With the recent NHL 20 beta available now and it's first introduction to a new commentating team, it had me wondering: why do these franchises (including 2K) feel the need to use real sports commentators instead of voice actors? Is this strictly a marketing thing? Is it because it's cheaper or easier?
The interesting thing with NHL 20 is that the new play-by-play guy is not a professional play-by-play guy but rather a sports host. Despite this, I think he does a great job with Ray Ferraro. In previous iterations, Doc (Mike Emrick) did the play-by-play. The main complaint towards Doc was his lack of enthusiasm, which is at odds with his real life broadcasting style. I can't imagine how hard it must be to get a veteran commentator to "fake it" in a recording studio. Surely hiring a voice actor to do the same work would be better for all involved and it would likely give you the access to the actor that you wouldn't get with a pro like Doc.
Also a question for you sports gaming fans, if a big sports franchise were to hire voice actors over professional sports commentators, would it bother you or would you welcome it (assuming of course that it sounds great)?
EDIT: I should add that I am not necessarily saying that a voice actor should voice a 100% fictional person. If a voice actor had a spot on Doc Emrick and could provide the same enthusiasm in the line reads that Doc himself does in a live game, wouldn't that be preferable to having a real Doc sounding bored in the booth?
The interesting thing with NHL 20 is that the new play-by-play guy is not a professional play-by-play guy but rather a sports host. Despite this, I think he does a great job with Ray Ferraro. In previous iterations, Doc (Mike Emrick) did the play-by-play. The main complaint towards Doc was his lack of enthusiasm, which is at odds with his real life broadcasting style. I can't imagine how hard it must be to get a veteran commentator to "fake it" in a recording studio. Surely hiring a voice actor to do the same work would be better for all involved and it would likely give you the access to the actor that you wouldn't get with a pro like Doc.
Also a question for you sports gaming fans, if a big sports franchise were to hire voice actors over professional sports commentators, would it bother you or would you welcome it (assuming of course that it sounds great)?
EDIT: I should add that I am not necessarily saying that a voice actor should voice a 100% fictional person. If a voice actor had a spot on Doc Emrick and could provide the same enthusiasm in the line reads that Doc himself does in a live game, wouldn't that be preferable to having a real Doc sounding bored in the booth?
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