Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

It's finally time! Rockstar has revealed an in-depth look at Grand Theft Auto VI for the first time, with tons of gameplay, details, and more that so many tens of millions of fans have been hungry for. We discuss all we saw and what we loved and didn't, along with in-depth coverage of the hullabaloo surrounding the game's preview cycle and price. Colin even takes some time to educate the masses that GTAVI at $80 is nearly twice as affordable as GTA1 was at $50, based simply on average incomes and not at all adjusting for dreaded inflation (so next time someone tells you pay hasn't kept up with the increase in game pricing, now you know they're unapologetically lying). Other news this week includes fresh rumors of electronics tariffs in America, booming Helldivers 2 sales, a ton of Gamescom ONL fodder (including Witcher 3 Remastered, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Stage Tour, Exodus, Mega Man: Dual Overdrive, and more). Then: Listener inquiries! Is game development in danger of so-called "mode collapse"? How has MiHoYo managed to find so much success across so many high-caliber games? Would Sony ever explore re-releasing old PlayStation hardware? Will Chris and Dustin join Colin in the Fart Corner?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro20:46 - Patreon player22:05 - Free codes26:43 - Sacred is here for you28:28 - Glass Snapple is back32:03 - GTA VI leaks and pricing1:52:47 - GTA VI showcase reaction2:23:20 - New tariffs could be coming2:28:34 - Anti-data center craze2:40:40 - Gamescom catchup3:20:24 - Sony confirms Helldivers is a huge success3:21:27 - Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement delayed3:22:59 - Terranigma confirmed3:23:45 - Dave Bautista cast as Kratos3:24:37 - New PS+ games3:28:07 - What Are We Playing? (Beast of Reincarnation, Alan Wake II, Endacopia, Mortal Shell 2, How to Fish)3:53:48 - Mode Collapse of gaming4:02:30 - HoYoverse expansion4:07:33 - "Legacy PlayStation"4:11:44 - Will this be one of the best years in gaming?
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Sony's mishandling of its games-as-a-service initiative is well-worn territory here on Sacred Symbols, but that doesn't mean the fallout doesn't persist. This time around, Guerrilla's new multiplayer title Horizon: Hunters Gathering is the focal point. Based on recent reporting, it appears Sony is having the dev team rework the game to remove live service and other persistent elements, and its fate will be decided by December, with cancellation still very much on the table. Bungie and Marathon, Haven and Fairgames, Firewalk and Concord, Naughty Dog and The Last of Us Online, the Deviation-turned-Dark Outlaw project, Bluepoint and God of War Online, a cancelled multiplayer Spider-Man game at Insomniac, Twisted Metal never getting far off the ground at Lucid... Truly, it's enough already. Plus: Until Dawn star Hayden Panettiere sadly passes away at 37 years old, Grand Theft Auto VI suffers a catastrophic leak, Hiroko Totoki talks to the Wall Street Journal about Sony's move away from tech and towards entertainment, Square Enix swears Kingdom Hearts IV will launch in 2027, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is Naughty Dog's high-caliber approach ultimately unsustainable? Have we lost sight of the reality of how bad the experience of using physical media actually is? How can we both run Sacred Symbols effectively while ignoring the endless, persistent, and unrealistic negativity? Will Colin ultimately push Dustin over the line by insisting he's Japanese?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro39:18 - Shoutout to Chris and Porter50:08 - "Dustin is Japanese"52:26 - Drinking in the pool1:03:09 - Digital ownership brother in arms1:09:27 - RIP Hayden Panettiere1:15:08 - GTAVI Leaks1:44:20 - Horizon: Hunters Gathering is being reworked2:28:31 - Hiroki Totoki Literature Club interview2:42:15 - Sony's shovelware purge gone wrong?2:55:21 - Kingdom Hearts IV releases late 20273:01:28 - Terranigma port3:05:32 - Pulse Elevate speakers coming in November3:07:53 - Call of Duty beta includes campaign level3:09:44 - Simpsons Hit and Run returns?3:14:25 - July US sales data3:18:42 - What We're Playing (Beast of Reincarnation, Spider-Man 2, Mortal Shell 2)3:40:39 - Toxic fandoms3:56:42 - Enshittification across media4:06:53 - Curbing your expectations4:20:17 - Is Naughty Dog unsustainable?4:24:14 - Is America AAA game dev dead?4:30:34 - Was physical media a nightmare?
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On PlayStation 5 in the near future, you're going to be hacking, slashing, stabbing, and serrating your enemies with reckless abandon. For starters, the dangerously-clawed Wolverine emerges in September, along with a newly-announced special edition PS5 console, a couple of DualSense controllers, and even some plates for your existing hardware. (Plus, the previews are quite positive!) September also provides us with horroresque Halloween: The Game from IllFonic, which interestingly enough won't be released in Australia and New Zealand for the stupidest reason. Come October, hack-and-slash RPG Phantom Blade 0 joins the fray -- a long-in-development Chinese game that's getting its own State of Play imminently -- not to mention Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition, packing new single-player content galore alongside the return of the Katana-wielding Atsu. Other news this week includes a surprise PS3-era Lord of the Rings drop, insane data about Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders, and more. But we end, as we always do, with listener inquiries. Will Sony really eschew any sort of external disc drive for PlayStation 6, if only for backwards compatibility purposes? Why is visiting a new town in an RPG typically such an exciting experience? What would a "Digital Bill of Rights" look like? Is Dustin losing his Japanese language skills through atrophy?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro42:56 - Met-cha Chameleon47:49 - Sacred American Gladiator50:20 - 24 minutes53:49 - Almonds vs data centers1:07:26 - Phantom Blade Zero State of Play1:15:00 - Halloween The Game refused classification in Australia and New Zealand1:27:08 - Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition1:35:19 - Wolverine console plates and more1:43:56 - Lord of the Rings: War in the North re-released1:52:42 - New PS+ Game Catalog games2:01:00 - GTAVI's $100 version is the top seller2:14:29 - July's Top PSN Downloads2:17:35 - Spider-Man sales increase thanks to the movie2:20:20 - What We're Playing (Big Walk, Marvel Tokon, Gears of War E-Day, Spider-Man (2000), Beast of Reincarnation)2:59:54- Digital Bill of Rights3:10:07 - Playing PS5 discs on PS63:20:35 - Codes in boxes3:24:14 - RPG towns3:29:23 - Defending big companies3:39:48 - Game discipline
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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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