Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

After roughly half-a-dozen episodes of unfortunate absence, we're pleased to welcome Dustin back to the fold, and just in the nick of time at that. A trio of interesting stories have bubbled to the surface over the past week worth examining, and they require further inquiry from the whole cast. For starters, Sony's financials show a stagnant (albeit perfectly healthy) PlayStation brand, as PS5 marches ever-slower towards 100 million units sold. And then there's Electronic Arts, the pioneering American publisher that sold-out to a wealthy foreign interest, with untold ramifications on the other side of the biggest-ever leveraged buyout in human history. Finally, we come to Netflix and Rockstar, who have teamed-up for what can only be described as a unique approach towards showcasing Grand Theft Auto VI, one (perhaps not surprisingly) some people aren't thrilled about. Among other news (and other nonsense), we also get into your listener submissions, as we do each week. How will MLB: The Show 27 be affected next year by what appears to be an inevitable work stoppage in professional baseball? Is there any workable idea for a framework surrounding the second-hand buying, selling, and trading of digital games? Could Sony blunt PlayStation 6's inevitably-high cost by taking a page from Xbox's book and offering hardware on long-term payment plans? Has Colin been saying "beaucoup bucks" wrong, or does one listener simply not know his French?

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Timestamps:

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.0:00 - Intro21:28 - Beaucoup bucks23:15 - Has Colin gone woke?30:57 - Betting on Dustin's return35:44 - Last games during Dustin's leave51:19 - Balancing work, life, and kids58:32 - GTA VI premieres on Netflix1:16:24 - Sony Q1 26 financials1:56:48 - EA's sale to the Saudis is done2:11:37 - Shift Up's AI music video2:21:50 - Dave Bautista as Kratos?2:26:59 - New PlayStation LEGO2:27:31 - Black Ops on PS5 sales2:28:34 - What We're Playing (Halo, GTA SA, Big Walk, Splatoon Raiders)2:55:43 - AI Moderation3:13:54 - MLB Lockout3:17:47 - Optimizing games too much3:24:30 - Buying and selling digital games3:34:09 - Lack of real games media3:41:07 - Buying PS6 via contract
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Sure, there's a lot of anger in our ecosystem right now, but what about all that's upcoming, all that could potentially change our moods? For instance, God of War: Laufey has received a February '27 release date, while compelling rumors indicate Naughty Dog's long-awaited Intergalactic may also grace PlayStation 5 in 2027. With Arc System Works promising tons of fixes for Marvel Tokon (especially on PC) in time for its imminent launch, and with Wolverine just around the corner -- not to mention a ton of third-party fare, too -- maybe it's time we lighten up a little bit. Plus: Dragon Age is seemingly dead, Square Enix lives in perpetual fear of the potential scale of a Final Fantasy VI remake, Crazy Taxi: World Tour solicits players for closed tests, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why do so many people seem so hostile towards so-called "Gun and Ball" gamers? Is Sony's ever-struggling PlayStation Network ready for the crush it will experience with Grand Theft Auto VI? Does PS5 console exclusive Silent Hill: Townfall's approach to stealth and avoidant gameplay interest us? Will Dustin ever return to the show, or is he too busy going to Ohio to find physical games?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro11:58 - R.I.P. Sophie18:56 - R.I.P. Excalibur31:49 - Shoutout to gamer mom35:53 - Changing names41:22 - Dustin's been spotted in the wild43:26 - A rare correction51:39 - PSBlackout1:18:41 - God of War: Laufey launches on February 16th, 20271:26:22 - Reliable insider suggests Naughty Dog will release Intergalactic in 20271:36:40 - Marvel Tokon’s PC test isn’t going great1:42:38 - A Dragon Age trilogy re-release seems very unlikely1:51:02 - Yoshi-P says a Final Fantasy VI remake would require four or five parts1:58:17 - Crazy Taxi: World Tour gets a closed network test2:01:19 - Industry layoffs are accelerating2:09:47 - New PS+ Essential games revealed2:12:36 - Gran Turismo 7 gets a branded steering wheel2:15:56 - Surprise! Capcom continues to do great2:16:16 - What is Kingdom Come: Salvation?2:16:29 - Atari signs a 10-movie deal with Universal2:17:10 - Weird Trophies?2:20:23 - What We're Playing (Halo, Onimusha 2, Powerwash Simulator 2 DLC)2:57:38 - When was the last time a game took over your whole life?3:05:35 - Why is there so much animosity towards Ball-&-Gun gamers?3:20:40 - The physical games drama is getting old3:32:40 - Can the PSN infrastructure handle the GTA VI preload?3:35:35 - Is there no appetite for the PS6?3:45:00 - Silent Hill: Townfall hype level
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PlayStation's self-inflicted physical games fiasco is nearing a month deep, and it seems fairly obvious at this point that nothing's going to change. The good news is that -- amongst all the chatter, arguing, and prognostication -- comes more info from the American market that indicates that Sony is pissing people off, yes, but also making a seemingly rational commercial decision from their perspective. Thus, we find ourselves in a continued bind: Through all of the screaming and insulting is salient data, should one be willing to look with sober eyes. We discuss. Plus: Marathon loses its game director, Bethesda vows to deliver a lot more Fallout, Rebel Wolves promises Mass Effect-like save migration for its nascent Blood of Dawnwalker series, NBA 2K27 skips PlayStation 4, Kratos gets recast in Amazon's God of War series, and more. We then wrap things up, as we always do, with listener inquiries from our audience. What are our expectations for Until Dawn 2? Did the elimination of crunch culture in some corners of the industry have unexpected downstream effects? Should Grand Theft Auto be held to account for the real-world violence it potentially inspires? Has Colin created a new mosquito bite-obliterating trend?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro17:43 - Del Walker has great insight21:03 - Marathon's PVE mode31:45 - Feel better, Brent32:32 - Moriarty X Jaffe summer camp44:43 - More sports talk please48:52 - Dexter can't dance53:24 - Mosquito's suck57:22 - Physical game sales on PS5 are struggling + June US sales data1:59:31 - Marathon's director quits2:17:10 - Bethesda confirms Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters2:33:22 - Blood of the Dawnwalker will carry its saves over into future games2:38:06 - NBA 2K27’s cover athletes revealed, skips PS42:42:34 - Jonathan Blow’s new game confirmed for launch on PS52:45:37 - God of War’s Amazon show is recasting Kratos after on-set injury2:49:45 - The first Call of Duty film is less than a year out2:52:18 - What We're Playing (Onimusha, Onimusha 2, Powerwash Simulator 2 Star Wars DLC, Marathon, Halo Campaign Evolved)3:08:38 - Can Until Dawn 2 live up to its predecessor?3:13:29 - Is the elimination of crunch the cause of ballooning budgets?3:19:34 - The phasing out of trilogies3:24:42 - Will retro hardware prices skyrocket?3:30:38 - Does GTA cause violence?3:40:51 - Should Sony fund smaller single player games?
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A new report from a trusted gaming industry analyst projects PlayStation 6 to launch in 2028 and sell only four million units in its first calendar year on the market. When you consider that even PS3 managed to sell three and a half million units in a mere four months, well, it might be a tough row to hoe. And when you take into account that this analysis assumes PS6 will sell for between $600 and $800, Sony may be in for a rude awakening indeed. We discuss. Then again, other analysis paints a far rosier picture, at least as far as Grand Theft Auto VI pre-sales are concerned, where Sony will be raking it in by the many hundreds of millions in royalties alone. Other news this week includes EA's reversal on its controversial College Football 27 microtransactions, the dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops I and II's PSN release, the delay of the upcoming first party fight stick FlexStrike, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is PlayStation in dire need of a spokesperson? Does Crunchyroll's new approach with its subscription portend a dicey future for PSN? Have we ever lent a physical game to a friend (or someone else) and never received it back? Could Episode 420 mean throwing all caution to the wind?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro51:17 - PlayStation at San Diego Comic-Con57:15 - Analyst forecasts a soft PS6 launch1:12:07 - GTA VI to make billions in its first week1:20:47 - EA backtracks on controversial monetization1:33:35 - Black Ops 1 and 2 dominate PSN1:44:07 - Sony finally elaborates heavily on Ranger Rumble1:53:14 - Sony’s FlexStrike fight stick hits “unexpected production delays”2:00:10 - Was Sony once exploring an animated Horizon series?2:05:43 - Koei Tecmo rapidly expands headcount2:17:22 - Halo: Campaign Evolved goes gold2:22:50 - The Blood of Dawnwalker goes gold2:24:47 - New Game Catalog additions for July2:34:13 - Mouse: PI and Black Flag sales soar2:42:21 - What We're Playing (GTA V, GTA Online, Librarian, GTA SA)3:09:54 - Is the console doom and gloom overstated?3:19:52 - Are we buying the PS6 at launch?3:27:16 - Should PlayStation invest in a face?3:34:21 - Did a friend ever steal one of your games?3:40:18 - Crunchyroll gets paywalled behind higher tiers3:49:47 - Is it time for Sony to give the PlayStation TV another shot?
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We're more than a week removed from the controversial decision to scrap new physical releases for PlayStation hardware beginning in early 2028, and even with a robust outpouring of rage from a portion of its hardcore audience, Sony doesn't seem like it's going to budge. This has come to surprise some people; yet, the longer Sony continues its silence on the topic, the more unlikely it'll be that anything will change. Will the Japanese megacorporation's wait-and-see approach pay off? Is there still time to turn the ship around? Are physical buyers vastly overestimating their power and positioning? There's much more to discuss surrounding the worst period of PR for the PlayStation brand since 2011. Other news this week includes furor over language in the European PSN's terms of service, drama surrounding Marvel Tokon's release on Steam, significant layoffs at Xbox that deeply affect PlayStation-aligned developers like id and Obsidian, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is it weird that Sony executives sold more than $10 million in stock after their infamous physical games announcement? What's going on with EA's insane monetization policies in College Football 27? Why couldn't Bluepoint spin-out from Sony like Microsoft is allowing some of its teams to do? Does Dustin have similarly arcane powers as Brad, just pointed in the opposite direction?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro22:12 - Yet another Sacred baby24:04 - The Blue Reaper32:32 - Enough of the Euroslander34:18 - Wet wipes are a game changer39:07 - Infamous 2 UGC servers shutting down42:05 - Christopher Barrett settled his lawsuit with Bungie and Sony55:04 - Sony won’t reverse course on physical media1:06:22 - Sony starts repurposing its factories2:24:40 - European fans freak out about account deletion2:29:22 - Marvel Tokon on PC won’t launch in 132 countries2:34:41 - Microsoft guts id Software3:10:33 - Obsidian returns to Fallout3:25:55 - Undead Labs spins-out from Xbox3:32:42 - IO Interactive reclaims its cancelled Xbox second party game3:34:45 - June 2026’s top downloads on PSN3:35:50 - What We're Playing (GTA V, GTA SA, Mercenaries 2, PURE)3:51:27 - Microsoft is good while Sony is evil?3:56:26 - What's stopping Bluepoint from staying together?4:00:53 - Sony CEO sells 50% of his stock?4:06:45 - Crash Team Racing tips and tricks4:09:37 - EA Sports College Football 27 uproar4:17:39 - Bethesda's lay-off memorial
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