Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#240 | God of Dollars Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

In only about 10 weeks on the market, God of War: Ragnarok has grossed (give or take) around $750 million. At 11 million units sold and counting, it's a stark reminder that -- yes indeed! -- people will buy games, buy them at a high price point, and buy them in great quantities. All that's necessary is for that product to be special. Having already made back Ragnarok's development and marketing costs several times, what's next for Santa Monica Studio? Behold yet another Sony money printer! Plus: PlayStation 5 sales are very strong, a sequel to an older PlayStation game is quietly (but blatantly) revealed, PSVR2's strengths and weaknesses are called into question weeks before launch, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! How do we feel about James Gunn's attempts to tie DC games into their larger entertainment universe? Will changes to Resident Evil 4 ruin the remake? Does Amy Hennig get too much credit for Uncharted? Can we learn to embrace the power of the badger?

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#239 | Forgetting Bruce Straley Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

Think back a ways, to the lead-up to The Last of Us' launch on PlayStation 3. There wasn't one name -- but two! -- oft-invoked in media: Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley. The duo's work was well-established in the Uncharted series, and they would later rescue Uncharted 4 from development tribulations as a team. But the team split apart, and these days, Druckmann is the focal point of PlayStation's internal development efforts while Straley is a ghost of times past. A recent LA Times piece allowed Straley to elaborate on the situation, which led us to a Sacred Symbols-style deep discussion on Naughty Dog, credit, Neil and Bruce's seeming divorce, and what's fair and isn't when it comes to game development. Of course, news also plays a central role in this week's episode, as it always does. Square Enix is finally squashing its questionable Avengers game, BioWare loses arguably its most prolific writer, Spider-Man 2 rumblings have everyone excited, Forspoken launches into a questionable environment, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Have we ever managed to score a game at retail before its street date? What would a modern Nintendo and PlayStation collaboration look like? Would Colin ever interview Adam Sessler on Sacred+? Are people making up tall tales specifically to be included on our show?

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#238 | Ad Astra Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Long-percolating rumors have been confirmed: Housemarque's wonderful third-person PS5 shooter Returnal is headed to PC, and you're going to need a beefy rig to enjoy all it has to offer. But not all is well in the stars. Krafton's The Callisto Protocol, released in December to middling reviews, was also met with soft sales. Somehow, the publisher spent something like $160 million over three years making the game, and the project is very much in the red. How could things have gone so poorly for such a promising title? And how is it possible that something like Callisto cost literally 10 times what it took for Remedy to make Control, and five times what they're spending on its sequel? Tons of sales data, discussions about Atomic Heart and Hogwarts Legacy, and more round out this week's news offerings, as we then delve into listener inquiries from Patreon. Should we expect Sony to make more acquisitions this year? Are recent layoffs at Microsoft at all emblematic of issues with the Xbox brand? Is the end nigh for GameSpot and Giant Bomb? Will one listener ever find out who the mystery person in the bathroom was? You know, the one listening to Sacred Symbols while doing his business?

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#237 | Fading Ubiquity Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

Not too long ago, Ubisoft was one of the most powerful publishing entities in all of video games. Today, it's a beleaguered entity haunted by an absurdly high headcount and a development pipeline ill-suited for modern trends. The result has been an in-progress collapse notable enough to warrant an extensive update from the company itself, alongside a flurry of cancelled projects and ominous adjusted financial expectations in a worsening economy. The long and the short is: Ubisoft has big changes coming, and we're eager to talk about all that's gone wrong, and what may go right in the future. Other news includes rumors of a second party People Can Fly-developed shooter for PS5, the faux story about vertical PS5s breaking, and the embarrassing Limited Run Games fiasco, plus more. We then end this week not as we traditionally do -- with six questions from the audience -- but rather with our Game of the Year awards, the most prestigious and important you can possibly imagine. We also focus-in on a listener who wrote in about his teeth-brushing habits, and... well... we'll leave it for the show.

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#236 | Science Is The Captain Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

It's easy enough to forget (especially these days) that Sony is, first and foremost, an electronics company. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the company showed up to CES not only to show off its upcoming PlayStation VR2, but also something brand new: A fresh controller codenamed Project Leonardo, one designed with maximum accessibility in mind. By leveraging the power of tech, video games can reach even more people if they simply cater to them, and when it comes to the disabled, Microsoft proved nearly five years ago that their so-called adaptive controller represented something real. It's finally time for Sony to follow suit. Plus: PlayStation 5 surpasses 30 million units sold, The Last of Us: Factions gets teased yet again, Hitman turns into the World of Assassination, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is gaming culture broken? How important was Shuhei Yoshida to PlayStation's first party output? When can we expect to (at last!) play Six Days in Fallujah? Is hand sanitizer essential, or a prophet of dryness?

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#235 | Our Most Anticipated Games of 2023 Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

2022 is but a fleeting memory. Thus, as the calendar turns over, we thought it would be best to look ahead. As is our tradition, it's time for Sacred Symbols to talk about our most-anticipated games of the next 12 months. 2023 is shaping up to be a far, far stronger year than 2022, an especially bold proclamation considering we know virtually nothing about what's coming from either first or second party. Indeed, none of our 15 selections are PlayStation-published games, but -- naturally -- all of them are coming to PS5, PS4, or both. Without further ado, we present to you the upcoming adventures that've piqued our interest the most.

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#234 | Our Favorite PlayStation Moments of 2022 Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

It's time once more for our annual Sacred Symbols tradition: Recounting and discussing the most memorable and interesting moments from the last 12 months of PlayStation. The reality is, this year was quiet on the first and second party front, at least when it comes to news (the games were dope, as always). But much happened that's worth going over again: Sony's acquisition of Bungie, Haven's potential promise, PS+'s struggles, and more. Then, there's everything in orbit around PlayStation: The Abandoned saga, Cyberpunk's revival, Square Enix's firesale, EA's gambit with Koei Tecmo, and so much more. We appreciate your support, as always, on Sacred Symbols. Happy Holidays!

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#233 | Force Feed Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

Word of a third core The Last of Us game emanates from a reliable film industry-based source. If true, The Last of Us: Part III is one of at least two games in-development at Naughty Dog, news that is being met with equal parts excitement and disappointment. With other happenings pointing towards a God of War TV show at Amazon, and with so much of Sony's strategy seemingly relying on PlayStation's existing IP, it makes sense to wonder something very simple: Where are the new could-be franchises? When it comes to AAA fare, we've gotten one from the first and second party in PlayStation 5's entire lifecycle to date in the form of Returnal. Should we be concerned? Or should we put our faith into a brand that -- let's be honest -- has largely treated us very well over the last decade-plus, particularly when it comes to what matters most. Other news this week includes official word of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters' imminent PS4 release, the announcement of Ys X: Nordics, the exit of one of Media Molecule's co-founders from the studio after 16 years, and much more. Listener inquiries wrap things up as always, touching on topics like noisy controllers, the proper way to play Death Stranding, the commercial triumph of Sonic Frontiers, and a compelling suggestion that Chris may in fact be a time traveller with an uncanny predictive flair.

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#232 | Should We Have Connected? Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

There's little doubt that this year's Video Game Awards was the strongest industry showcase in a long time, potentially in several years. Geoff Keighley did a great job, and he deserves credit as a great ambassador for our medium. But even more important than the VGAs, the winners, and the pomp and circumstance were the game reveals. PlayStation players are going to be eating very, very well in the years to come, particularly when you consider how full the schedule is without much of an inkling of what's coming from first and second party outside of Insomniac's Marvel duo. So let's dive extensively into Ken Levine's new BioShock-like banger Judas, Hideo Kojima's haunting and wonder-invoking Death Stranding 2, Guerrilla's beautiful LA-based Horizon: Forbidden West DLC called Burning Shores, a promising new action-RPG from Don't Nod titled Banishers: Ghost of New Eden, the return of From Software's dormant mech battler with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, 505's surprisingly fun-looking romp Crime Boss: Rockay City, Supergiant Games' first sequel ever in Hades II, and so much more. Other news this week includes the industry's unending obsession with Days Gone discourse, the FTC's decision to sue Microsoft over the Activision acquisition, and more. Is this the longest episode of Sacred Symbols ever? Yes... it sure is.

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#231 | The Hunt Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

Capcom's Monster Hunter is a years-long smash hit, but it really hit its stride on PS4 with Monster Hunter World, Capcom's best-selling game ever. So it was mysterious when Monster Hunter Rise was launched on Switch (and later PC), but never on PlayStation. Rumor has it that's all about to change. Rise is apparently due for PS4 and PS5 very soon -- in perhaps a month and a half -- and with it comes the promise of high-quality hunting not yet seen on PS5, a genre gap Capcom rival Electronic Arts was hoping to fill with its Omega Force-developed Wild Hearts (which it had no doubt hoped would go uncontested, but no longer will). Thus, we've much to discuss. PlayStation also released interesting new updates for its tournament structure, as well as Stars, new PS+ games have been revealed, scant details about Peacock's Twisted Metal TV series have been unearthed, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why doesn't Sony include New Game+ at launch with all first and second party titles? What game has the saddest opening ever? Which character is the current 'Face of PlayStation'? Is alliteration the most powerful determinant of a good name?

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