Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast Last Stand Media

We talk about 'first parties' and 'third parties' all the time, and we all fundamentally understand the terms. But what about the mysterious 'second party' game? Where do those fit in? Well, PS5 has recently been the recipient of two key second party exclusives -- Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 and Shift Up's Stellar Blade -- and both have been wildly successful, surpassing the respective expectations surrounding each product. In years past with different studios (think Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, Insomniac, Housemarque, and others), this level of accomplishment in the second party (where publishers own the game and/or its publishing rights, but not the team making it) often meant acquisition. But things seem awfully different now. There's no doubt Sony's interested in Arrowhead and Shift Up, but is it mutual? Other news includes hints surrounding PlayStation's bubbling mobile initiative, Ghost of Tsushima's amazing performance on PC, Death Stranding 2 entering its final phases of development, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why are we so obsessed with PlayStation 3 games coming to PS4 and PS5? Have we ever kept a journal to chronicle our experience with a game? With LEGO Horizon rumors amok, what other Sony IP would make sense in that aesthetic? Has Dishwasher Gate officially broken the collective spirit of the Last Stand community?

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

0:00:00 - Intro
0:29:32 - Last week's unhinged start
0:42:42 - Sacred encouragement
0:45:28 - Southern man epidemic
0:50:15 - "I don't know"
0:59:39 - The Division 3 is coming
1:00:33 - Financial reporting correction
1:02:09 - Trophy completion data
1:05:26 - Where is the time to play games?
1:10:03 - Goodbye London Studio
1:16:10 - Death Stranding releasing in 2025
1:21:52 - Ghost of Tsushima is PlayStation biggest single player PC launch
1:32:27 - Strauss Zelnick is confident in GTA6's release date
1:41:38 - IGN buys everyone
1:55:57 - Rolling Stone revives its gaming coverage with Saudi money
2:15:00 - What we’ve been playing
3:06:28 - Changes at Arrowhead
3:26:11 - Shift Up's future plans
3:39:00 - PlayStation mobile job listings
3:48:50 - Why do we want PS3 emulation?
3:59:28 - Trophy addiction
4:07:15 - Video game journaling
4:12:13 - Dualsense Edging
4:18:22 - Other Lego PlayStation games
4:22:17 - Exclusives shouldn't exist?
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Jim Ryan's tenure leading PlayStation is officially over (as is Hiroki Totoki's stewardship), and he'll be replaced by a co-CEO format moving forward. Sony veterans Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nashino hope to divide and conquer, turning an ever-growing brand -- and Sony's flagship -- into an efficient gaming powerhouse. But can they deliver? Good question. We discuss. Other news this week revolves around Sony's jam-packed fiscal year financials, Square Enix's abandonment of their by-platform strategy, release dates and timing for the likes of Grand Theft Auto VI, Assassin's Creed: Shadows, and EA NCAA Football 25, a rumored LEGO Horizon game, the cancellation of The Division: Heartland, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Could Helldivers be turned into a mockumentary-style TV show? Would Sony consider stepping in to save Tango Gameworks? Are Chris and Dustin excited about Destiny 2's upcoming The Final Shape expansion? Will we ever stop unintentionally convincing audience members to get divorced?

Get a free gift with your journey pack at https://www.tryfum.com/sacred and use code SACRED
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/symbols to 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.

0:00:00 - Intro
0:32:19 - Happy Birthday Ethan
0:34:00 - Vampire Robot YouTube channel
0:44:52 - Sacred ending marriages
0:49:37 - Mid Year review
0:52:52 - The next generation of Kingdom Hearts fans
0:58:20 - Sony capitulating
1:00:33 - No new Sony games this year
1:02:07 - The Last of Us Season 2 First look
1:06:15 - Bungie's CTO joins PlayStation
1:11:41 - LEGO Horizon?
1:25:53 - Ghost of Tsushima's PC port Legends mode crossplay is in beta
1:35:25 - Ragnarok rumored to be the next PC port
1:46:17 - Xbox's initiative to bring more games to PlayStation
2:03:22 - PS2 games coming to PS5
2:11:08 - Ubisoft cancels The Division: Heartland
2:25:30 - Adult Swim games reverting ownership to devs
2:27:23 - Tomb Raider TV series coming to Amazon
2:34:28 - What We’re Playing
3:11:45 - GTA VI is launching Fall 2025
3:14:40 - PlayStation has announced two new CEOs
3:29:12 - Sony earnings report
3:50:01 - Square Enix's shift to 3rd party
4:08:49 - Assassin's Creed: Shadows announced
4:26:42 - New PS Plus Games Catalog titles
4:29:38 - Helldivers TV adaptation pitch
4:34:05 - LSM Showcase live reaction?
4:40:23 - Could Sony scoop up what remains of Tango?
4:42:46 - Final Shape gut check
4:46:41 - RNG woes
4:52:38 - Uncharted 5 tease
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What a week! It seemed like we were just done recording last week when Helldivers 2-related drama broke out, and yet by the time we were ready to record this time around, the situation had mostly settled. How serendipitous for us and our analysis. Now, we're left to reflect and ask some questions, starting with why Sony had to push the first domino in this scenario over at all. Couldn't they just leave well enough alone? And how does this portend the reception of future PC releases from the PlayStation camp? Other news this week includes major layoffs and closures at Fallout and Doom publisher Bethesda (plus what that means for Xbox's uncertain future), percolating rumors of an imminent PlayStation Showcase, confirmation that -- yes indeed! -- Media Molecule is making a game and not a service or toolset, Remedy bailing out of its multiplayer project as Alan Wake 2 still fails to break even, and more. Then: Listener inquiries. How do we choose what game to play next? Was Days Gone 'right-wing'? Are in-game animations getting out of control? Can Colin help revive a long-maligned (but incredibly descriptive) word?

Get a free gift with your journey pack at https://www.tryfum.com/sacred 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
0:27:43 - King Radec
0:33:36 - Too long?
0:45:03 - R word uptick
0:56:14 - Derek’s Journey
0:59:28 - Colin, the gardener
1:01:01 - Next PS Showcase
1:14:15 - Helldivers 2 Drama
1:45:06 - Xbox/Bethesda studio closures
2:47:55 - Switch 2 incoming
2:54:31 - Media Molecule’s next game
2:55:38 - Alan Wake 2 hasn’t made a profit
3:02:31 - April’s best selling PSN games
3:05:03 - What we’ve been playing
3:30:15 - How do we decide what to play next?
3:38:22 - Why Sony killed Days Gone
3:42:23 - Returnal turning point
3:44:48 - Too much realism?
3:53:01 - Saved video game item from a natural disaster
3:59:24 - Being watched (playing video games)
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Times, they are a-changin'. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is rightfully pleased with Xbox's performance on the PlayStation Store, bragging about being the biggest publisher on PSN while presenting Microsoft's recent financial report. His company has seven games in the top 25, more than even Sony itself. So, uh, batten down the hatches, because you're inevitably about to get way more Xbox on PS5. Plus: Fresh leaks show us how Sony's digital games have sold in recent years, Square Enix writes-down $140 million in losses while cancelling multiple games, Take Two guts its Private Division label, Kingdom Hearts promises to horrify in film form, and more. Then: Listener inquiries. Based on recent moves by a rival, would Last Stand Media ever consider going platform-free with all of its content? Which drug from the Fallout universe are we most likely to become addicted to? How can a small indie game garner any attention in such a crowded market? What is it that Chris actually does all day?

Get a free gift with your journey pack at https://www.tryfum.com/sacred 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
0:19:34 - RIP Claire, the Dutch Shepherd
0:25:56 - Sacred subs
0:29:40 - Take the leave Dustin
0:42:47 - Why is Chris busy?
0:55:25 - The last time we applied for a job
1:06:18 - Platform focused podcasts
1:26:41 - Returnal comic
1:38:59 - Firesprite director laid off
1:40:35 - New PSN social feature
1:51:06 - Rise of the Ronin is outselling Nioh
1:56:08 - Shinji Mikami wants to get away from survival horror
2:04:34 - Private Division closes Roll7 and Intercept games
2:16:16 - A Kingdom Hearts film is coming
2:21:04 - AAA GI Joe
2:23:24 - 750 million downloads for eFootball
2:24:22 - What we’re playing
3:04:12 - Xbox's 3rd party future
3:25:38 - PSN sales data leaks
3:41:57 - Square Enix cancelations and changes
4:00:06 - March NPD
4:07:55 - New PS Plus games
4:12:04 - Publicity for a small game
4:16:41 - Fallout chems
4:21:37 - Video game gambling
4:28:25 - Underrated influential games
4:36:00 - Crunch vs over hiring
4:39:17 - PSN stats
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Embracer Group's downfall will be long-studied as an example of capitalistic hubris you rarely see, even in our ruthlessly capitalist society. Following mass layoffs, spin-offs, and studio closures, Embracer will ultimately split into three smaller, more manageable entities, instead of acting as a lone unit with more employees than the entire PlayStation brand, including all of its studios combined (seriously). It's just another example of people in positions of power somehow knowing less about their industry, the economy, and business than completely random people that do a video game podcast. Other news: Stellar Blade's "Hard R" controversy, the permanent closure of LittleBigPlanet's UGC servers, the cultural revival of the Fallout franchise on the back of a successful Amazon show, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! How do we feel about Ubisoft's apparent abandonment of the Watch Dogs franchise? Are gaming cookbooks the new rage? Can you be a fan of video games without actually playing them? Will British people ever acknowledge Americans' acumen with a map?

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
0:21:44 - Where is Sacred 300?
0:25:25 - Sacred through college
0:32:10 - Quintin's surgery
0:39:52 - British people
0:46:20 - PS Stars points correction
0:52:35 - LBP goes offline
1:09:36 - Hard R Shop
1:32:07 - Fallout show is getting another season
1:44:57 - Metaphor ReFantazio releases October11
1:48:53 - What we’re playing
2:36:34 - Embracer's downfall
2:53:42 - Watch Dogs is dead
3:01:11 - Dustin raising a gamer
3:09:56 - Is capitalism the problem?
3:13:29 - Gaming cookbooks
3:21:51 - Colin’s trophy inconsistencies
3:25:03 - Am I broken?
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For better or for worse, modern console manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft -- and even Nintendo -- are slowly learning that sustained success in the mid-to-long-term will require a wider view. Whether via mobile, or PC, or even your competitors' own machines, a certain message is getting through to the powers-that-be, and when it comes to Sony, the Japanese giant seems committed to opening a second front on home computers in particular. Thus comes word of a new PlayStation overlay that will launch with Ghost of Tsushima on PC this May, another step in a direction towards an inevitable conclusion. Other news this week includes so-called "transmog" drama in Helldivers 2, pending layoffs at publisher Take Two, compelling rumors of remakes for the original Persona game and its sequel, additional PS5 Pro details, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Do we track our gaming backlogs? Does Tencent's minority ownership of Stellar Blade developer Shift Up give us pause? How far back in time could you go before you could -- in no way, shape, or form -- explain what a video game was? Can British people ever overcome their insane shared vocabulary?

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
0:26:55 - Sacred in Antigua
0:30:12 - British Vernacular
0:36:22 - Colin's Networking Solution
0:41:10 - Chris Ray Trump
0:43:09 - Dustin's vacancy
0:55:45 - Marriage insight
0:58:05 - Chess.com
1:10:39 - Ampere Analysis
1:16:23 - No Helldivers 2 transmog
1:22:04 - Take Two layoffs
1:36:08 - Ascendant Studios furloughed
1:37:37 - Persona remakes?
1:42:16 - March top downloads
1:45:39 - Possibility Space shut down
2:01:37 - Keanu Reeves cast in Sonic 3
2:02:48 - What We’re Playing
2:37:58 - PlayStation trophies on PC
2:56:54 - New PS5 Pro leaks
3:19:02 - Have we used Backloggd?
3:26:16 - Will companies chase the success of Helldivers?
3:35:47 - How do you explain video games to the past?
3:43:32 - Shift Up and Tencent
3:48:33 - Divergent timelines and parallel universes
3:54:57 - How do our personalities play into our taste?
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