filing for bankruptcy after a few years of financial decline. They were successful with their early games but repeated sequels no doubt took their toll and the company’s last release will be Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. That’s all she wrote.

Sources:

• IGN – Mario & Luigi RPG series creator, AlphaDream, files for bankruptcy
• Gamasutra – Report: Mario & Luigi developer AlphaDream has filed for bankruptcy
• Kotaku – Mario & Luigi RPG developer AlphaDream has gone bankrupt
• Polygon – Mario & Luigi RPG studio enters bankruptcy