Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

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#140: The Cost of Immersion Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

There's little doubt Sony is near (or perhaps even at) the front of the race for mass-consumer virtual reality, and it's done a pretty nice job of putting its money where its mouth is. But with PSVR2 tacitly acknowledged and PSVR itself more than four years old, things are starting to slow down a little bit. Or are they? Out of left field, Sony has announced six new PlayStation VR games -- not PSVR2, PSVR -- all of which are due out by the end of 2021. These half-dozen titles create a tantalizing picture of VR's near-future, but at what cost? Why did Sony reveal these titles all at once, how does their strategy line-up with the future of their VR initiative... and are we not paying enough attention to VR on this very show? We discuss. Plus: News galore! Neil Druckmann and Cory Barlog both tell their fans to be patient for their next games, Japan Studio is indeed being taken over by Team ASOBI, Final Fantasy VII Remake's PS5 port is causing some confusion, live-action Nathan Drake actor Tom Holland sounds like he doesn't even know who Nathan Drake is, and much more. Then: Listener inquiries! What's the deal with fanboys? How do we approach cable management? Do PlayStation games go on sale too often and too quickly? Why doesn't Chris tell his mom he loves her when he hangs up the phone? All of that -- and more! -- on the other side of the play button.

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#139: Salvo Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

The PlayStation world is in absolute overdrive right now, at least on the news front (not so much on the games front). Such is typically the case when a new State of Play stream occurs. The new one gave us some interesting items to consider -- fresh looks at Returnal and Deathloop, for instance -- but learning about Final Fantasy VII Remake's PlayStation 5-exclusive DLC definitely takes the cake. Yet, we have to ask: Are States of Play all-too-transparent marketing gimmicks dressed up as fan events? Let's discuss. Plus: News galore! Sony has officially announced PSVR2 (though it's unclear why), Days Gone is going to PC (with more first party games behind it), EA has officially pulled the plug on Anthem (perhaps a year or more too late), Gran Turismo 7 has been pushed out of 2021 (but only into 2022), and much more. As always, we round things out with listener inquiries, this week ranging in topics from the hypothetical value of Square Enix on the open market and the usefulness of games as a coping tool to the perfect devs to take on Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid and Chris' peculiar New York dialect.

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#138: A Vicious Cycle Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

Who knew that we'd talk about Six Days in Fallujah for two weeks in a row some 12 years after the original iteration of the contentious game was cancelled. Yet, it's all our sphere wants to talk about, as the FPS revival of Six Days is drawing the ire of predictable industry-types. The question, though, is simple: When does criticism of a game stop being about the game itself, and start being about the critic? This is a deep subject, so naturally, we dive right in. Plus: The DualSense class action lawsuit is on, Avengers is getting its PS5 update very soon, Legends of Mana, Ninja Gaiden, and even Xbox-exclusive Stubbs the Zombie are all PS4-bound, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Does G4's revival have any prayer of succeeding? Following the recent Nintendo Direct, are we hankering for a State of Play? Does Project Triangle Strategy tickle Colin's SRPG itch? Is Chris in action figure form as eldritch as it sounds?

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#137: Combat Evolved Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

After a slow start to 2021, news has finally arrived via a rather compelling trio of items germane to our show. For starters, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart finally has a release date on PlayStation 5, while HBO's planned The Last of Us series casts both its Joel and Ellie. We chat about both in great detail. But perhaps the most intriguing piece of news comes in the form of Six Days in Fallujah. Yes, -that- Six Days in Fallujah, the third-person tactical shooter that was virtually finished in 2009, only to be unceremoniously cancelled due to perceived audience outrage. Yet, the game is returning -- remade and now in first-person -- and it will indeed endeavor to tell the story of The Battle of Fallujah, the bloodiest engagement American forces took place in throughout the entire Iraq War. It's a controversial move for many reasons (not least of which due to claims of war crimes during the engagement), but are we glad it's coming back? We sure are! Plus: GTAV is still selling millions and millions (and millions) of copies, a bunch of publishers talk sales data and financial performance, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Whatever happened to woodgrain consoles? Will Square Enix ever revive Sleeping Dogs? Why doesn't Remedy's Sam Lake get more love? Does Chris sleep in a twin-size bed? Inquiring minds want to know!

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#136: Absolute Scarcity Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Sony is thriving. The Japanese mega-company released its quarterly financial results showing a healthy, growing, and forward-thinking organization that's doing a lot right. Especially when it comes to PlayStation. Yet, buried in their financials and accompanying phone calls and interviews is some bad news: PS5 is being sold at a loss, for starters, and worse yet, it doesn't appear Sony is confident that they'll be able to fix the console's supply constraints any time soon. In other words, they're in a frustrating period of what economists call Absolute Scarcity, and it spells bad news for those still on the hunt. We discuss. Plus: The Embracer Group buys Gearbox, San Diego Studio finally shows off this year's MLB: The Show (which is also coming to Xbox for the first time), EA's NCAA Football is about to make a comeback, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Are we finally about to hit our next-gen stride in May? Is there a fundamental ergonomic problem with DualSense that needs to be fixed? Are PlayStation Store sales getting the best of us? How much Snapple can Chris possibly drink at one time?

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#135: Stock and Bond Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

All anyone wants to talk about is the recent GameStop stock market fiasco. Well, fine! We'll do just that. Let's chat about capitalism, "the market," class, and much more, sifting down into the actual nitty-gritty: How did a dying brick-and-mortar video game store find itself at the center of one of the most memorable global financial stories in recent history? But there's other news, too, of course, specifically out of Denmark, where IO Interactive is doubling its headcount as it gears up for its post-Hitman foray into 007. What should we expect from Bond's digital revival? Plus: February's PS+ games have been revealed, Returnal has been delayed, and we have some bad news about continued PlayStation 5 shortages. Then: Listener inquiries! When is Sony San Diego gonna talk about MLB: The Show? How come so many multiplayer games are resisting cross-platform play? Will we ever escape from the Gamergate boogieman? Can Colin resist giving a spelling and grammar lesson to one unsuspecting Patron?

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#134: Stubborn Ghosts Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

If we're being totally honest, Capcom's recent Resident Evil Village event was largely a waste of time, considering we could have just watched gameplay and gotten a release date without the false promise of an "event." But it was awesome to more thoroughly see the newest entry in the company's long-running survival horror franchise, and we simply cannot wait to play it. Yet, with RE8 now coming to PS4 in addition to PS5, it begs the question: When will publishers and developers more readily say goodbye to last-gen, even if it means leaving behind a whole host of potential customers? We've never seen the industry operate in cross-generational space like this, and so we've much to discuss. Plus: More tiresome Cyberpunk 2077 news emerges, Team Ninja speaks about the future of both Nioh and Ninja Gaiden, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! What's with PlayStation 5's missing entertainment apps? Is Naughty Dog about to go 'high fantasy'? Or perhaps they'll make a Punisher game instead? Is the word "callipygian" the new "thicc?"

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#133: A New Hope Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

When Electronic Arts signed a 10-year exclusive development and publishing deal with Disney for the Star Wars license, it had the potential to be something huge for the lucrative (but oft-under siege) companies. Eight years later, though, it's clear both sides (and EA in particular) have largely squandered the deal, with a couple of Battlefronts, a Rogue Squadron revival, and an admittedly very promising single-player game to show for it. Yet, in the bleakness comes unexpected news, for the monopoly, as it turns out, is broken. Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment -- the group behind The Division -- is hard-at-work on a Star Wars game of its own, begging a rather obvious question: What could it be? We discuss. Plus: A new Killzone seems more unlikely than ever, the team behind Wolfenstein is making a new Indiana Jones game, newly-filed trademarks from Square Enix indicate a widening of the Final Fantasy VII universe, CD Projekt offers a mea culpa over Cyberpunk 2077, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Will Colin really play Final Fantasy XIV? Is Sony spying on our PSN messages? Where's MLB: The Show 21? Should potato chips be eaten ice cold?

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#132: Divining the Details Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

For some peculiar reason, Sony simply refuses to officially announce how many PlayStation 5 consoles have been sold, which leaves us only one choice: We've gotta speculate. Really, we can actually do a little bit better than that -- reliable inside sources note PS5 is a meteoric success -- but we're left to wonder why Sony won't say anything itself. Say something, why don't you?! Plus: Cyberpunk 2077 draws its first class-action lawsuit, People Can Fly's Outriders has been delayed, Tenchu may be coming back, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Should Colin be excited about Final Fantasy XVI when he didn't care for XV? Is SEGA about to experience a Capcom-like resurgence? Which 2021 PlayStation exclusive will score highest on Metacritic? If you could flip a coin and either win $50 million or die, would you do it?

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#131: Our Most Anticipated Games of 2021 Jan 03, 2021

Show notes

Thank the maker: 2020 is behind us! Now, 2021 sprawls before us with 12 promising months of gaming goodness on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, and even Vita! (Okay, probably not the Vita.) To celebrate the exciting and unknown, we thought we'd do a special show dedicated entirely to the 2021 catalog of games coming to PlayStation that we simply can't wait to get our hands on. We present to you 13 of our own selections, and you -- our beautiful audience -- gave us plenty of your own additions, too. So let's look forward. Let's be thorough. And let's have a little bit of fun before half of these games inevitably get delayed or otherwise disappoint us. (Only kidding... we hope.)

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