SAG-AFTRA members voting to authorize a strike against video game producers

As I wrote at the end of Examinations of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes leading into the Labor Day weekend, I'm examining another possible SAG-AFTRA strike today, this time against video game producers. Watch KTLA reporting SAG-AFTRA members to vote on possible strike against video game makers.

Video game actors — known in union parlance as interactive media — are voting on a potential strike authorization against some of the biggest businesses in the industry, the union said in a Friday statement.

Video games are a bigger industry than movies, although maybe not bigger than television, so a strike here could have even larger effects than on movies. However, I expect any impact on gamers to be first seen more than a year out, unlike television, where the fall TV season is already affected. It takes a long time from voice recording and motion capturing to release of games, whereas TV shows can be ready a few months after production. Also, the contract doesn't expire until the end of the month. Let's hope that's enough time to get a fair deal for all concerned.

Meanwhile, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes against the movie and TV studios continues, as ABC News reported Negotiations in Hollywood at a stalemate as studios start feeling the pinch on Friday.

ABC News’ Phil Lipoff spoke with Ankler contributing editor and host of the Media Mix podcast Claire Atkinson about the current state of negotiations in the Hollywood writers and actors' strike.

I summarized the situation in last month's WGA returns to the bargaining table, a strike update.

In the long run, the studios will need to settle with the actors and writers so that they can produce more content. Until that content runs out, the strikes are saving them money in the short run. It's going to be quite the balancing act for all parties involved.

It looks like the short run has run out and the studios are starting to lose their balance. That's good news for the strikers, even though it looks like the strikes will be going on for quite a while longer.

I conclude by being a good environmentalist and recycling what I wrote yesterday: "All this talk of AI indicates that I need to explore that issue on its own. The Singularity is an apocalyptic scenario, after all, and is right on topic with the overarching theme of this blog." Stay tuned to see if I follow through on this topic tomorrow.