The voice actor behind "PEGI 18" says he was paid just €200

Draugoth

Draugoth

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You may not know his name, but Richard Wells is one of the most-heard voices in video games - and now he's blowing up on TikTok.

Wells' TikTok account, which he created last Friday, now has over 17m views - mostly on his first video, where he reveals himself as the voice of video gaming's PEGI logos.

Yes, Wells voiced the "PEGI 12" and "PEGI 18" logos that play before video game trailers - and now, he's told fans he was only paid €200 (£170) years ago to do it.

"Hi, I'm Richard Wells, and I've been a professional voice actor for 40 years. I've made at least 10,000 recordings and spoken millions of words - but ironically I'm best known for just two. You won't know my face, but millions of you gamers really do know my voice - because I'm the guy who says 'PEGI 18' on all your video games."
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Wells concluded by asking viewers to interact with the video if they recognised his voice - prompting more than 2.8m Likes (and counting).


"I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the reaction to that video," Wells said in a follow-up post, thanking viewers for their response. "I'm absolutely gobsmacked."
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Wells has since replied with further videos answering common viewer questions - such as how much he was paid, and his thoughts on the use of AI.


"A few people have said 'do I get paid every time I say it?'" Wells said of his PEGI logos. "Well, I wish," he laughed. "I actually got paid €200 back in September 2009, and that's all the money I've ever made [from it]."
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via Eurogamer
 
ByWatterson said:
......should he have made more? It's two words.
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there's a weird contemporary concept that wide exposure automatically means you should be wealthy; this probably stems from the social media generation and their belief that views & likes = fame & wealth

on the contrary, there are multitudes of people who worked on something with wide reach, something known to millions in one way or another, who were just doing their jobs and compensated at a normal hourly wage
 
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This guy and Charles Martinet are the most recognizable voices in the industry and they did it by just speaking a couple of words.
 
Fuck imagine the $$$$ spent on the "EA Games, challenge everything".

There's like a group of people saying "EA Games" and then child labour for "challenge everything".
 
I've been a professional voice actor for 40 years. I've made at least 10,000 recordings and spoken millions of words

Is everyone skipping this bit?
 
why make a big deal out of it now? He got paid for a simple gig.
there's like zero chance they would pay him royalties
 
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ResurrectedContrarian said:
there's a weird contemporary concept that wide exposure automatically means you should be wealthy; this probably stems from the social media generation and their belief that views & likes = fame & wealth

on the contrary, there are multitudes of people who worked on something with wide reach, something known to millions in one way or another, who were just doing their jobs and compensated at a normal hourly wage
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Pretty much.

Also, a lot of people have a notion that if a company uses your work over and over again, that person should get paid every time it's used till you die. If that's the case, just about every person on earth should be getting royalty checks forever because at some point every person's work has been used by the company or coworker at some point.

For example, if a cable technician drives around town in his truck and fixes wires in different neighburhoods on a daily basis, he should be the richest guy on Earth. Think how many royalty cuts he should make off every house since he fixed their internet connection. Each day that passes with a fixed connection he gets royalties.

At my work, I've been here 10 years. Some of the processes and reports I created have been used for years by various people all the time. I should get a cut. And when I leave the company, I should keep getting paid every time someone uses them or my past work or processes.

Ridiculous.
 
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The voice is iconic, but it could've been anyone's voice really. Shit even AI could queef something out at equal or better quality
 
Bro why aren't I rich? I say the word people hear everyday, and gladly pay money for.

O wait


Fucking boomers.
 
He most likely knew what whatever he signed stated that it's a one time payment for his service and that he agrees his created asset will be used repeatedly without extended permission from him.
 
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ResurrectedContrarian said:
there's a weird contemporary concept that wide exposure automatically means you should be wealthy; this probably stems from the social media generation and their belief that views & likes = fame & wealth

on the contrary, there are multitudes of people who worked on something with wide reach, something known to millions in one way or another, who were just doing their jobs and compensated at a normal hourly wage
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Agreed.
 
I mean, he said 2 words.
People get paid less for working 8 hours and making shareholders tons of money.
 
When they say "only" $200 I'm not sure what the issue is,he went into a studio and said Pegi 18.......are they suggesting he gets residuals from every time someone fires up a video game,lol.
 
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