Just as a counterpoint - I've worked for 4 years now as a programmer at one of the biggest publishers in the industry, and honestly, the work life balance is great, the pay is ok for the region(plus I get decent amount of shares every year), the work is varied, interesting and I like both what I do and people I work with. I think the last time I did overtime was 2 years ago, and even then it was only for a week around launch of the last project(in fact in every studio meeting we are constantly reminded that managers can NOT demand us to work overtime, if they do we need to report it higher up). Normally I get in at 8am, leave by 4pm, never work weekends or anything like that. Plus the usual for EU 25 paid days off(plus the studio is closed christmas to new years), unlimited paid sick leave, private health insurance.....really, it's pretty good.
But then again, I am aware that most studios are not like that.