News Rockstar responds to poor working condition claims

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/01/22/rockstar-responds-to-poor-working-condition/1

Rockstar, the developer behind Red Dead Redemption and the GTA series, has responded to claims of poor working conditions.

 

Not impressed Rockstar. Not impressed.

 

aww boo hoo. try being a chef or something like that for a week and then complain about sitting in a comfy chair for 12 hours

 

Am I the only one to realise that they said absolutely nothing with that text? It was just useless blabber.

 

Yup, thats true, I noticed it too. It doesn't address anything directly or refute anything directly etc. Cop out!

 

Working conditions at Blizzard:
http://www.widelec.org/index.php?pa...og_id=3211&site=blog&section=1&text=&pages=10

That is all.

 

^ ummm Wow (literally)

 

I'd take a job there, I actually have an old friend working for them (still I think).

However the low pay rates and long hours put me off working in the games industry... so I stick in programming for industry...

Job satisfaction / hours and salary

its their choice.

 

This.

So basically Rockstar management decided to put their heid deeper up their own asses, put out a statement comprised of non-quantifiables like dedication and intentions, and then waiting till this blows over. I bet they are also looking for the ones that posted this so they can give them the sack. Business ethics at it's finest!

 

Basically all they said was, if they don't like it then they can leave. Doesn't sound fair at all.

 

**** the hours and the lousy pay. Where do I sign up?

 

Always the same with big shots trying to show that the end justify the means. Fed up with this society always gravelling for more money than quality of products. Let's say, trade one whole month of work with the employers and employees and get feedback at the end of the experiment.

I bet they wouldn't stick their head out to the world so fast.

 

All employers are like that at some points, and if you don't like it your options are to withdraw your labour temporarily (i.e. go on strike) or permanently (i.e. resign). I've just done the latter after finally getting fed up of the way my employer has been treating me - no pay rise or bonus for some years, and most of last year on a 4 day week (and hence 20% pay cut). If enough people do this then the company will either do something about the pay/conditions or lose out through having to repeatedly hire new, inexperienced staff.

 

Omg he works 12 hour days in an office environment out of the elements?!? That poor *******!

I know people that do 12+ hours a day working for the oil companies and farm elevators here. That's a lot harder work then programming, debugging, etc for a video game.

 

The point here, surely, is not 'do people in the world work under conditions like this,' but: 'do we want to live in a world where people work in conditions like this'. Forcing employees to work 12 hour days on a regular basis is not healthy (physically, mentally or familially) for employees, and neither is it -- in the long term -- an intelligent, productive way to run a business.

It seems from Rockstar's statement that they are saying: 'it's all true, we're *******s, but we make good games so go **** yourselves.' It's standard form business-think, of the kind you invariably find coming from the mouths of self-interested, ego-centric fat-cats trying to help themselves get to sleep at night and stop the general population from fire-bombing their houses. Think banking crisis here and the parallels are subtle, but doubtlessly present...

 

If people dont like the work they do then they can always quit. Sure times are tough right now and maybe not the best time to find a new job. But thats what I did and i'm still standing.

 

And if every time you walk down your street someone punches you in the face, you can always move house. Freedom of choice on the part of the recipient of ill-treatment (which is usually limited in some way, or carries some sort of negative consequences beyond the direct repercussions of the decision itself -- I'm thinking lack of references, having to uproot a family, etc etc) is no excuse for the ill-treatment itself.

 

reminds me exactly of the studio john romero had for daikatana. Wow is an awesome game, but it's crazy to see what the developers do when they are awash in cash. I bet during crunch time all those awesome play areas are empty.

 

What they are saying is: Yes people work long hours for little pay, but we weren't aware they were unhappy about it.

Pretty retarded.

 

To the people who can't see what they are moaning about, go to your office on Monday, if you do an 8 hour day, get there 2 hours earlier, leave 2 hours later. Do that all week and throw in saturday as well. It doesn't matter what you are doing, working in an office(with no natural light or exposure to fresh air) or working outside for 12 hours a day. You lose your life. it's not about the work, it's about your down time, time to go shopping, time to see your family and friends, time to stop you going insane. Working for that amount of time will burn you out if maintained. It can be done for short periods, upto 6 months, but then your health starts to rapidly dwindle. Having done both, physical labouring outside for 12 hours a day, and sitting inside for 12 hours a day, I can honestly say for me the outdoor physical work is much easier to cope with than sitting in an office in front of a pc.