Splatoon 3 Level Designer position posted, entry level salary: about $35k USD a year with benefits

[Charizard]

So Nintendo has posted a level designer job opening for Splatoon 3. It's what you expect: You help design and balance stages, weapons, and rulesets (with a focus on balancing and adjusting things other people on the team have already made from what I can tell). You'll also need to playtest a lot. They also posted expected pay based on your experience with this kind of role:

0 years: 35Kish
5 years: 44Kish
10 years: 53Kish
15 years: 64Kish

So the answer to the question of "Does Nintendo pay well?" seems to be "Kinda average for the area actually". EDIT: also has:

BUT, you forgot to add that the job included :
"Full payment of transportation expenses, housing allowance, overtime allowance, various social insurance, relocation allowance, reemployment support, etc."

Overall, I think this is great.

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Added context: My friend who lives in Saitama city complained that his rent soared to over $800 this year, to put the cost of living in perspective. Also, housing allowance is an extra $6k or so a year if you aren't married, a bit more if you are if I read it right. But if you decide to live with your parents for a while you won't get the housing allowance. In some parts of Osaka the housing allowance would cover the cost of a small apartment.

 

[Weebos]

I'm curious how this compares to Japanese salaries, but as an American this seems quite low.

 

[Stune]

I'm making more as an Elementary Teacher in Arizona, thats kind of surprising!

 

[julian]

That seems incredibly low but I have no idea what cost of living is there.

 

[Remark]

That seems dumb low but I doubt know the average rates for that type of position and I don't know the cost of living in the Kyoto area so I may be speaking out my ass.

 

[TaySan]

That seems low for the amount of work. :/But then again this is in Japan.

 

[Jarmel]

oof that's rough

 

[Raigor]

What the fuck?

35k?!

 

[Chackan]

In Portugal that is a damn fine salary lol

 

[sibarraz]

I always thought that Nintendo salaries were high

 

[BannerThief]

I'm making more than that working in a butcher shop lmao. That seems really low for what is, I assume, skilled technical work.

 

[entremet]

I have no idea about Japanese personal economics so I can't comment.

 

[cw_sasuke]

In Portugal that is a damn fine salary lol

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Yeah it sounds about right in most of the world but expect most American to be shocked by that number.

 

[Pryme]

That seems low for the amount of work. :/But then again this is in Japan.

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I was under the impression that many Japanese cities were kinda expensive to live in.

 

[julian]

I always thought that Nintendo salaries were high

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To be fair, we have no idea what the benefits are.

 

[Mecha]

Without context it seems low, but I don't know enough of JP economics.

 

[sibarraz]

To be fair, we have no idea what the benefits are.

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Yeah I recall reading that they had good benefits.

 

[grady]

So about £25k...

That's nothing haha

 

[Dead Man Typing]

That sounds right. Entry level designers make a lot less than you think.

The bump for experienced designers is nice to see.

 

[anexanhume]

$16.80 an hour. Get the fuck out of here.

 

[Stairmaster_]

I'm curious how this compares to Japanese salaries, but as an American this seems quite low.

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Apparently the average Japanese salary is ~$37k, but given Japanese work culture that's still probably too low

 

[Raigor]

Yeah it sounds about right in most of the world but expect most American to be shocked by that number.

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Or anywhere in a bit city in Western Europe or Scandinavian countries.

This looks ok if you compare to eastern/southern europe wages and that about it.

 

[Rafavert]

In Portugal that is a damn fine salary lol

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You know what? I was thinking the same thing!

(miséria...)

This comparison is unfair. You do not know the cost of life in Japan nor what else that salary entails. A direct comparison is pointless. Let someone who actually lives in Japan chip in.

Also don't forget 35k is for 0 years of experience.

 

[kodax_shc]

So 35k if you are fresh out of college. Would probably need a roommate to make it on that low of a salary in Kyoto.

 

[Aostia82]

So Nintendo has posted a level designer job opening for Splatoon 3. It's what you expect: You help design and balance stages, weapons, and rulesets. You'll also need to playtest a lot. They also posted expected pay based on your experience with this kind of role:

0 years: 35Kish
5 years: 44Kish
10 years: 53Kish
15 years: 64Kish

So the answer to the question of "Does Nintendo pay well?" seems to be "Kinda average actually".

But if you know Japanese and live in Kyoto you can apply and test your luck if you want I suppose.

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Average?
That 0 year yearly salary here in Italy is paid After ten years of experience lol

 

[nhlducks35]

Probably excluding the 12-16 hour workdays

 

[Deleted member 5491]

Looks like on par or even higher than industry standard in Japan.
2015 https://kotaku.com/how-much-japanese-game-developers-make-1785632603
2010 https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/118701/Report_Japanese_Developer_Salaries_Average_57590.php

And no, you can't compare it to US salary, because housing costs are different, same with what all the benefits you get thanks to your company
and bonus structures.

 

[entremet]

So 35k if you are fresh out of college. Would probably need a roommate to make it on that low of a salary in Kyoto.

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Don't most young Japanese stay at home for a bit?

I remember seeing a day in life of a salaryman and he was living at home.

 

[TheGhost]

That's a yikes from me

 

[VZ_Blade]

It seems like transport is fully paid for, and there's a housing allowance (among other stuff) under the benefits column. Someone with better Japanese skills/actually lived there should chime in about this.

 

[DarkSora]

The fuck? Factor in apartment costs in Kyoto and you'll barely make enough to survive on.

 

[Funky_Monkey]

Is that for a Graduate Position (need a degree)? Seems very low.

 

[Darren Lamb]

Just did a cost of living calculator, Kyoto is about 2/3 as expensive as where I live. It's more like 55k a year with a 600 dollar a month housing allowance

Still low, but not egregiously so IMO

 

[zoodoo]

15 years 64k
that's pretty low

 

[Glio]

For context

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in 2019, the average yearly salary of a Japanese worker was 3,077,000 yen*. This comes out to be about 256,416 yen per month. In terms of US dollars (using the average exchange rate for 2019) that's $28,227 per year, or $2,352 a month. The average age of a Japanese worker was 43.1 years old, and they had worked for an average of 12.4 years.

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[ThatMeanScene]

Wow, that looks really low to me.

 

[GamerJM]

I make more money than someone with 15 years of experience, working in an IT-related industry that requires much, much less technical and demanding work than game design.

That's a yikes from me.

 

[Bigkrev]

Just running the post through Google Translate, it seems they are also giving a Housing Allowance of $450-$600 a month, as well as relocation allowances, and "full payment of transportation expenses".

For a job where "it does not matter if you have work experience related to game production" and I don't see anything on the sheet about X numbers of years of experience required or what kind of degree they are looking for... but it seems fine as an entry level position? The housing allowance alone is going to be worth an extra $5K a year or more than the posted amounts on the first post, and I would say that $40K in salary/housing is more than reasonable for someone starting a career

 

[Regiruler]

Mfw something not too distant from my dream job pays less than half what I make.

 

[Dyle]

That's just the main figure, that doesn't include the housing allowance (47.5k or 66.5k yen per month) which presumably just about everyone would get too.

It's not high but not particularly low. There are too many differences between most countries from cost of living and tax structures to make a simple topline comparison.

 

[DryCreek]

.

 

[Dark Ninja]

That is really low also considering the expected Japanese work ethic its even worse.

 

[entremet]

For context

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Yeah, people need to settle down.

Everyone wants to be an expert lol.

 

[Het_Nkik]

As a poor person living in America, that sounds great to me lol.

For context

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This needs to be posted in the OP so people quit with their hot takes.

 

[Relix]

Nintendo in Richmond is also known to be a bit stingy.

 

[MonadL]

Those salaries are trash regardless of the cost of living.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Looks like on par or even higher than industry standard in Japan.
2015 https://kotaku.com/how-much-japanese-game-developers-make-1785632603
2010 https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/118701/Report_Japanese_Developer_Salaries_Average_57590.php

And no, you can't compare it to US salary, because housing costs are different, same with what all the benefits you get thanks to your company
and bonus structures.

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Of course you can't but context doesn't seem to matter for some people xD

Just because it's Nintendo doesn't mean that they are gonna pay a designer with no experience fresh if college sole crazy sum. Even if they could that would probably clash with their companyies and japanese culture. Even their CEO and people in too roles earn much less compared to US counter parts. Iwatas pay during the Wii/DS era was nothing compared to what Kottick and co. make.

But I guess you have much more safety over there and once you work for a company like Nintendo you can probably stick around for a while without having to fear getting shut down or fired.

 

[Huey]

looks like this is about the median income in Japan.

 

[Glio]

Yeah, people need to settle down.

Everyone wants to be an expert lol.

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It's a good reminder of how American-centric this forum is at times.

 

[formasymphonic]

These kinds of things depend a lot on cost of living in the region + whatever other benefits they will provide balanced against what level of experience they will expect you to have prior to joining.