"Hollick revealed he was paid $100,000 for his duties on the game. GTA IV has sold more than six million copies since, but Hollick saw nothing past his original payment."

JUST LIKE IT SHOULD BE! They get paid for the job they do, don't expect residuals you slimy snakes. Unless of course residuals were indeed included in your original contract, but if they weren't, shut the fuck up.

@MrOldboy said:

I think I prefer the new VO from that comparison video. Is it a big deal?

It's kind of a big deal when they also used Cihi's likeness and mocapping.

I feel like Troy Barker and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn need a stern talking to from Harlan Ellison.

Quality article! I had no idea I was interested in this topic until I started reading... :D

But wait, wasn't the original VO for Silent Hill 2 kind of bad? Oh fanbases.

Bloody good read Patrick. Never played a Silent Hill game except 1 (which I played for 10 minutes). It seems the video game world, since it was catapulted into a billion dollar industry, is becoming more and more murky and greed/business driven.

I dislike nostalgia, and loathe "fans". You people are all the worst.

Silent remake of Silent Hill 2

Never liked the VA at all in SH2

In addition, as much as I love the atmosphere of the game, I hated trying like 57 doors and only three of them can be interacted with, and two of them are locked. WTF?

No thanks, finished the game on easy just to see the story.

[edit] last time I played SH2 & SH3 on my PS3/HDTV they actually looked fine to me. Not so with ICO and SotC I think those games really needed an HD update. ICO really looked bad, and Shadow had that horrible frame rate.

Awesome.

Great article Patrick! This is great great content. I didn't like the voice acting I had seen in the videos but didn't know there was a back story at all.

Thank you so much for the context.

when you mess with the citizen kane of horror video games, is it no small wonder that ppl get pissed?

@SoldierG654342 said:

@MrOldboy said:

I think I prefer the new VO from that comparison video. Is it a big deal?

It's kind of a big deal when they also used Cihi's likeness and mocapping.

Agreed, like it or not Cihi is James Sunderland.

As long as Kessler and Steve are scared shitless, I'll be there.

Patrick is a great writer. Very informative. It would be cool if they offer players to choose which voice acting they want... also, is the collection only 2 and 3?

Sorry if this wasn't clear in the article (I just added a line), but it's likely the collection will feature both sets of voices, rather than scrapping the new work. So if you like the new voices, you'll get that option, too.

@Tryptophan said:

[edit] last time I played SH2 & SH3 on my PS3/HDTV they actually looked fine to me. Not so with ICO and SotC I think those games really needed an HD update. ICO really looked bad, and Shadow had that horrible frame rate.

Really? Are you on a 60gb? I have an 80 that uses the software emulation and SH2 was pretty bad. Constant lighting glitches and character models missing limbs in cut-scenes.

@George_Hukas said:

So is the original cast redoing everything or are they using the original, terrible VO?

Why are Silent Hill fans so fixated on Cihi's return? Did I mention how terrible the original VO is? Don't you think there is a reason these guys haven't done more VO work?

Konami should've took their ball and went home.

Terrible or not, you'd want the original because they're the ones your memories are tied to. Unless you want Lucas-esque changes, I'd suggest sticking with the original.

Hype hype hype. That was a fantastic read, as well. I'm always curious about things that pertain to this.

I am really glad that the original voice cast is coming back (hopefully) as I love Silent Hill 2. However there is an undercurrent to this article which bothers me: the feeling that the actors are some how getting wronged by not being paid residuals.

Hollick (GTAIV) was given a contract, he was able to read this contract and sign it with an agent (assuming he had one) to help him dissemble the information. No one held a gun to his head to sign it and he was free to turn down the offer. If there was no clause for residuals or extra payment for extra pressings or ports of the game then he has no legal right to residuals. The same goes for Chi. Without the exact original contract in front of us, which no one does, we will not know the arrangement that Konami reached with him in regards to voice and mo-cap for the original pressing of the game.

McGlynn had the right of it. There are ways to handle situations like this and while I feel Chi had some legitimate concerns due to lack of foresight on both his and Konami's part, his tact lacked a little something.

In the end everybody seems to have come out on top and in the end we will get some great versions of some really great games!

I'd prefer the option to include both because I found the original VO's terrible but you know fanbases..."omg the font size is different, you assholes!"

Two words and one man can fix this problem immediately:

"Nolan. North."

Very good story, thanks Patrick!

@Brodehouse said:

I thought the only good acting in SH2 was Mary. James was inconsistent, and rest were plain old bad (god, Angela). I would be very concerned if they changed Heather in SH3. Heather was maybe the only time before Shattered Memories in which the voice acting was perfect. I won't flip out because the original is always there, but if they're trying to make the best version possible, they'd leave her work as is.

My sentiments exactly. I was pissed over the (initial) loss of the original VA's primarily because that included the actress for Mary/Maria, who done a fantastic portrayal. And Heather's VA was also splendid; the best performance across the series. Homecoming, for all its controversies towards fans, had some really solid voice acting as well. Alex Shepherd in particular, voiced by the ever-always-awesome Brian Bloom <3

I hope they don't drop the new voices. The original voice acting in Silent Hill 2 was TERRIBLE, and probably the only thing that brought that game down.

Also, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Troy Baker! Those are cool guys. :)

Last I heard they were having trouble contacting Heather's VA, so there's still a bit of uncertainty, but for the most part it seems like things will probably work out in the end. Very good read, Patrick!

Glad to hear this, I was planning not to buy based on the VO, but may end up purchasing this now. Hope SH 3 gets the same treatment.

@SoldierG654342:

Yeah I have the 60gb, I was concerned when Sony said no more backward compatibility, so I swooped one up.

Now I can see why they decided that though, with all the classics coming to the PSN or getting an HD treatment.

Sorry, to the point, of course the 60gb had an embedded Emotion chip and some hardware additions too(edge smoothing, and screen size) that must have helped SH2 & 3. The shadows and shading on SH3 looked especially nice on the PS3. I wish I could do some screens. This is also on a 720p HDTV. But games like FFX and XII don't look that great to me on the PS3, I would need to hook it up to an old CRT TV. I would imagine those FF's would be candidates for an HD upgrade. If they did anything with VII I would think it would be a full remake. I know MGS is getting some HD updates too. There I go, off the point again!!

I never played it the first time around, so it doesn't matter to me either way, but I could see where changing the VO would piss fans off to no end.

Honestly, they should have rerecorded the VO. Silent Hill has always had terrible voice acting, it kinda took me out of the game sometimes. Whatever though, if it makes other fans happy.

I want this to be out so hard.

SH2 is one of my favorite games ever, original VO or not.

The voice acting wasn't exactly the high point of the original, but I don't mind.

One GOOD thing about the original acting though (Purposeful or otherwise) is that the characters sounded very detached from the situation. It was kinda raised the question of how much of what's going on is just in James' head.

Neither VO track seems particularly great to my ears. They should just just release the game entirely re-dubbed by John DiMaggio saying "COME ON."

You know, I always thought the voice acting was pretty terrible in Silent Hill 2, and I still do, but I think that because of how... surreal and detached everyone sounds, it actually adds a bit of atmosphere to the game.

As for residuals... I think the VO actors should get them for at LEAST re-releases and shit.

Never played Silent Hill 2, but this article was interesting as hell. Reminds me of the Raynor scenario. I hope Troy Baker didn't get screwed..

Good article. I'm glad you show both sides of the story.

I played SH2 for the first time a year back and I thought the voiceacting was pretty spot on. It doesn't consist of beautiful renditions of the script, but it wasn't supposed to. These people felt more real and slightly twisted with the shaky and uncertain voices. Sometimes slight flaws can work in favor of a game, this one in particular. Providing both voiceacting options would turn this from a "no buy" to a "maybe" for me.

I hated Eddie though, but I'm not sure a VO change would fix that.

Anybody know if this will be the Director's Cut with the extra side story?

@Albedo12:

Good question.

I've been watching this one since the controversy began in early September, from Twin Perfect to Silent Hill Heaven to the now defunct Hell Descent, to Silent Haven, the last of which played a role in bringing together the actors and the publishers.

I'm hoping that this controversy will be a turning point for Silent Hill. Bad decisions on the developer side have been mirrored by poor attitude among the fanbase for a long time now, but this project and Downpour look to be very earnest efforts.

New voice acting sounded better. Should've kept it.

While the new voice acting is certainly more believable, it does kind of detract from Silent Hill 2. That game was a beautiful confluence of happy accidents. The occasionally off translation, coupled with the somewhat stilted and nonplussed voice acting, made the whole experience disturbingly alien. It felt like no one involved was human, or at least could not react to the horror around them in any meaningful way, which in turn gave the experience a nightmarish dreamlike quality. While the improved delivery and dramatic tension of the new voice acting might have better helped to convey a sense of reality, that reality in turn would undercut everything that makes Silent Hill unique and unsettling. It's scarier when the guy with the gun talking about killing people doesn't really sound like what he's saying is all that big a deal, rather than when he uses a generic grizzled "creepy dude voice".

To put it a different way changing the voice acting would be like replacing the backwards talking dream sequences of Twin Peaks with more sophisticated auto-tuned effects. It just isn't the same.

Sure... 90 comments.

Great article Klepek.

I never played the original. Personally I don't give a damn if they get new actors.

Based Silent Hill

I really enjoyed this article. As a fan of Silent Hill, having beaten every game in the series, it was great to learn more about the voice actors and actresses that provided the talent behind some very interesting characters. Having just played the ICO/Shadow collection, I am also pretty psyched to see more games I love come out in high-resolution.

This is a really good article. I wouldn't have minded new voice actors, but I can still go back and hear the old ones too. My PS2 works really well. :)

@Albedo12:

Good question.

I think they need to re-do them in 5.1 or even 7.1 surround sound...and have a more crisp feel to them.

They should include uncompressed audio in the new game and the graphics better not be "fake hd" like resident evil 4 hd, cause that remake looked identical to the ps2 version w/HD tagged onto it -__-

There was a comment here.

It's gone now.

edit: After watching a comparison video I don't really see what is wrong with the new voices besides maybe Eddy. Why not just record both and include the option at the beginning of the game? This all seems very silly.