Nintendo has a long-standing reputation for prioritizing its fans and delivering high-quality products. This commitment is evident in their approach to game development, often opting to delay releases to ensure quality, and in their other media ventures like amusement parks and movies. However, this dedication also translates into stringent controls over their intellectual property (IP), especially regarding their voice actors. Voice acting in Nintendo games has evolved significantly over the years. While it wasn’t a focal point in the past, several franchises now feature prominent voice work. At MCM Comic Con, Nintendo voice actors discussed the restrictions they face, highlighting that Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) prevent them from performing voice recordings outside of the games without company approval.
Charles Martinet, the longtime voice of Mario, and Patricia Summersett, the voice of Zelda in recent games, shared their experiences. Martinet acknowledged the restrictions during his tenure, and Summersett elaborated on the rationale behind these NDAs: “You sign these very strict NDAs, [but] you know what you’re signing into. It is very much about respecting the IP and doing it the way that Nintendo does it, which works very well for them. I know it can be disappointing sometimes when people want to record [us]. But when we’re recording and we’re doing lines, you can extract that, you now have AI and all these things. That’s not for us to do.” Another voice actor noted that while Nintendo wouldn’t harshly punish violations, they would make it clear that the actor wasn’t “a team player.” The consensus among the actors is an understanding of Nintendo’s need to protect its characters and the actors’ performances.
This feels like a drama bait article but there’s nothing noteworthy about it at all.
I don’t imagine there’s too much Nintendo can do here. If a voice actor, say Patricia Summersett wants to talk in her own voice, and somehow today her own voice happens to sound exactly like her Zelda voice, what could they really do? She’s not allowed to speak? Now if she were overtly to do lines as Zelda without their permission then yes, that’s something they could probably have more recourse on.
W-where are the heavy restriction??? I don’t know, yeah I’ve never heard Charles say vile shit like “Skibidi toilet chungus” but there are ton of videos of Charles saying names and stuff with his Mario voice, he even said something for the silvagunner channel if i remember correctly so yeah idk I don’t think Nintendo here isn’t doing something morally wrong he just doesn’t Mario to say “fuck”
Charles Martinet is specifically referring to the fact that he used to perform Mario’s voice on camera for a ton of people on demand. Notice how he’s either stopped or toned this down heavily in recent years… that’s why.
Similarly, Charles used to post these adorable Mario/Luigi/Wario videos on his Instagram with little figurines while doing the in-game voices… then they vanished. I imagine this was Nintendo’s doing, requesting he take them down to protect the integrity of their IP. Charles obviously meant no harm in this, because Charles is about as wholesome as you can get… but I think this is Nintendo being hyper protective of their IP. If these restrictions weren’t in place, voice actors could potentially start saying things that are wildly out of line for the character and it could potentially damage the brand.
You can say they’re being too strict/careful, but Charles’s wording here suggests he isn’t all that bothered and is very understanding of it. Not really that big of a deal.
Those videos are so cute, glad there is a video comp on youtube
Also really out context and not hate on the new voice actor but I really DESPISE the new Mario voice, what do you guys think about it? You guys like it?
I don’t love it… but I don’t hate it either. It was fine in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, as I only really noticed it a handful of times.
It was really only rough when he said “Oh yeah! Mario time!” in the MAR10 2024 video.
Fair, that “Mario time” clip sounds atrocious
I think Kevin Afghani does a decent job in Wonder. The only real problem I had was when I fell into a pit and Mario screams as he falls; he sounds more like Mickey Mouse than Mario. Really took me out of it the first few times…
And of course there’s the infamous “Mario Time” from Mar10 Day 2024- ooooooohhhh, that sounded rough…
If they didn’t restrict how actors use voices developed specifically for Nintendo IP, there’d be Hestu porn everywhere.
Now imagine what these voice actors would really say about Nintendo if they didn’t still have ties to them. Nintendo are a very strict and repressive company in a lot of ways.
There’s loads of footage at cons of people getting various actors to say silly lines. Adam Howden has done a few, several of the FE voice actors. I guess these aren’t high quality recordings necessarily but if AI is what they’re concerned about it’s probably still enough.
I seem to remember the voice actor for Seteth in Fire Emblem Three Houses got into a bit of trouble when he did the “Claude invited Flayn to the academy’s minecraft server” thing.
Yet somehow Chris Pratt fell through the cracks…
I just wish they’d take a cue from Atlus and Square Enix and announce the English cast for these games from the start, so they can actually take part in the hype process building up to the game, instead of forcing them to stay silent until release.
He’s right, i guess.
I mean Darth Vader’s voice actor signed off and let Disney use his voice for AI.
Curious, I remember a show in my country (well ok it dates from a few years ago), where Charles Martinet was the guest and he did not hesitate to do imitations of Mario Luigi or Wario… and the only question he refused to answer was how much Nintendo paid him for it^^