I can't believe someone else on HN saw "Prada"... but yeah, from what I can remember. The other thing, though, was that the employees were willing to put up with a lot of BS just because of the cultural cachet of that magazine where they worked. I'm saying that same kind of cachet that PA has is why someone who is way overqualified would want to work there for peanuts...now mind you, I'm not saying it's a good idea or that I would do it (although after years of web dev and support, I would be eminently qualified) - but I would wager they get swamped with qualified candidates just because they are who they are.

People are motivated by different things. "Below market" only matters if you judge yourself by how much you're paid compared to your peers. "Having no work-life balance" assumes that your "life" doesn't benefit from "work" in ways other than the size of your paycheck.

If you already have a house/apartment you like and will still be able to afford with this job, find the work you're doing interesting, have the appreciation of your co-workers and the freedom to do your work the way you want (because no one else who works there is an IT person); if you find playing video games with colleagues a reasonable facsimile of "life"; if being a visible member of a team that has a youtube channel with 10s of thousands of subscribers who look up to them is more important than owning a bigger TV; then this job may be worthwhile for you.

And why is it a problem that someone would rather have those things than a salary at market rates, or an ability to go home at 5pm and spend time with their family not thinking about work?

You're correct, but that doesn't stop hordes of qualified nerds from charging into the meatgrinder that is the games development industry.

You mean I get to make games for a living, as long as I'm happy to be paid in popcorn and work 18 hour days? Where do I sign?