SNGP 40 - Labor Disputes in the U.S. Gaming Industry: A Brief History

Send us Fan MailWhile he reads about the war in Ukraine, David wishes there was a dedicated jump button in the Cold War arcade game Rush'n Attack, can't quite get the dog to catch the Frisbee in Wii Sports Resort, and is working hard to get the systems in Loop Hero to work for him.  Meanwhile, Tuesday hasn't seen a prettier Switch game than Kirby and The Forgotten Land and finds that the voice acting in the Trials of Mana remake is still terrible.  In news, ESA confirms that the digital version of E3 2022 has also been cancelled, Nintendo confirms that the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel has been delayed until early 2023, SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan gives the details of the new PlayStation Plus tiers, and Activision is settling one of the government sexual assault lawsuits, is expanding their Beenox Studio in Montreal and faces open criticism of the potential buyout by Microsoft by four U.S. senators.   For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday examine the history of labor relations in video gaming in the U.S., from the contentious anti-union era into when it was birthed, the "EA Spouse" incident that publicly raised the issue of crunch in the industry, the affect of the SAG-AFTRA strike, and recent accusations of sexism and abuse that have led to fresh cries for unionization in the industry.If you enjoy the podcast, visit us at Patreon.com/SNGP!