Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast Last Stand Media

t's getting crazy out there. Fresh off of E3 Lite comes a slew of new game announcements, more than we could possibly cover, nonetheless play. And this brings up a good point, one we burrow down on: Who's gonna be able to buy and play all of this stuff in an ecosystem dominated by vacuum-like powerhouses that leave little room for competition? Are we nearing a breaking point, where there are simply too many games seeking too few players spending too few dollars, even as the industry grows? Well, we're about to find out. The news this week is otherwise copious: Horizon LEGO Adventures is coming to PS5 and PC... and Nintendo Switch?! Mark Cerny gives a rare interview and provides some insight into PlayStation's thought processes. Black Ops 6, Slitterhead, Civilization VII, The Thing Remastered, Doom: The Dark Ages, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and so much more were announced. Sea of Thieves dominates the PlayStation Network, foretelling an obvious continuing migration of Xbox games to PS5. And much more! Then: Listener inquiries. Is Astro's Playroom teasing upcoming PlayStation announcements? How come publishers and developers are keeping specific release dates so close to their vests? Could anything get us excited about Assassin's Creed Shadows? Is Colin accidentally inhaling mind-altering chemicals while he cleans the shower?


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

0:00:00 - Intro
0:11:23 - Cleaning in the shower
0:19:03 - Shoes in the house
0:26:15 - Happy Birthday Cyprus
0:31:35 - Sony acquires Alamo Draft House
0:41:34 - Xbox showcase reflections
1:31:41 - COD: Black Ops 6
1:38:32 - Slitterhead
1:46:36 - Valorant
1:52:12 - Civilization VII
1:59:06 - Metal Gear Solid Delta
2:11:25 - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake
2:15:23 - Life is Strange: Double Exposure
2:19:36 - The Thing Remaster
2:24:41 - Visions of Mana release date
2:26:27 - Game sales
2:43:20 - New trophies for classics on PSN
2:44:59 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
2:52:05 - Wolfhound
2:54:06 - PlayStation Stars downtime
3:00:12 - FF Tactics is happening
3:03:46 - What we've been playing
3:33:23 - Lego Horizon Adventures
4:12:18 - Epic Game Store leak
4:17:46 - Mark Cerny interview
4:31:48 - Doom: The Dark Ages
4:39:02 - Dragon Age The Veilguard
4:47:40 - New PS Plus Games
4:51:27 - What would get us to play Assassin's Creed Shadows?
4:57:11 - Pixel art more expensive?
5:01:18 - New Xbox console strategy
5:08:35 - Astro teases a showcase?
5:12:11 - Missing dates in 2024
5:15:37 - Are we real hardcore gamers?
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fter a flurry of activity, we find ourselves in a bit of a lull. And frankly, that's good. We could all use a little bit of a rest. Doing so allows us to catch up, refresh, and anticipate what lies behind the next undoubtedly-busy corner. With E3's multi-pronged replacement readying a barrage of announcements and other newsworthy bits, let's clear what's on our plate at present. Firewalk's divisive Concord has been given a (compelling?) price, PSVR2 is receiving its long-rumored PC adapter, WB loses $200 million on Rocksteady's Suicide Squad game, the original Halo is rumored for release on PS5, and much more. Listener inquiries wrap things up, per usual. Does Astro Bot have the potential to be PlayStation's next big IP? Do Chinese games deserve more respect? Why doesn't PlayStation Network allow you to buy digital titles for your friends? Is Colin a psychopath for embracing the 'sock-shoe, sock-shoe' lifestyle?

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

0:00:00 - Intro
0:18:57 - Dustin’s baby’s name
0:30:56 - Dusty
0:34:35 - Colin’s Body Pillow
0:40:04 - Ranch
0:42:59 - sock, shoe, sock, shoe
0:49:24 - Slitter’s Return
0:52:50 - Dagan’s IMDB page
0:54:46 - Puff puff
0:58:48 - Tomba: Special Edition dated
1:10:26 - PSVR PC Adapter
1:23:56 - Multiple projects confirmed at Naughty Dog
1:32:55 - Concord price and beta details
1:55:34 - PS5 8K box change
2:10:11 - Is The Last of Us Part 2 PC port done?
2:14:04 - Octopath Traveler is out on PlayStation
2:19:20 - Suicide Squad bombs
2:25:41 - Silent Hill 2 gameplay
2:32:16 - Dragon Age has a new name
2:33:31 - YouTube Leaks
2:34:29 - Amazon’s Yakuza show
2:43:24 - What We’ve Been Playing
3:00:39 - Astro Bot’s potential
3:08:10 - Do we miss E3?
3:15:25 - Game selling regret
3:22:16 - Battle Pass objectives
3:25:02 - Chinese Games
3:29:21 - PSN buying for a friend
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During Sony's fiscal recent reporting, the company promised that it would further outline its respective situations and plans with each of its internal silos. When it comes to PlayStation, the result was an informative, information-rich PDF and an earnings call-like presentation that gives us a lot of extra insight into the brand. Here's what's clear: PlayStation is economically vibrant, growing, and reaching more than a hundred million people each month. Its generational revenue and profits are at all-time highs. People are spending more on the console than ever, purchasing more content, engaging with more products, and hanging around longer than ever. So, uh... maybe all of that chatter of an industry-wide console decline was a little premature? Sony (and Nintendo) is doing much better than just fine. Other news this week includes details on all 14 games shown during Sony's State of Play stream, including our first look at first party products like Firewalk's Concord and Asobi's all-new AstroBot game, rumors of the next Doom coming to PS5 day-and-date, the mystery behind Dragon Warrior III HD's long-time disappearance and recent return, controversy surrounding the misquoting of Neil Druckmann by Sony's own PR, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! When we say an executive has a fiduciary obligation, what do we mean? Should Sony be worried about Call of Duty going to Xbox Game Pass day one? Why is Activision being sued by the Uvalde shooting parents? Does Colin have any advice for a new Boston Terrier owner?

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

0:00:00 - Intro
0:18:09 - Texas Tornado
0:22:23 - Boston Terrier advice
0:26:02 - Listening in the shower
0:38:16 - Two rapid questions
0:49:31 - New Doom on PS5
1:11:53 - PSVR2 PC adapter
1:21:50 - Neil Druckmann misquoted
1:45:43 - Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 announced
1:50:48 - Dragon Quest III HD update
1:57:28 - Dragon's Dogma 2 sells three million
1:59:14 - What are we playing?
2:34:27 - State of Play
3:21:54 - Sony investors meeting
4:09:34 - Days of Play 2024
4:21:07 - Resident Evil rumors
4:31:00 - Circana's April data
4:39:21 - JRPG lingo ranking
4:43:55 - Rebuilding a lost collection
4:51:30 - Will people switch to Xbox for COD on Gamepass?
4:59:54 - What are fiduciary obligations?
5:01:36 - Class Action lawsuit against games
5:14:35 - Was Destiny successful?

Get a free gift with your Journey Pack at https://www.tryfum.com/sacred and use code SACRED
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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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