Episodes

  • #333 | Waking, Believing, Running

    #333 | Waking, Believing, Running
    Nov 18 2024
    With profits falling and first party game releases scarce, it seemed like PlayStation's positive commercial situation may have been softening. But Sony's newest financial report illustrates a rosy picture, with ballooning sales, impressive margins, and a brighter software-driven future that promises more of the brand's bread-and-butter: First party, single-player AAA fare. With a temporary PS5 price cut now instituted, rumors of Guerrilla's Horizon Online targeting a 2025 release date, and so on, it appears PlayStation may be back-on-track and off to the races. Other news this week includes even more confirmation that Xbox games will continue to migrate to PlayStation in greater numbers, a potential tease of a Sony event commemorating PSone's 30th anniversary, Amazon finally getting a Mass Effect TV show off the ground, and more. Then, we wrap up with listener inquiries. Have we started thinking about what our respective "Game of the Year" might be? How come Game of Thrones never got an adequate (or even great) video game rendition? Is it possible to play the "biggest" and "best" games on a budget? Can we all agree that Christmas trees shouldn't be put out until November at the earliest? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:26:20 - Secret pooper 0:40:15 - Christmas decorations in August 0:43:25 - Colin and Micah's 1 year anniversary 0:47:41 - Lillymo's next game 0:50:03 - PS5 Pro experience so far 1:06:13 - RIP Tony Tod 1:11:38 - A few PSAs 1:13:47 - Sony is teasing something for December 3rd 1:19:34 - Horizon Online in 2025? 1:26:32 - More Xbox games coming to PlayStation 1:46:46 - New Indiana Jones gameplay video 1:53:32 - Mass Effect TV show coming from Amazon 2:05:19 - What Are We Playing? 2:27:54 - Sony Financials 2:44:32 - New PS Plus games 2:53:06 - Best Selling PSN Games for October 3:01:29 - Are we ready to decide Game of the Year? 3:08:46 - Are FPS games losing their visual identity? 3:17:04 - Paywalled articles is theft? 3:30:07 - When will PlayStation make a handheld? 3:37:37 - Why isn't there a good Game of Thrones game? 3:42:39 - Is gaming a luxury hobby? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    4 hrs and 5 mins
  • #332 | Through A Fractal on a Breaking Wall

    #332 | Through A Fractal on a Breaking Wall
    Nov 11 2024
    Barriers continue to erode in our industry, with the surprising news that one-time PlayStation exclusive Death Stranding would be migrating to Xbox platforms on the fifth anniversary (to the day) of its launch on PS4. Taken along with Sony publishing games like Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade that it never owned outright to begin with -- a truly marked change from prior behavior -- what does the brand's increasing flexibility mean for its traditionally robust and powerful exclusives catalog? Is openness a vital component of keeping the games flowing in the modern era? And with yet another Xbox game seemingly en route to PS5 in the form of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, how are things moving in the other direction? Other news this week includes fresh word of a Hogwarts Legacy sequel, confirmation of Grand Theft Auto VI's release season, Take Two's sale of AA label Private Division, and more. Listener inquiries help us round things out, per usual. How do we define "the modern audience?" Is gaming an important component of our respective relationships? Has replayability taken a nosedive this generation? How did the interaction between a listener's mother and Colin go when she encountered him walking his dogs? Try VIIA! https://bit.ly/viiasacredsymbols and use code SACRED! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:18:23 - Joseph's mom 0:21:16 - Daylight Savings time 0:27:48 - Time to put up Christmas decorations? 0:38:24 - Take Two confirms GTA VI next year and sells Private Division 0:52:18 - Alan Wake 2 is still not profitable 1:02:51 - List of PS5 Pro enabled games 1:06:46 - Bandai Namco trademarks two new games 1:12:40 - Death Stranding coming to Xbox 1:31:44 - What Are We Playing? 2:04:05 - HogLeg 2 is confirmed 2:15:11 - Age of Empires II coming to PlayStation 2:22:05 - Games media becoming more Political 2:44:29 - Who is the "modern audience"? 2:51:20 - Real world ads in EA games 2:54:48 - Can you have a long term relationship with someone who doesn't like games? 3:02:50 - Game replayability 3:09:43 - Time off playing games Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    3 hrs and 29 mins
  • #331 | I Can See Inside You, the Sickness Is Rising

    #331 | I Can See Inside You, the Sickness Is Rising
    Nov 4 2024
    It's not been a good week for PlayStation's vaunted first party studios. For starters, Insomniac's long-in-development licensed Marvel title Wolverine (first revealed to the public way back in 2021) has lost both its game and creative directors, an ominous sign that something has gone seriously wrong behind-the-scenes. Meanwhile, two Sony-owned teams -- Firewalk and Neon Koi -- have been shuttered outright, ending any glimpse of a return for the troubled service game Concord, and stymying mightily Sony's glacial mobile initiatives. Between blowing billions on Bungie, the disaster of the aforementioned Concord, the cancellation of a slate of fare (including The Last of Us Online), and a trickling first party pipeline, what exactly is going on at Sony? And who's responsible for this mess, anyway? We have an enormous amount to discuss. We wrap things up with listener inquiries, of course. What are some of our favorite defunct gaming websites? Should the Tales JRPG series be played in a certain order? Is Sonic experiencing a sales (and critical) renaissance? Can we stop with all the flagrant tipping, already? 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    4 hrs and 1 min
  • #330 | Milk It For All It's Worth

    #330 | Milk It For All It's Worth
    Oct 28 2024
    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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    4 hrs and 42 mins
  • #329 | Window Sitting in the Banishment Room

    #329 | Window Sitting in the Banishment Room
    Oct 21 2024
    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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    2 hrs and 55 mins
  • #328 | 12th Time's A Charm

    #328 | 12th Time's A Charm
    Oct 14 2024
    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? Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get $5 off of your Starter Pack (that’s over 40% off) with promo code SACRED at https://www.shopmando.com! #mandopod #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    3 hrs and 14 mins
  • #327 | Electric Eyes Are Everywhere

    #327 | Electric Eyes Are Everywhere
    Oct 7 2024
    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? 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 Get a free gift with your Journey Pack at https://www.tryfum.com with code SACRED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    4 hrs and 4 mins
  • #326 | Stirring Ghosts

    #326 | Stirring Ghosts
    Sep 30 2024
    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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    5 hrs and 11 mins