Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

• #343 | Codename Trinity

  Insomniac Games' co-founder Ted Price is retiring from the company after a storied 30 year career, but it's what he's leaving behind in his stead that's truly curious: A three-person CEO grouping, virtually unheard of in the corporate world, that hopes to leverage the unique skills of each person. When taken into account with PlayStation's new co-CEO structure, it makes us wonder if Sony seeks to spread the field instead of focus decision-making and responsibility on a single person. Is that such a good idea? We discuss. Meanwhile, Xbox had an exceptional press conference, and as Xbox games are now PlayStation games, we have a few titles of import to go over, including the reveal of the Microsoft-published Ninja Gaiden 4 and release dates for both Doom: The Dark Ages and third party RPG Clair Obscur. Other news this week includes chatter of a $100 pricetag for Grand Theft Auto VI, impressive new gameplay footage for Phantom Blade Zero, the commercial bombing of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and more. We then wrap up with six inquiries from the audience, as is our tradition. Could tariffs on Mexico drive physical game prices higher? Are there more game cancellations than ever, or simply more transparency in the process? Did Xbox miss an opportunity to strike at a vulnerable and underperforming PlayStation? Is Colin over-reliant on email, rendering him an exceptionally old man? 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 0:15:28 - Staying strong during a breakup 0:23:51 - Colin and email 0:42:15 - Winnie the Pooh style forever sleep 0:53:36 - Colin's thesaurus 0:56:32 - Dustin at the symphony 1:00:53 - GTA VI costing $100? 1:24:17 - Phantom Blade Zero gameplay 1:31:00 - New Astro Bot content 1:33:42 - Dragon Age bombed 1:48:46 - Resident Evil 6 rated for Xbox 1:53:44 - Silent Hill F ESRB rating 1:57:35 - Balatro sells over 5 million 2:00:35 - Civ 7 has gone gold 2:02:11 - What Are We Playing? 2:31:48 - Xbox Developer Direct 2:57:35 - Ted Price is retiring 3:20:07 - New sales data 3:24:16 - Tariff check 3:28:35 - Game cancelations 3:34:27 - Do kids care about PlayStation? 3:41:50 - Is Sony relieved at the state of Xbox? 3:46:01 - "DEI-Woke" games selling softer 4:00:33 - Was Jim Ryan horrible for PlayStation? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  4:21:40
• #342 | We've Painted A Picture, Now We're Drowning in Paint

  We had already finished this recording when surprising news broke in the world of PlayStation: Sony has cancelled two of its upcoming, unannounced games. And -- would you believe it? -- they were both live service titles, including a God of War spin-off. The really unfortunate news, however, is who was making these titles: Bend and Bluepoint, two smaller AAA teams that typically work on a single project at a time, thus wasting years of development, as well as time and resources that can never be recovered. What in the world is going on with PlayStation Studios, and how did the person who helmed the first party family during such a tumultuous period of greenlights and plug-pulling ascend to the top of PlayStation itself? It's time to start asking some really hard questions. Other news this week includes substantial rumors of more Xbox content en route to PlayStation which, if true, will make Microsoft the single most-prolific producer of content for a platform that was once its arch-rival, but no longer. Also: Reactions to the first Until Dawn film trailer, a surprising end to Rocksteady's Suicide Squad game, accolades for an exceptional-looking upcoming vampire RPG called The Blood of Dawnwalker, tantalizing news about Bungie's in-development Smash Bros.-inspired MOBA, and more. We wrap up our episode (as we always do) with listener inquiries. Now that Nintendo's Switch 2 has been revealed, what are our preliminary thoughts? Is 2025 the year we finally give PSVR2 the respect it deserves? Why is it so hard to make swimming control well? Is it just a weird coincidence that SEGA renewed its Ecco the Dolphin trademark on September 11, 2001, or is there something deeper at play? 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 0:21:27 - Sacred car collision 0:25:01 - Ranking LSM autism 0:28:06 - Do Colin and Chris drink coffee? 0:47:45 - Phil Summers Mega Man book 0:49:52 - Sony and SoCal studios are donating to the wildfire recovery 0:51:47 - Until Dawn movie 1:00:11 - Rocksteady ends Suicide Squad 1:05:09 - The Blood of Dawnwalker 1:11:35 - Ubisoft + Tencent? 1:18:59 - Square Enix releases a Group Customer Harassment policy 1:23:27 - Ecco the Dolphin trademark 1:29:02 - Elden Ring Nightreign network test registration is up 1:30:28 - Lunar Remastered has a date 1:33:14 - What are we playing? 1:54:54 - Sony has shut down two live service projects 2:19:14 - More Xbox games on PlayStation 2:43:49 - Bungie's Gummy Bears 2:57:35 - New PS Plus Extra and Premium games 3:05:41 - Top downloads on PSN for December 3:09:52 - Our thoughts on Switch 2 3:30:35 - PSVR2 recommendations 3:36:29 - Gamifying our life 3:45:11 - Swimming in games 3:50:41 - PS4 living on 3:53:33 - Prestige system for platinums Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  4:18:29
• #341 | The Mystery of What's to Come

  We're back! 2024 is so last year; it's now time for us to dwell here in 2025... and perhaps even beyond. The holiday season was pretty quiet news-wise, but there were fairly substantial exceptions in the form of two lengthy interviews published by legendary Japanese games publication Famitsu, conducted with both of PlayStation's recently-installed co-CEOs. On the one hand, Hermen Hulst was peppered with questions about Helldivers 2 and Concord, the future of Sony's single-player initiatives, and whether PlayStation fans can expect more games to travel off-platform. On the other hand, Hideaki Nishino was prodded for answers on topics like the future of cloud gaming, the success of PS5 in the wake of PS4, and even when we might see a hypothetical PlayStation 6. Obviously, we're left with much to discuss. Other news of note includes another delay for Assassin's Creed: Shadows, early rumblings of a potential new emulation solution for PS3, compelling evidence of a forthcoming remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a turned-down pitch for Dead Space 4, and much more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why were so many people convinced Black Myth: Wukong was a PS5 console-exclusive title? Is it necessary for a True Yakuza Fan to play all titles in the series? 10 years on, how has Colin enjoyed his decade of media independence? Can we convince one listener not to name his son Simon or Ronan, but Richter instead? 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 0:27:58 - How was our break? 0:52:11 - Ronan or Simon? 0:55:38 - Internet service guy marks territory 1:04:51 - Halo x Doom 1:13:37 - AC Shadows delayed 1:25:19 - PS3 emulation? 1:33:34 - Ex-Platinum game director joins Housemarque 1:38:35 - The Midnight Black collection 1:45:12 - Sony is reviving old IP 1:50:17 - Is an Oblivion remake coming? 2:04:16 - Dead Space 4 denied 2:15:44 - Sega is considering a subscription service 2:23:55 - Stardew Valley keep selling 2:30:57 - What Have We Been Playing? 3:13:22 - Herman Hulst's Interview with Famitsu 3:26:31 - Nishino's Interview 3:42:39 - Sony at CES 3:54:37 - New PS Plus games 4:00:49 - How to get into Yakuza 4:08:16 - Should we comment on other's commentary? 4:17:19 - Black Myth Wukong's exclusivity myth debunked 4:19:12 - Mouthwashing's trophies 4:22:20 - Reflections on Kinda Funny 4:26:25 - Does LSM reimburse game purchases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  4:45:31
• #340 | Our Most Anticipated Games of 2025

  2024 is officially in the rearview mirror, which can only mean one thing: We're now in the exciting "next year" of video game releases on PlayStation 5 (and 4, too, to an extent). As is tradition here on Sacred Symbols, we cap-off our dueling annual end-of-year shows with a look ahead, each selecting five 2025 releases we're most amped about. This of course allows us to widely chat about 15 exciting upcoming games with only two rules in mind: Selections have to be slated for (or at least conceivably coming in) '25, and they must be on PlayStation hardware. Thus, we touch on just about everything you can imagine, from the biggest AAAs to our darling indies, and so much in between. Please enjoy, and Happy New Year to you and yours! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  2:13:06
• #339 | Our Favorite PlayStation Moments of 2024

  The holidays are upon us, and thus it's time to roll out an old Sacred Symbols tradition: Our list of the most remarkable, interesting, confounding, and notable moments in the world of PlayStation for the calendar year. As usual, each of us has chosen five 'moments' -- that's 15 total -- and they all involve the PlayStation ecosystem in some way, some literally and obviously, while others more loosely and casually. So let's chat about Helldivers 2's meteoric success, the collapse of Concord and Firewalk, Xbox's wide-ranging publishing capitulation to Sony, the lead-up to (and launch of) PS5 Pro, the PlayStation brand's uneven 30th anniversary celebration, Sony's decision to publish Horizon on Switch, the furor around Stellar Blade, confirmation of a new PlayStation handheld in the years to come, and much, much more. Happy Holidays; please enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  2:59:50

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