A question about game companies

[insertnamehere]

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/01/23/things-you-never-knew-about-metal-gear-solid-2s-localization/
This girl was paid less than $5k and went completely uncredited for translating MGS2 alone.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/01/24/report-lightning-dlc-scenario-coming-to-final-fantasy-xiii-2/
I know it may be nothing particularly new, but they're thinking about holding story hostage for money.

Totally unconnected, but am I wrong for thinking these are really cunty moves?

[Kup]

Talking about cunty moves and MGS...

For Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (remake for Gamecube), Kojima had the entire script re-written and re-voiced and then didn't employ the localisers from the original release, instead passing it on to someone else.

[Annubis]

Talking about cunty moves and MGS...

For Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (remake for Gamecube), Kojima had the entire script re-written and re-voiced and then didn't employ the localisers from the original release, instead passing it on to someone else.

Errrr... that's not cunty, that's normal. Big companies switch stuff like that all the times. They just go with the better price.

[John]

Konami going with the lowest bidder on a translation is nothing new and not even related to games.  That's just business.  You go with the best deal.

As for the FFXIII-2 DLC, it sounds like those are side stories, expansions, which is also nothing new for DLC.  It's not as if the game hasn't been done for several months now.

[Tomara]

Konami going with the lowest bidder on a translation is nothing new and not even related to games.  That's just business.  You go with the best deal.

Yep. This is basically what every company that ever uses freelancers does. You grab the cheapest one and treat him/her like shit because freelancers are easily replacable.

I've had some experiences like that myself. "Well, according to guidelines the payment deadline is in 45 days, so we'll pay you after that. If you don't like it you can quit." And you don't quit, because even if you have to wait 60 days for your money, it's still money you need. Plus, working freelance is often the only way to go if you want to do certain types of work.

[Demon_Princess_Kay]

Expanding on the story/ending is basically the whole point of what DLC for a game like FFXIII-2 should be. Whether or not it's up to the standards of quality it should be is still in question (since no one has played it yet), but it's not "holding the story hostage" if that's the case then Bioware did the same thing with Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival for ME2, and LotSB was probably one of the best pieces of DLC i ever played I can't comment on Arrival though since I haven't played it. If it was day one DLC i'd be inclined to agree but it was ANNOUNCED well after the Japanese released date.

[MeshGearFox]

I'm making 54k a year doing software testing for government-use software. If I was doing the same work for a game company I'd be making like minimum wage.

So yeah, no desire to work in the game industry, ever.

[Logick]

Reading the article regarding MGS, doesn't surprise me, sounds like a certain company I worked for for five years(who cheated me out of a promotion).