In just a few short hours, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists were supposed to count votes to decide whether their respective unions would participate in a work stoppage of voicing games. But like a governor pardoning a convict on his way to the chair, the presidents of both groups stepped in to avert the strike.

　　In lieu of a strike, SAG and AFTRA agreed to new terms with the gaming industry, allowing union members to continue to lend their voices to games. Upon approval by each organization's national committee, the new deal will be good through the end of 2008. It will grant actors an increase in pay, up to 36 percent, through the duration of the contract. The first raise, a 25 percent hike, goes into effect July 1.

　　"Our members clearly support the inclusion of residuals in our interactive contracts," SAG president Melissa Gilbert said. "However, with great reluctance, our negotiating committee concluded that it is in the interests of the members who work these contracts to make this deal."

　　The deal comes after several months of threats from both camps. The actors threatened to strike if they were not rewarded residuals on games' profits. Television and radio actors earn residuals on their work, giving them a share of the profits of projects they work on.

　　Residuals on voice work done on a game such as Halo 2, which has sold millions of copies and has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, would pay handsomely...much more than the going minimum rate of $556 for a four-hour voice-acting session.

　　The game producers thought that idea was hogwash. Howard Fabrick, the attorney representing the game industry, believes voice actors are not entitled to such residuals, as gamers don't buy games based on the voice talent.

　　"The agreement is a win for both sides. The deal permits continued employment and a generous increase in compensation for voice actors, while allowing game publishers to continue working with the union talent they prefer," Fabrick said of the deal.

　　Last month, Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman told the Associated Press, "[The voice actors] have no leverage. In 99 percent of all games, the voice actors are irrelevant. You replace one voice actor with another nonunion actor, and no one will know the difference."

　　Apparently, that's exactly what the gaming industry was going to do. Interactive Voices, a provider of voice actor services, issued a press release earlier this week stating that the demand for nonunion actors has been increasing since negotiations between unionized actors and the gaming industry hit a snag.

　　The new agreement does not guarantee more work for unionized voice actors. While some companies prefer to hire professional talent, they are free to pick from nonunion voice actors as well.