[pc86]

> The big a-hole studios realize this and charge sub-prime wages

First of all, "sub-prime wages" is not a thing I've ever heard of. Absolutely nothing on Google so I'm assuming you mean below market wages, which game industry wages are by definition not.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, paying people what they are willing to earn does not make game studios assholes. Everyone developing software for game studios knows they could make more writing software for a bank or some YC CRUD app.

> I have read several stories of people leaving game deve for a nice boring job writing insurance software for more money and fewer hours.

With the right skills, you can leave any industry and go to any other industry and make more money. Not sure what your point is here.

[s73ver]

Your argument boils down to, "If they agree to it, there's absolutely nothing wrong," which is an argument that I've never accepted before. A person in a position of power, which the studios are, taking advantage of young people to pay them below market wages (which these are, despite whatever you try to argue) and work them insane hours, is wrong, full stop. There is absolutely zero reason why game wages should be below regular development wages.