Nintendo and PlatinumGames should certainly not have expected such a controversy ten days before the release of Bayonetta 3 on Nintendo Switch (October 28). Indeed, this weekend, Hellena Taylor - who, until now, lent her voice to the witch - explained that if she had not returned to service, it was simply because she was not not reach an agreement with the Japanese studio. She finds the sum offered to her, namely $4, ridiculous. “I ask the fans to boycott this game and donate to charity the money they would have spent, she explained in particular. I never asked for the end of the world, I did not ask for it too much. In fact, I just asked for a decent and dignified wage. What they did was legal but immoral."
Even if she claims to feel no bitterness towards Jennifer Hale – who has therefore agreed with PlatinumGames to take over the role of Bayonetta – she still scratched her: “She has no right to say that she is Bayonetta." Precisely, the one whose voice is already famous in the video game industry (Ashe in Overwatch, Rosalind Lutece in BioShock Infinite, female Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3 among others) wanted to calm things down via Twitter.
About Bayonetta 3: pic.twitter.com/e4VrclEQIm
— Jennifer Hale (@jhaletweets) October 17, 2022
"As for Bayonetta 3,
As a longtime member of the voice acting community, I support the right of every voice actor to be properly compensated, knowing that I have championed this cause for years.
Those who know me, or who have followed my career, know that I have great respect for my counterparts and that I always advocate for them. I signed a confidentiality agreement, which means that I am not able to speak freely about this situation. My reputation speaks for itself.
In all honesty, I ask everyone to keep in mind that this game was created by a hard-working team of dedicated people. I hope everyone will keep an open mind about this. Finally, I hope that everyone involved can find common ground in friendship and respect.
With my love and respect for you all,
Jennifer Hale."
It will be interesting to see if this appeal from Hellena Taylor will have a significant impact on Bayonetta 3 sales, as the last few months have shown that everything related to the working conditions of developers and others is now taken seriously more than ever. .
