Two weeks out from the release of “Bayonetta 3” on Nintendo Switch, the game’s fanbase has been rocked by a statement shared by Hellena Taylor – the original lead voice actor for the franchise.
Taylor first voiced the shape-shifting witch character in the original 2009 entry released by Sega and developed by PlatinumGames, and returned for the 2014 sequel. She’s also credited for the voice in the fighting video games “Super Smash Bros.” for 3DS and “Super Smash Bros.” for Wii U.
When it was revealed earlier that she wasn’t returning for the new entry, it raised some eyebrows. The other day in a video statement posted to Twitter, Taylor shared that she did not return for the new entry after being offered only $4,000 to reprise her role:
“The Bayonetta franchise made approximated $450 million, that’s not including merchandise. As an actor, I trained for a total of seven and a half years. What did they think this was worth? What did they offer to pay me?
The final offer to do the whole game – as a buyout, flat rate – was $4,000. This is an insult to me [and] the amount of time that I took to work on my talent and everything I’ve given to this game and to the fans.
I didn’t ask for too much. I was just asking for a decent, dignified living wage. What they did was legal, but it was immoral… I decided to do [this] to stand up with people all over the world who do not get paid properly for their talents… Bayonetta always stands up for those with less power and what is right. In doing this, you stand with her.”
She goes on to ask fans to boycott the game and “instead spend the money that you would’ve spent on this game donating it to charity”. Jennifer Hale, who has worked on game franchises like “Mass Effect,” “Metal Gear Solid” and “Halo 5: Guardians,” voices Bayonetta in the new entry.
Hideki Kamiya, vice president of Platinum Games and director of the “Bayonetta” series, seemingly deleted and then reactivated his Twitter account over the weekend. Platinum Games has not responded to Taylor’s claims of underpaying and “Bayonetta 3” is still scheduled to release for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th.
Source: VGC
