Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

PlayStation Network has once again been targeted by nefarious actors, this time exposing flaws in Sony's online infrastructure that we never even considered. If you've noticed weird games popping-up in your recently played list, titles that don't belong in your library, cluttered PSN widgets, and other oddities, you were affected. And while Sony seems to have begun to mend the issue, it feels like they're unable to accept their solemn corporate obligation to protect their customers. Will they ever even publicly admit their problems, nonetheless solve all of them? We discuss. Plus: Other news! Grand Theft Auto VI's pre-orders are imminent, rumors are circulating about a potential delay of PlayStation 6, Housemarque talks about its post-Saros future, Halo: Campaign Evolved's Trophies have been surreally revealed, Mark Hamill is set to appear in Twisted Metal's third season on Peacock, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is PlayStation at risk of losing its hard-earned prestige? Why aren't more at-risk studios sold instead of shuttered? Should Capcom get more credit for their runaway success with RE Engine? Will Dustin ever return to the show, or will Sacred forever move forward as a duo?

Timestamps:

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

0:00 - Intro37:04 - Leon the Great38:35 - Dustin's weeb degeneracy45:27 - Colin adopts Joshua's wife52:17 - Long Island history55:40 - LSM's extra content58:35 - GTA VI pre-orders1:09:05 - PS4 got a new firmware update1:13:39 - Yet another PSN security issue1:37:16 - Will PS6 be delayed?1:52:02 - Housemarque's future2:07:50 - Halo's first trophy list2:13:29 - Mark Hamill joins Twisted Metal2:18:25 - Black Ops 1 & 2 are coming to Playstation2:23:53 - EA reveals EA Advertising2:32:16 - Rockstar retires PS4 players2:33:20 - Sony patents DualSense with button hardness2:41:21 - Unreal Engine 6 releases in 20272:54:54 - Capcom disempowers its authors3:04:38 - Devil May Cry 5 sold more copies in 20253:06:03 - Sony speaks on PC cancellations3:08:49 - What We're Playing (007 First Light, Pragmata, Crazy Taxi 2)3:14:03 - Has Playstation lost its riz?3:20:25 - Could Sony relocate?3:25:58 - Why are studios shut down?3:33:26 - Should Playstation exit the A and AA space?3:43:51 - RE Engine praise3:51:36 - Grifting doesn't earn much
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We're coming off of our Summer Game Fest-related high, toting a bunch of news from publisher-driven events that occurred after we published our last episode. For starters, the Xbox Showcase... showcased... 28 games in total, of which 24 are coming to PlayStation 5, including State of Decay 3, Senua, and Spyro: A Realm Beyond (not to mention release dates for Halo: Combat Evolved and Fable). But Xbox's peculiar, wishy-washy, and inconsistent behavior likewise makes us wonder what the future might hold for Microsoft releases on Sony's hardware, especially because Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution -- both internally slated to migrate to PlayStation 5 until very recently -- won't appear at all. Meanwhile, Nintendo's newest Direct also had some interesting fodder, including a surprise look at Kingdom Hearts IV, a brand new 2D-HD game in the form of Final Fantasy Resonance, and more. Other news this week revolves around Persona 4 Revival and Persona 6, a new Crazy Taxi adventure in the form of World Tour, a promising magic shooter called Magicians: The Devil's Deal, a fall release date for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, and extremely strong sales figures for Yacht Club's Mina the Hollower. We wrap things up (as always) with listener inquiries! Now that everything has settled, what are our three most-anticipated games, respectively? Should Sony bite the bullet and greenlight Destiny 3? Where's Naughty Dog hiding? Is Colin falling prey to Big Plumber and Big Sewer propaganda by refusing to flush wipes?

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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.

00:00 - Intro08:01 - Letters for Dustin14:59 - From the PO Box27:49 - LSM's big week29:08 - When she likes Sacred...33:03 - World Cup48:26 - Going to a water park alone56:50 - Flushing the poo wipes1:00:39 - Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 281:22:01 - Persona 4 Revival + Persona 61:39:09 - Kingdom Hearts Collection + IV1:53:15 - Fable 4 Release Date2:01:34 - State of Decay 32:10:37 - Senua2:15:49 - Crazy Taxi: World Tour2:23:36 - Join Us2:26:41 - Final Fantasy Resonance2:30:25 - Magicians: The Devils Deal2:34:39 - Castlevania: Belmont's Curse2:36:33 - Spyro: A Realm Beyond2:42:53 - Thief remaster2:45:18 - Muramasa2:47:25 - Tales of Eternia Remastered2:49:05 - Mina the Hollower surpasses 500,000 copies sold2:49:53 - New PS+ Game Catalog titles2:52:52 - What We're Playing3:10:23 - Top moments of SGF season3:16:48 - Xbox and exclusivity3:55:41 - The Order 1886 Comeback?4:04:12 - Destiny frustration4:22:55 - Beating ritual4:27:37 - Where is Naughty Dog?
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What a week! Our jam-packed episode of Sacred Symbols covers all of the announcements from both Sony's State of Play presentation, as well as Geoff Keighley's Summer Games Fest showcase. And let's just say, there's a ton to get through. State of Play's 25 game roster included a fresh, expanded look at Wolverine, the reveal of Firesprite's long-rumored Until Dawn 2, and the confirmation of a brand new God of War game in the form of Laufey (plus a ton of third-party stuff, including Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Silent Hill: Townfall, Control Resonant, Phantom Blade 0, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and more). Geoff's show went even harder, with a full 53 games displayed, including the culmination of the Final Fantasy VII Remake saga in the form of Final Fantasy VII: Revelation, the always-assumed Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake en route in 2027, two new Cuphead titles, the Stellar Blade sequel Blood Rain, and so on. We have other news this week, too -- MMORPG Horizon: Steel Frontiers has been delayed, California's legislature is going after developers and publishers who delist games, Fable has been delayed until next year, and so on -- but really, the meat of the show is all about these E3-like pressers. Even the questions at the end! So buckle up for one long episode of Sacred Symbols.

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

0:00:00 - Intro0:08:09 - Another Sacred statistic0:19:59 - dishonored brokers0:26:24 - "the podcast I listen to"0:34:27 - State of Play rundown3:12:55 - Was State of Play underwhelming?3:25:13 - Economic realities of originality3:37:27 - Stagnant first party3:44:25 - Studios stuck on IPs3:50:39 - Less attractive female characters?4:00:40 - September is looking rough4:08:39 - Summer Game Fest rundown5:26:13 - Sony removes more shovelware5:31:48 - Horizon: Steel Frontiers delayed5:33:14 - Amazon and 007 First Light5:40:50 - Toy Story Retro Roundup5:50:18 - New CA bill for game preservation6:02:53 - Fallout 76 coming to PS56:03:43 - Fable delayed6:04:11 - Gravity Circuit 2 announced6:04:57 - May 2026 PSN top downloads6:06:59 - What We're Playing (Pragmata, Saros, Mina the Hollower, 007: First Light)
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We know many of you are tired of talking about Bungie, and frankly, we're kind of tired of discussing them, too. Then again, we're captive to the news, so blame Sony for purchasing them. On the back of last week's discussion about the end of Destiny 2 comes word that Bungie is planning major layoffs as it attempts to greenlight a new project to develop alongside the ongoing Marathon. And no, Destiny 3 isn't happening. At least not yet. What's next for this beleaguered team? If we're being totally candid and honest, does a future for Bungie even really exist at all? There's lots of other news this week, too, including rumors surrounding Media Molecule's next game, the peculiar re-reveal of the long-in-development Dragon Quest XII, the confirmation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and its October release, trouble surrounding PlayStation 3 emulation on Linux, The Witcher 3's new expansion coming more than a decade after the last, Persona 4 Remake's surprise South Korean games rating, and much more. Then: Listener inquiries! Are indie games treated more softly than AA/AAA games when it comes to reviews? What could the drastic increase in SteamDeck pricing mean for PlayStation 6? Is former Sony second party partner Quantic Dream doomed? Why would anyone try to talk about Sacred Symbols with Magic: The Gathering nerds?

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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 - Intro0:35:05 - AI Questions0:36:44 - assumacide0:57:01 - Naming rights1:01:57 - Do we have drama?1:03:50 - MLB: The Show Mobile is live1:09:32 - Marathon is free June 2-91:20:21 - Bungie layoffs1:52:25 - Media Molecule is working on a new open world IP2:00:12 - Dragon Quest XII re-revealed2:16:16 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 42:23:09 - PS3 emulation on PS52:30:59 - RIP Destruction AllStars2:36:03 - New Witcher 3 expansion2:43:22 - Remedy's CEO claims2:52:04 - Persona 4 Revival rated in South Korea2:57:21 - June PS+ Games3:02:37 - What We’re Playing (Pragmata, 007: First Light)3:23:26 - Indie game boost3:31:57 - Steam's price issues and Sony3:44:53 - Are platinum trophies getting easier?3:49:34 - Will retro games lose value?3:59:25 - Will Quantic Dream be okay?4:08:55 - Are Sony First Party teams too protective?
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What a week! On the back of Colin's PSN account being temporarily hijacked by nefarious forces, we have an enormous amount to get through for our ever-eager audience. We dissect what happened, why it happened, how we've been communicating with Sony to try and convince them to fix the major issues plaguing their online service, and what we feel you should do to protect yourself. But understand this, and understand it well: PSN's security is a complete joke. All an outsider needs to get access to your account is an email address and mundane information like the date you made a random purchase, and they'll give your account to basically anyone. Your password doesn't matter, your 2FA doesn't matter, and your passkey doesn't matter. To repeat: Your password doesn't matter, your 2FA doesn't matter, and your passkey doesn't matter. And if you want more proof, someone in our audience reset two of his own accounts back-to-back with PlayStation's hilariously-deficient (and potentially-compromised) third world customer service call centers, just to make the point. Sony must make serious changes and reunite people with their stolen PSN accounts, and we intend on pressing until they do. We are your loyal and dedicated customers. Remember? Other news this week includes the announcement of a fresh State of Play in early June, confirmation that PlayStation will no longer release its single-player games on PC, the official end of Destiny 2, the renaming of Fairgames, rumors of a return of Infamous, an increase in PS+ pricing, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Could Shuhei Yoshida ever return to PlayStation? Why have mergers and acquisitions dramatically slowed down in the games industry? Will Sony pull PS5s from shelves shortly after PS6 launches due to pricing tensions? Which members of Cobra would Chris and Dustin be?

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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.

0:00:00 - Intro0:22:05 - To Grace and Leo0:26:05 - Reverse Jesus0:28:25 - Children of wealth0:38:55 - Chris and Dustin in Cobra0:42:18 - Candle compromise0:43:09 - The Great Hack2:30:04 - State of Play incoming2:41:09 - Sony single player games are no longer coming to PC2:55:10 - Destiny 2 is ending3:15:58 - Fairgames renamed?3:27:38 - PS Plus price increase3:34:26 - Is Infamous coming back?3:43:00 - Warhorse Studios is working on two games3:52:07 - Embracer reorganizes4:00:14 - Circana data for April4:05:33 - What We're Playing (Mouse: PI For Hire, Pragmata, Saros, Marathon)4:14:40 - Shuhei spotted4:16:47 - PSN keys4:29:46 - What happened to consolidation?4:33:45 - Player analytics4:39:01 - PS5 after PS64:46:48 - Difficulty tuning
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