Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

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#270 | PlayStation Minus Sep 04, 2023

Show notes

For the first time since 2016, Sony has increased the price of its PlayStation Plus subscription, and the torches and pitchforks are out en masse. See, there's no doubt the increases are large -- $20 a year more at minimum is nothing to sneeze at -- but it's also important to assess what the service was when it launched in 2010 at $50, and what it's become today at $80 and above. Now's a better time than ever to truly assess what you even get out of PS+ to begin with; the answers people arrive at will be vastly different, as you'll witness during our extensive conversation. We also touch on other big news this week -- PlayStation Portal gets dated, Volition closes its doors after three decades, Sea of Stars does big numbers, and more -- and we wrap things up with a litany of listener inquiries, as is our tradition. What are our current thoughts on PlayStation Stars? Is the console gaming gender gap officially closed? Could big sites and creators do more to avoid spoiling products? Will Colin ever recover from Dustin and Chris not understanding his Can't Hardly Wait reference?

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#269 | Second Screen Experiments Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

The long-awaited Project Q is officially called PlayStation Portal, and the reaction to it has been surprisingly divisive. Priced at $200 and intended purely as a remote play option for PS5, some potential players see obvious use cases while others think this entire initiative is a waste of time and money. Here on Sacred, we have three different opinions to present you with about the future of Portal, and why it might be a mightier machine than some think. Plus: Sony announces new high-end audio devices for PlayStation while gobbling up a boutique headphone company, release dates have been revealed for games like Granblue Fantasy: Relink and Persona 3, BioWare lays off 50 employees, Geoff Keighley finds himself under siege on-stage at Gamescom, and more news followed -- as always -- by listener inquiries. Has game writing hit an all-time low? Which game world (if any) would we like to visit? Will we ever escape the era of the sequel? Is Colin a secret glizzy gobbler?

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#268 | Baldur's Great Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

In early September, prominent CRPG Baldur's Gate III migrates from PC to PlayStation 5, and it sounds like it may just be what the doctor ordered. A deep role-playing experience chock-full of choice and consequence -- and layered with a thick patina of polish -- could potentially sell millions of copies on PS5. Will the critically acclaimed, purportedly amazing experience successfully catapult from computer to console? And should we expect it to stem the tide until Spider-Man 2 arrives? Other items this week include fresh release dates for Assassin's Creed: Mirage and Alan Wake II, the reveal of new TMNT and South Park games, a horrible-looking Walking Dead title arriving this fall, and an inopportune quote from Square Enix executive producer Yoshi-P that unintentionally fed eager fanboys. Listener inquiries round things out, per usual. Why do people encumber themselves with a backlog? How do we navigate our personal relationships when it comes to making the time necessary to play games? Is Sony's silence starting to become conspicuous, and even worrying? Will Colin strike back on Dustin's bad take-calling?

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#267 | Funny Money Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

Is PlayStation doing well? It's easy to answer "yes" after reading Sony's recent quarterly financial reports, which shows exploding levels of revenue, with a lower-than-expected profit margin scaring markets (even as the Japanese behemoth remains in the black). Then again, that something as relatively cheap as Bungie's acquisition could in part affect the firm's wider earnings is a sign that Sony simply isn't on the level of its competition when it comes to purchasing power, and thus it needs to be more deliberate and cautious. Should we be worried about PlayStation's trajectory, specifically with a seeming dearth of known first and second party games beyond Spider-Man 2 and Helldivers 2? Heck, did Final Fantasy XVI undersell after all, potentially fracturing their relationship with Square Enix? As usual, we've much to discuss. Other news this week includes an analysis of Rockstar's questionable Red Dead Redemption PS4 port, controversy surrounding PSVR2, Twisted Metal's excellent performance on Peacock, and much more. Listener inquiries wrap things up, as usual. Should we tip our cap to Fortnite for a job well done? Are Nintendo's recent patents a step too far for game development? Why do some people think Starfield will fail when it's obvious it won't? Will Colin survive hearing a list of his perceived worst takes?

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#266 | Mysteries of the Universe Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

On this week's episode of Sacred Symbols, we delve into a series of perplexing and puzzling enigmas. Will Helldivers launch in October, as rumors indicate? Could PS5's new firmware update allow desperate husbands to dodge the ire of their angry wives? Should Anita Sarkeesian's sunsetting Feminist Frequency brand hold a positive legacy in our industry? Why is EA bringing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor backwards to PS4 in the year of our lord 2023? All of that, plus more news and a series of listener inquiries that will simply add more question marks to an already question mark-laden description. Are people who invert the Y-axis (like Colin) touched in the head? Is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart too short? Will PS5 Pro disrupt the development flow of regular PlayStation 5 games? Is Chris racist against aliens from space?

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/symbols and get on your way to being your best self

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#265 | Total Mindshare Jul 31, 2023

Show notes

At 40 million units sold after 32 months, PlayStation 5 is only half-a-quarter behind PS4's prodigious sales pace. This is a big deal for a console that was launched into a pandemic economy that made it extremely difficult for people to find a machine for nearly two straight years, not to mention afford one, what with eroding purchasing power due to inflation. Now, the question becomes -- with Project Q and a PS5 Pro around the corner -- can PlayStation 5 continue its meteoric sales trend? Plus: Sony's investment into China continues to pay off, with a trio of new China Hero Games revealed for PlayStation 5, while it appears that Insomniac is making a third AAA game concurrent to Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine, which is mighty intriguing. We wrap up our recording, as we always do, with listener inquiries. What does the word "retro" mean in today's gaming environment? With recent happenings, is it high time we get a UFO abduction game? Will Sekiro go down as one of FromSoft's most-revered titles? Is Arizona about to disintegrate off the face of the Earth?

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#264 | Modern Lawfare Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

It looks like we can finally -- finally! -- stop talking about Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, at least on this podcast. That's because PlayStation settled on what it frankly could have always had, namely a 10 year deal for access to Call of Duty that runs into the mid-2030s, keeping the cash-cow franchise on Sony hardware for a long time to come. Is this an ideal situation for Sony? Certainly not. But that's their problem, not ours, and at least we can flip the page to make way for more interesting topics! Other news this week includes an interesting, years-late update to Dreams that could have at one time saved it from inevitable failure, drama surrounding the PC launch of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, release dates for Firewall Ultra and Goodbye Volcano High, and -- perhaps most importantly -- PlayStation 5's meteoric sales, as it continues to move at an extremely brisk pace around the globe. Listener inquiries wrap the show up, per usual, touching on topics like Baldur's Gate III, the potential return of Einhander, the PlayStation-centric censorship of indie title LISA, and thoughts on whether Colin compliments Dustin enough, which apparently he doesn't.

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#263 | Endless Horizons Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

Sony finds itself in a pickle, or so it seems from the outside. With ever-burgeoning development costs comes the reality that new IP is an increasingly-risky endeavor. The safer and more reliable route, it could be argued, is in doubling-down on what works. And let's be real: Guerrilla-developed Horizon works. The two core games have sold 33 million units combined across PS4, PS5, and PC. The question, though, is how much does Horizon work? Could a good thing become a bad thing through simple repetition? This week, we discuss the future of Horizon (not to mention the past of Killzone) via reporting from an enlightening panel conducted with the leadership of Guerrilla, and we're forced to confront a reality where Horizon never truly disappears. Other notable news this week includes the retirement of legendary Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells, The Last of Us' ridiculously successful run of Emmy nominations, Sony's new investments into live service, and more. Inquiries from the audience end the show, as usual. What does SEGA's unionization mean for the future of industry labor? Can 2D games simply be too difficult for some people to handle? Is D&D more nerdy than anime? If you had to stop at a gas station right now, what would be your go-to snack and drink choices?

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#262 | Well It's A Dirty Job, But Someone's Gotta Do It Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Like a meteor from the sky -- or perhaps a capsule drop from orbit -- Sony second party partner Arrowhead randomly released new information about its upcoming co-op-based third-person shooter Helldivers II, including new gameplay footage. Arcadey, difficult, and sarcastic, Helldivers II aims to recognizably evolve 2015's PS4, PS3, and Vita original, and a 2023 release window has thankfully been reiterated. Let's discuss the promise of killing bugs and fellow humans (intentionally or otherwise) in the name of Super-Earth. We also go through recent rumors surrounding a purported The Last of Us: Part III and the upcoming Team Ninja PS5 exclusive Rise of the Ronin, chronicle ongoing troubles with PlayStation's nascent mobile initiative, and more, and we wrap things up with a salvo of listener inquiries. What are our feelings on 2D Soulsborne games? Do box office bombs in the movie space portend a rough future for our AAA industry? How could Sony best celebrate its various IP in a single product? Will Daffy Duck star in Kingdom Hearts IV?

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/symbols and get on your way to being your best self

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#261 | Imagine Accepting the Truth Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

Whether Microsoft completes its acquisition of Activision or not, the FTC's legal assault on the company has nonetheless exposed Sony's archrival's strategy for all to see. Xbox's argument is a simple one: Thoroughly outclassed by their competitors with access to orders of magnitude fewer resources over a continuous period of more than two decades, their only way to compete is through brute force. Microsoft isn't wrong for acting like a corporation seeking profit. The bigger question is why anyone would root for them when they've shown little true feel for the business, as evidenced by their lack of success relative to their competition. We spend more than two hours going through all of the interesting tidbits from the FTC vs. Microsoft, not through the lens of whether the deal will go through, but via all the interesting information we've garnered through discovery, deposition, and testimony. We also spend more than an hour talking about our time (so far) with Final Fantasy XVI, which very easily slides into the Game of the Year category with its exceptional gameplay and riveting story. We bounce around to other news items, too, before leaving you -- as always -- with listener inquiries. How can PlayStation salvage the early-damaged reputations of Concord and Fairgames? Will there ever be a single-player FPS renaissance? Should increased dev time equal the end of gaming trilogies? Could Colin and Chris write a successful remake of Billy Joel's classic We Didn't Start the Fire?

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