Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#330 | Milk It For All It's Worth Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

It's now obvious that Sony shouldn't have purchased Bungie back in 2022, but considering the transaction did indeed occur, both parties have to make the best out of a less-than-promising situation. After instituting a significant reduction in headcount, poaching key employees for posts within PlayStation proper, and even swiping an entire team and drafting it into PlayStation Studios, Sony has made another play, ingesting Bungie's Creative Studios to help shepherd the wider brand's future service games. How will this entire ordeal play out in the end? We're years away from finding out, but that doesn't stop us from speculating. Plus: Spider-Man 2 is getting a Nixxes-led PC port in early '25, Amazon Prime's God of War project receives a massive personnel overhaul, a recent interview with Guerrilla has some fans longing for more Killzone, and more. We wrap things up (as always) with listener inquiries. Have we reached a dead end with game design? Are 60 frames plenty, or should we ultimately strive for 120? How might Sony celebrate PlayStation 2's 25th anniversary next year? Are we able to convince a skeptical fan that -- yes, indeed! -- 'tchotchke' is a real word?

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#329 | Window Sitting in the Banishment Room Oct 21, 2024

Show notes

Dustin is still roaming aimlessly around Japan (he'll be back next week), and the news has been slow in our beloved industry, leaving me (Colin) and Chris up to our own devices. And yet, there are still a few interesting tidbits to discuss. For starters, PS5's Astro Bot is getting weekly -- and totally free -- content over the next month-plus, while the Until Dawn film has been given an April '25 release date for its arrival in theaters as rumors surrounding a sequel to the 2015 game continue to percolate. Plus: Helldivers 2 received another major update, Sony revealed an in-person PlayStation concert series, Dino Crisis is locked to PS+ Premium for some reason, and Bandai Namco is reportedly exploring headcount reductions leveraging a shady Japanese corporate tradition: Oidashibeya, an evolution of another tactic called madogiwazoku. Listener inquiries tie things up on the back end, per usual. If Donald Trump wins the presidency, will gaming consoles in America be strapped with a tariff? Are we amped about the revival of the long-dormant and once-popular Backyard Sports series? Could Metaphor: ReFantazio appeal to JRPG fans that don't like Persona? Will Colin ever wake up after being put to sleep by a Dragon Age: The Veilguard-related question?

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#328 | 12th Time's A Charm Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

The long-awaited remake of Silent Hill 2 has finally arrived on PlayStation 5, and it's a hit. Players around the world are loving it, providing audiences with the very first acclaimed title from Polish studio Bloober Team. Indeed, many (including some on this show) questioned whether these guys were even up to the task, and reasonably so: Bloober's average Metacritic score across 11 previous PlayStation releases is a 65. But it's here, it's great, and we're excited to talk about it, along with other horror-themed fare in the form of Until Dawn Remake, too. Other news this week includes rumblings of a potential Concord F2P comeback, Ubisoft possibly being taken private, SEGA's surprise announcement of Alien: Isolation 2, the delisting of LittleBigPlanet 3 from the PSN, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Are scalpers merely serving a necessary purpose on the free market? Should everyone cut Assassin's Creed: Shadows a little bit of slack? Has Atlus overcome Square Enix as the industry's most prolific JRPG publisher? Will the New York Jets ever stop ruining Colin's life?

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#327 | Electric Eyes Are Everywhere Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

Last week, many tried -- and most failed -- to get their hands on the extremely limited PlayStation 5 Pro 30th Anniversary Edition, of which only 12,000-ish units were made. But the crush on PlayStation Direct for regular Pro units and other 30th anniversary accoutrements all at the same time led to a lot of disappointment. What did each of us come out of the scuffle with, and how do we think Sony can better manage special events like this, where loyalty and engagement should matter a whole lot more than random queue placement. Plus: PSN goes down for a surprising amount of time, HBO's second season of The Last of Us gets a trailer, something seems up between Sony and Square Enix, Dragon Quest's creator isn't too happy about censorship, and more. Then: Listener inquiries. With some distance now established, what are our overarching thoughts on the PlayStation Portable? Where is Capcom's Pragmata hiding, and will it ever come out? Are in-game Photo Modes actually popular? Can we contain our laughter at watching someone playing Heavy Rain without doing any of the QTEs?

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#326 | Stirring Ghosts Sep 30, 2024

Show notes

With a fresh State of Play now behind us, it felt like a good opportunity to publish this week's Sacred Symbols early for our paying audience on Patreon. And yes: There's cause for celebration. After years of dormancy, Sony-owned studio Sucker Punch has finally revealed its sequel to 2020's Ghost of Tsushima. It's called Ghost of Yotei, and it launches exclusively on PlayStation 5 in 2025. But the recent presentation was chock-full of other games, too, including lingering remasters from times past, like Soul Reaver and Lunar. And -- yes, indeed! -- the rumors surrounding Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered are real, too. From Hell Is Us and Fantasian Neo Dimension to LEGO Horizon Adventures and a new Yakuza title, we've got a lot to discuss. We wrap things up with listener inquiries, as is our tradition. Is the games industry missing a vital source of positive energy by eschewing live events? Will Square Enix ever port the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy to modern hardware? Could Helldivers 2 be in the midst of a major comeback? Do the New York Jets have Colin feeling a special sort of way?

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#325 | The Relentless March of Progress Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

It seems like just yesterday that PS5 Pro was officially revealed, so in that context, we have some weird news for you: It's time to talk about PlayStation 6. Some of the first hard reporting on Sony's future console has emerged from newswire Reuters, and there are some interesting details within. But we have plenty of time to look backwards, too, because Vita classic Freedom Wars is being ported to PS5, as-is Horizon: Zero Dawn (though some people think we don't exactly need the latter one). Other news this week includes fresh information about Concord's demise, a ton of new PlayStation 30th Anniversary console and accessory announcements, rumors of Marathon's price point, and more. Listener inquiries end the show, as usual. Is it time for some 7th console generation revisionist history? Are naysayers going to be dead-wrong about the demand for a new Pro console? Will the price of next-gen consoles stagger or surprise? Can loud gulpers and chewers ever own their own behavior and stand down?

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#324 | Astronomical Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

It's been an exciting week in the world of PlayStation. On the software front, Team Asobi's Astro Bot has arrived on PS5, and everyone loves it, us included. We gush about it in the What We're Playing section of the show, and encourage all of you to give it a try if you haven't already. Meanwhile, over in hardware territory, the long-lingering PlayStation 5 Pro has been officially revealed for a November release. Some people are excited about the machine (the three of us will each be buying our own for launch), but many others aren't pleased at the high price, the lack of a disc drive, and even what the machine can do. Who's right? It turns out everyone is! Capitalism will sort this whole thing, one way or another... but something tells us PS5 Pro will be just fine. Other news this week includes John Garvin's most recent Days Gone-related Twitter episode, a slight increase in the cost of a new DualSense, a fresh approach for future Destiny 2 content, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why would a band ever turn down an opportunity to have their music in Grand Theft Auto VI? Could Ubisoft 'go private' and repair its deepening financial woes? How can we justify buying a game at launch when the product is always cheaper and in better shape later on? Are everyone's cats and dogs safe and sound?

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#323 | Losing the Northstar Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

The situation with Concord couldn't be any more dire. By the time this podcast is published, Sony's beleaguered hero shooter would have already been pulled offline, with every purchaser refunded. It marks the tragic end of a project that barely got off the ground at all, and certainly represents the biggest black eye PlayStation first party has ever experienced in its near-30 year history. We spend a lot of time going over everything that went wrong, and all such a failure implies: Poor vision, lacking leadership, and utter directionlessness. It's as if Sony execs completely lost sight of what's important, and no: It has nothing to do with Concord being multiplayer. Other news this week includes Hideaki Itsuno's exit from Capcom after three decades, layoffs plaguing a bunch of studios (including a PlayStation second party that hasn't even released its game yet), and more. Listener inquiries round things out, as always. What's the deal with this Wukong exclusivity drama? Should we be happy or concerned about Annapurna investment in Remedy's future projects? Are we suffering from a glut of "ugly characters" in video games? Is Chris prepared to hear a fact about the cast of Foamstars from which he may never be able to recover?

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#322 | Conquered Sep 02, 2024

Show notes

It seems all any of you want to talk about is Concord, Sony-owned studio Firewalk's dead-on-arrival service shooter, and easily one of the biggest commercial bombs in PlayStation first party history. We have a lot to say about it, and you can find that chatter in the What We're Playing section. But there's a ton of other news this week, too, including more PS5 Pro leaks that show us what the console actually looks like, further trials and tribulations at Bungie, the announcement of Sony's MENA Hero Project incubation effort, Blue Protocol's cancellation, Foamstars going free-to-play, a looming strike at French studio Spiders, and more. Then: Listener inquiries. What can Sony do to ensure Fairgames doesn't fall into the same traps Concord did? Should PlayStation Studios be pursuing single player-friendly games-as-a-service, a la MiHoYo titles? Do we criticize or commend Konami for seemingly changing very little in MGS3 remake Metal Gear Solid Delta? What did Colin think of a particularly eldritch video Chris recommended, ranking Sonic's most attractive characters?

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#321 | Stolen Treasure Aug 26, 2024

Show notes

What we assumed would ultimately happen has come to pass: Machinegames' upcoming Indiana Jones title is indeed coming to PlayStation 5. Between Minecraft, Call of Duty, and Bethesda -- not to mention Xbox Studios itself -- Microsoft has quickly become one of Sony's biggest third party partners, and we suspect things are still just getting started. Other news this week includes the announcement of Borderlands 4, new Mafia and Dying Light games, word of Sea of Thieves' meteoric success on PS5, impressive Silent Hill 2 Remake gameplay footage, tons of Astro Bot spoilers, pricing details for Until Dawn Remake, and more. As usual, listener inquiries help us round things out. How come rank-and-file developers never get the blame for bad games? Can Chris guide a new Destiny 2 player through the trials and tribulations of figuring things out? Which upcoming PlayStation-aligned game-as-a-service has the most potential? Has Colin yet again offended the sensibilities of the Irish?

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