Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

• #349 | The Last of Us, Seriously

  We're on the verge of the second season of HBO's The Last of Us, and yet new questions percolate about whether we'll ever see another game in Naughty Dog's vaunted series. In a recent interview, Neil Druckmann told fans "don't bet on there being more," which is both alluringly ominous and obviously vague. That's good news for us, though, since it gives us plenty to discuss. Do we need more? Do we want more? Should we get more? Plus: Rumors are ramping up about one-time Xbox titan Gears of War migrating to PlayStation 5 later this year, while details related to Firesprite's cancelled Twisted Metal project have leaked. Also: PlayStation 2 turns 25 years old in Japan, Until Dawn Remake studio Ballistic Moon goes belly-up, a key Bungie designer joins Guerrilla, Monster Hunter Wilds smashes Capcom sales records, and more. Finally: Listener inquiries! Is it possible that Grand Theft Auto VI fails to meet either critical or commercial expectations, or perhaps both? What are our reflections on PS5 Pro now that we've had our own for some months? Should Canadians stop buying games from American publishers and developers in retaliation of US tariffs? Will Colin ever forgive his brother for continuously referring to himself as "The Dagster"? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:14:43 - Get well soon Bishop! 0:19:09 - Squeaking chair 0:22:12 - 5 thing we achieved this past week 0:30:45 - Last show's debauchery 0:39:57 - "The Dagster" 0:42:56 - Wonder Woman 0:49:23 - Twin Breaker is now on PS5! 0:51:32 - Terminator 2D: No Fate 0:52:58 - Happy Birthday PS2 1:01:52 - Layoffs at PlayStation 1:06:40 - Until Dawn Remake dev shut down 1:15:19 - PS3 update 1:17:21 - Variety's interview with Druckmann and Mazin 1:23:43 - New TLoU controller 1:25:46 - Cancelled Twisted Metal game details leak 1:31:28 - Ex-Bungie designer joins Guerilla 1:35:50 - Forza Horizon 5 releases April 29 on PS5 1:39:29 - Call of Duty 2025 will remain on PS4 1:44:32 - Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 is real 1:49:35 - Monster Hunter Wilds sells 8 million 1:50:21 - La Quimera 1:54:56 - What Are We Playing? 2:16:51 - Gears of War coming to PS5 2:33:53 - New India Hero Project games 2:38:53 - PlayStation beta program 2:45:28 - Acclaim is back 2:57:56 - What if GTA VI disappoints? 3:04:08 - Boycotting American games 3:13:23 - PS5 Pro check in 3:21:37 - Portal's lack of bluetooth 3:26:31 - Auto popping trophies 3:30:48 - Capcom and Mega Man Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• #348 | Warning Brothers

  In 2022, approximately 8,500 people lost their jobs in the games industry. In 2023, that number rose to 10,500, and just last year it ballooned to an unfathomable 14,600. Will it be worse this year? That's currently unknowable, but one thing's certain: Industry playing and spending habits are radically changing, and the newest victim of the environment (and loads of really bad choices along the way) is Warner Bros. Games, which shut down three studios (including the vaunted team Monolith Productions, cancelling its Wonder Woman project in the process) while declaring it's all-in on very specific IP, but nothing more. Is WB Games' meltdown a cautionary tale? Or is it a simple example of more-of-the-same? With seven out of 10 PlayStation 5 players playing at least one of the 10 most popular games on the platform -- and with an astonishing 40% of playtime on PS4 and PS5 spent with those 10 games, and those 10 games alone -- we are nearing an inflection point. There are too many people making too many games alongside too little interest in much of what's being released, and frankly, the bloodletting is nowhere near finished. We discuss. Plus: PSVR2 gets a major price cut, THPS 3+4 Remastered leaks via ratings, Black Myth: Wukong sells huge on PlayStation 5, Sony-published Midnight Murder Club gets a release date, and more. Then: Inquiries from our beloved listeners. How hyped are we for Death Stranding 2? What do we make of the rumors of a God of War-related announcement slated for March? Could we define the term "Eurojank"? Will Chris ever get another haircut again in his entire life? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:28:36 - Colin's lower octave 0:36:39 - Does Chris need a haircut? 0:42:10 - Imagine Dragons in space 0:46:06 - Colonoscopy customer service 0:51:59 - Ohio slander 0:59:20 - PSVR2 price cut 1:10:43 - Sony stashing PS5s in US 1:23:43 - 40% of playtime is on 10 live service games 1:34:52 - Sony sued over digital monopoly 1:43:11 - THPS 3+4 1:48:40 - Konami and Bloober sign a new deal 1:54:44 - Black Myth: Wukong sold 5 million copies on PS5 1:57:27 - Midnight Murder Club is coming to early access 2:05:18 - What Are We Playing? 2:21:52 - Chaos at WB Games 3:14:25 - PS Plus Essentials 3:27:43 - Circana January stats 3:33:00 - Death Stranding 2 Special Edition extras 3:37:06 - God of War returning 3:40:40 - Did Quantic Dream get away? 3:47:11 - Everything is a meta-verse 3:54:07 - Addicted to maps 3:58:30 - Eurojank Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  4:17:47
• #347 | The Return of the King

  This has been an exciting week in Sacred Symbols World. We're riding high off of our two hour interview with ex-Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida, and we're eager to reminisce and reflect on it. (You can watch or listen for yourself on Sacred Symbols+.) But as far as news is concerned? Well, this week is a little slower than most, which is why we packed extra listener inquiries into the show, and still covered what was there: Fresh rumors of a Tony Hawk 3+4 Remastered Collection, leaker updates concerning Square Enix's remakes of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy Tactics, clarity on HBO's seasonal plans with The Last of Us, the potential emergence of a major Rainbow Six Siege update, and much more. As usual, we then round things out with listener inquiries on a variety of subjects. What are our thoughts about the recent layoffs on the Marvel Rivals team? Does SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku run the risk of overexposing the Yakuza/Like A Dragon franchise? Why are many creators so eager to politically and socially alienate their audiences? Is Colin on the verge of converting to Islam? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:12:23 - Clipping our show 0:22:25 - Status of TLOU2 Season 2 spoilercasts and Side Quest 0:31:29 - Patreon RSS changes 0:48:00 - Gaming full circle moment 0:50:08 - RIP Bullet 0:56:21 - Husky problems 1:13:50 - Colin's secret identity 1:17:37 - Colin's Italian citizenship 1:31:38 - Last week's stolen idea 1:34:47 - Roger Clark meeting 1:42:46 - Creating stories in Civilization 1:51:01 - Colin got Radec'ed 1:59:01 - Lost Soul Aside is getting a physical release 2:03:29 - Final Fantasy IX remake rumors 2:08:24 - Xbox will start including PS5 logos during events 2:15:39 - THPS 3+4 remake is real 2:23:15 - System Shock 2 remake is coming 2:28:43 - Rainbow Six Siege X 2:36:51 - TLOU will be four seasons long 2:40:00 - KCD2 and Dynasty Warriors sales 2:41:20 - What Are We Playing? 3:25:05 - Stick deadzone 3:30:15 - Marvel Rivals layoffs 3:37:20 - Like a Dragon's continued success 3:45:01 - Strong competition in the console market 3:52:14 - Dice Awards drama 4:01:44 - Amazon's failure to disrupt Steam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  4:24:51
• #346 | Then There Is No Pleasing You

  A recent presentation showcased a diverse array of some 35 games coming to PlayStation 5 over the next couple of years. But -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- that hasn't stopped boo-birds from raining down upon Sony yet again, at least from some particularly loud corners. It seems that some people will literally never be satisfied, no matter what. But for those who are looking forward to new games to play, there was much to be excited about in the form of Lost Soul Aside, Metal Eden, Borderlands 4, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Hell Is Us, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Days Gone Remastered, Tides of Annihilation, and even a brand new Housemarque PS5-exclusive called Saros, amongst much more. This week, we take time to delve into everything discussed during the newest State of Play, and dive into a bunch of other news too. Sony's quarterly financials are out, and PS5 sales are booming, reaching 75 million sold and counting. Meanwhile, Astro Bot is getting even more free DLC, God of War may be reverting to its Greek roots, Resistance and The Order are likely permanently dead, Twisted Metal returns to Peacock this summer, and so on. Then: Listener inquiries! Is Kendrick Lamar a PlayStation nerd? Does HDR even do anything? Why aren't more old folks playing games? Should Colin just retire? 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. Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:18:20 - Super Bowl stories 0:39:47 - Bellota <3 0:47:32 - 2x Speed 0:52:27 - In some sense 0:54:56 - Napoleon's penis 0:59:25 - PSN outage 1:17:20 - PS5 sells over 75 million 1:29:11 - Astro Bot bundle incoming 1:38:02 - Death Stranding 2 stream at SXSW 1:41:27 - Elden Ring: Nightreign release date 1:46:04 - The Order 1886 could have had a sequel 1:50:54 - 100% new information about Resistance 4 2:00:01 - God of War in Greece? 2:07:30 - Twisted Metal Season 2 coming this summer 2:10:35 - Koei Tecmo's CEO steps down 2:13:52 - Layoffs at Crytek 2:17:07 - DQXII is still in development 2:18:53 - PUBG is more lucrative than ever 2:23:36 - What Are We Playing? 2:53:24 - State of Play general thoughts 3:18:42 - Monster Hunter WIlds 3:19:57 - Shinobi 3:23:35 - Sonic Racing Cross Worlds 3:25:15 - Digimon Story Time Stranger 3:29:18 - Lost Soul Aside 3:32:55 - Small updates/games 3:36:47 - Borderlands 4 3:41:39 - Split Fiction 3:43:41 - Directive 8020 3:48:38 - The Midnight Walk 3:50:43 - Darwin's Paradox 3:52:28 - Warriors Abyss 3:53:50 - Onimusha 3:56:42 - Metal Gear Solid Delta 3:57:47 - Hell is Us 4:01:33 - Lies of P Overture 4:03:07 - Dreams of Another 4:08:16 - Days Gone Remastered 4:17:43 - Stellar Blade DLC 4:20:16 - Lost Records 4:21:54 - PS Plus games 4:24:28 - Tides of Annihilation 4:30:00 - Metal Eden 4:33:54 - MindsEye 4:40:11 - Saros 4:45:24 - Sony cleaning out AI games 4:50:34 - HDR woes 4:55:12 - IGN's Twitter antics 4:58:43 - Earthblade cancellation 5:03:34 - Too old for video games? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  5:21:50
• #345 | You Keep It Copacetic

  When truly great games are delivered, players tend to respond. The industry's newest sales success is the long-awaited Kingdom Come: Deliverance sequel, which immediately sold a million copies upon release. But it's hardly alone. And the rest of this long year is already shaping up to be something special, with Metal Gear Solid Delta's release date leaking, Death Stranding 2's newest trailer drawing nearer, and EA's Battlefield finally toying with a real comeback. Other news this week includes the potential of a discless PlayStation 6, the arrival of more Xbox games on PS5 in the form of Age of Empires and Age of Mythology, Capcom's announcement of a port of PS2's Onimusha 2 for PlayStation 4, and more. Let's then round things out with listener inquiries, as is our tradition. What are our thoughts on the return of games media brand Rooster Teeth? Is Sony putting its own games on sale too quickly and too steeply, to its own detriment? Did EA executives really claim Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed because it wasn't live service? Will Colin ever recover from tendinitis, or are his weightlifting days over? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:23:28 - Side Quest is back! 0:29:11 - Colin's tendinitis 0:32:14 - George's bush 0:48:41 - Career switching advice 0:57:39 - Why is Abby tiny? 1:06:19 - Shawn Layden thinks PlayStation will keep physical for PS6 1:12:25 - Metal Gear Solid Delta release date leaked 1:17:31 - Death Stranding 2 is rated in South Korea 1:21:42 - KCD2 sells one million in one day 1:27:25 - New Battlefield game by early 2026 1:34:43 - MultiVersus is going offline 1:42:13 - Devil May Cry remake coming? 1:49:04 - Prince of Persia The Lost Crown sold 1.3 million copies 1:50:02 - Konami churned $500 million in profit over 9 months 1:51:06 - Sony integrates SN Systems 1:52:11 - What Are We Playing? 2:31:06 - Age of Mythology is coming to PS5 2:38:03 - Onimusha 2 is being remastered 2:46:00 - Rooster Teeth's return 2:57:37 - Should PlayStation stop putting their games on sale? 3:06:17 - Will Sony stop releasing on PC? 3:13:42 - Sony's live service push concerning for the industry? 3:16:28 - Is EA crazy? 3:23:38 - Is new IP overvalued? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  3:48:56

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