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Marty O’Donnell being paid $95,019.13 by Bungie in settlement, Halo has grossed $3.4B

Quote

Member
This. Why is everyone "so happy Marty got his money!!!"?

Bungie agreeing to a settlement is in no way an admission of guilt... it is much cheaper this way than to defend themselves because "by God, Marty is wrong here!"
It's black and white for both sides. He did/didn't get paid, they did/didn't pay him. If this was just about anything besides unpaid wages then there would certainly be gray area.
 

Sulik2

Member
This looks like it was mostly severance pay, how much Halo grossed has nothing to do with it. He probably had bonuses tied to those grosses that he already received. What he is going to have to worry about is getting any money he is owed when Destiny launches.
 

Hindle

Banned
Well, it's not $3.4B if you are discounting the 15 million copies of Halo 1 and 2 sold on the OG Xbox.

It's still a lot of money, but you could probably find at least 10 series that grossed more than Halo last generation. It's a huge amount of cash for a exclusive series no doubt, but we are getting more and more series hanging in that range.

Last generation was a golden era, in that there were so many franchises that exploded and sold huge amounts. Going forward, I'm not so sure it's going to happen again. Destiny has a shot, and I think Fallout will explode but that's it IMO.
 
Marty is every gamers friend. Bungie management are idiots.

Don't be surprised if in spite they don't release a soundtrack for Destiny with Marty's great music, as no doubt they don't want him making $ off it.

Why are they idiots? Can you specify the circumstances as to why he was let go an d Bungie is wrong here? People get too emotional over business... thats all it is. Marty is not your friend nor is Bungie. They sell you products.
 
I am interested in why he was booted in the first place.

However, I am way more interested to see what he does next. Hopefully he stays in the video game industry. Would love to see him continue to work on sci-fi, maybe with Bioware or 343, but he'd be more than competent scoring a fantasy game as well.
 
There was obviously a different work issue that caused this.

They just didn't want to pay unpaid vacation to someone they were firing since they left on bad terms, but settled since Marty was owed his money.

Obviously they judged it better money wise and potentially reputation wise to not have a trial that could expose inner details of what happened.
 
Source?
Wikipedia says he was voice over director for The Halo trilogy, so I figured it wouldn't be much of a stretch for him to be doing Destiny's as well.
Actually you may be right, I was not aware he also directed the voiceovers. Can't find a confirmation now since I am on my phone.
 

Quote

Member
"Unpaid labor, vacation time, damages and legal" is not simply "unpaid labor."
Its damages for unpaid labor/vacation. So, yes, I do think its simply "unpaid labor." Do you think the damages amount is coincidently the same amount as the unpaid labor/vacation?

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Its weird that there is a field for damages when I just want simple unpaid labor!
 

Daigoro

Member
I suspect Nirolak didn't put the 3.4 billion dollar number in the title to contrast to Marty's payout, but rather because it's new information about the Halo franchise that came out as a result of this legal action.

the title is misleading being worded this way then. at the very least there should be a period and not a comma between the sentences. better yet, new thread for new news right? makes no sense to have both items in the title of this thread, especially the way it is composed.

i dont really see what one has to do with the other anyways. im sure Marty was paid for his work, and now he got what he was owed after the firing. how much Halo grossed has nothing to do with what he got paid, especially in a settlement after being fired.
 
I will miss you Marty! Your scores was one of the top reasons I loved the Halo series so much!

I don't think Bungie realizes what they have lost!
 

Homeboyd

Member
Its damages for unpaid labor/vacation. So, yes, I do think its simply "unpaid labor." Do you think the damages amount is coincidently the same amount as the unpaid labor/vacation?
I'm not sure where you're going with this... double damages means double damages. They doubled what they believed was owed to him. i.e. the second $38,385 was not simply "unpaid labor" it was damages in addition to unpaid labor. And the remaining $18,249.13 in attorneys fees and "interest" which also isn't unpaid labor.

Again, to my original point; even if Bungie believed they fired with cause, never agreed to pay anything to Marty as he states in the suit, and had provisions to withhold certain benefits/etc.. he's suing for considering he was terminated and didn't resign, it's still much cheaper to settle this way than to spend thousands more to defend themselves even if they eventually won.
 

Ponn

Banned
Putting that 3.4B in just for the click bait. Has nothing to do with the case or whats going on, just a big number to make people say "look at all that money that guy deserves millions for whatever i dont know but he deserves it because look at that big number!"
 

Quote

Member
I'm not sure where you're going with this... double damages means double damages. They doubled what they believed was owed to him. i.e. the second $38,385 was not simply "unpaid labor" it was damages in addition to unpaid labor. And the remaining $18,249.13 in attorneys fees and "interest" which also isn't unpaid labor.

Again, to my original point; even if Bungie believed they fired with cause, never agreed to pay anything to Marty as he states in the suit, and had provisions to withhold certain benefits/etc.. he's suing for considering he was terminated and didn't resign, it's still much cheaper to settle this way than to spend thousands more to defend themselves even if they eventually won.
Its just as likely that one of the groups can't win so they're settling now, which I personally think is more likely the case. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
 
what if he was fired for saying bad things about Peter Dinklages voice acting in Destiny?

totally out there i know but just a thought
 

FyreWulff

Member
He's still part owner of Bungie. This was all business - you don't get that involved at that level without a court getting involved, sadly.
 

GhaleonEB

Member

If his shares were vested and there was not a clause in the employment contract for O'Donnell to forfeit them upon termination, then I don't see how Bungie could reclaim them. At that point they belong to him. Losing unvested shares upon separation is normal. There is probably a lot more to the story, but the reasoning provided in the article - Marty would be a pest at board meetings - is an awfully weak reason for stripping him of his voting shares and status.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Well, Bungie. You fucked up in this regard. Not only did you loose and had to double the payment but you also have some bad publicity on your hands.
 

OccamsLightsaber

Regularly boosts GAF member count to cry about 'right wing gaf' - Voter #3923781
He deserves half of that 3m. Seriously though, is that settlement unfair?
 

Duxxy3

Member
Well, Bungie. You fucked up in this regard. Not only did you loose and had to double the payment but you also have some bad publicity on your hands.

And lost their composer while just barely getting the first part of a series out the door.
 
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