I doubt it's the same everywhere, I don't know much about rockstar but I have more faith in them seeing as they broke ties with the Studio behind LA Noire after they discovered how they treated their employees.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...r-la-noire-dev
Without a doubt though, it's a job where you get paid substantially less for the work you do simply because it's a job a very large number of people want to have.
EDIT: This is the Activision Lawsuit if you're interested in reading it:
http://kotaku.com/5788193/west-and-z...aint/gallery/1
keep in mind that West and Zampella aren't just two programmers, they're the two guys who created Call of Duty, they're a level of developer up there with Cliffy B, Miyamoto, Kojima, etc. maybe not as great, but certainly the same pay-grade and corporate position.