In 2022, approximately 8,500 people lost their jobs in the games industry. In 2023, that number rose to 10,500, and just last year it ballooned to an unfathomable 14,600. Will it be worse this year? That's currently unknowable, but one thing's certain: Industry playing and spending habits are radically changing, and the newest victim of the environment (and loads of really bad choices along the way) is Warner Bros. Games, which shut down three studios (including the vaunted team Monolith Productions, cancelling its Wonder Woman project in the process) while declaring it's all-in on very specific IP, but nothing more. Is WB Games' meltdown a cautionary tale? Or is it a simple example of more-of-the-same? With seven out of 10 PlayStation 5 players playing at least one of the 10 most popular games on the platform -- and with an astonishing 40% of playtime on PS4 and PS5 spent with those 10 games, and those 10 games alone -- we are nearing an inflection point. There are too many people making too many games alongside too little interest in much of what's being released, and frankly, the bloodletting is nowhere near finished. We discuss. Plus: PSVR2 gets a major price cut, THPS 3+4 Remastered leaks via ratings, Black Myth: Wukong sells huge on PlayStation 5, Sony-published Midnight Murder Club gets a release date, and more. Then: Inquiries from our beloved listeners. How hyped are we for Death Stranding 2? What do we make of the rumors of a God of War-related announcement slated for March? Could we define the term "Eurojank"? Will Chris ever get another haircut again in his entire life?

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

0:28:36 - Colin's lower octave

0:36:39 - Does Chris need a haircut?

0:42:10 - Imagine Dragons in space

0:46:06 - Colonoscopy customer service

0:51:59 - Ohio slander

0:59:20 - PSVR2 price cut

1:10:43 - Sony stashing PS5s in US

1:23:43 - 40% of playtime is on 10 live service games

1:34:52 - Sony sued over digital monopoly

1:43:11 - THPS 3+4

1:48:40 - Konami and Bloober sign a new deal

1:54:44 - Black Myth: Wukong sold 5 million copies on PS5

1:57:27 - Midnight Murder Club is coming to early access

2:05:18 - What Are We Playing?

2:21:52 - Chaos at WB Games

3:14:25 - PS Plus Essentials

3:27:43 - Circana January stats

3:33:00 - Death Stranding 2 Special Edition extras

3:37:06 - God of War returning

3:40:40 - Did Quantic Dream get away?

3:47:11 - Everything is a meta-verse

3:54:07 - Addicted to maps

3:58:30 - Eurojank

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This has been an exciting week in Sacred Symbols World. We're riding high off of our two hour interview with ex-Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida, and we're eager to reminisce and reflect on it. (You can watch or listen for yourself on Sacred Symbols+.) But as far as news is concerned? Well, this week is a little slower than most, which is why we packed extra listener inquiries into the show, and still covered what was there: Fresh rumors of a Tony Hawk 3+4 Remastered Collection, leaker updates concerning Square Enix's remakes of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy Tactics, clarity on HBO's seasonal plans with The Last of Us, the potential emergence of a major Rainbow Six Siege update, and much more. As usual, we then round things out with listener inquiries on a variety of subjects. What are our thoughts about the recent layoffs on the Marvel Rivals team? Does SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku run the risk of overexposing the Yakuza/Like A Dragon franchise? Why are many creators so eager to politically and socially alienate their audiences? Is Colin on the verge of converting to Islam?

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

0:12:23 - Clipping our show

0:22:25 - Status of TLOU2 Season 2 spoilercasts and Side Quest

0:31:29 - Patreon RSS changes

0:48:00 - Gaming full circle moment

0:50:08 - RIP Bullet

0:56:21 - Husky problems

1:13:50 - Colin's secret identity

1:17:37 - Colin's Italian citizenship

1:31:38 - Last week's stolen idea

1:34:47 - Roger Clark meeting

1:42:46 - Creating stories in Civilization

1:51:01 - Colin got Radec'ed

1:59:01 - Lost Soul Aside is getting a physical release

2:03:29 - Final Fantasy IX remake rumors

2:08:24 - Xbox will start including PS5 logos during events

2:15:39 - THPS 3+4 remake is real

2:23:15 - System Shock 2 remake is coming

2:28:43 - Rainbow Six Siege X

2:36:51 - TLOU will be four seasons long

2:40:00 - KCD2 and Dynasty Warriors sales

2:41:20 - What Are We Playing?

3:25:05 - Stick deadzone

3:30:15 - Marvel Rivals layoffs

3:37:20 - Like a Dragon's continued success

3:45:01 - Strong competition in the console market

3:52:14 - Dice Awards drama

4:01:44 - Amazon's failure to disrupt Steam

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A recent presentation showcased a diverse array of some 35 games coming to PlayStation 5 over the next couple of years. But -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- that hasn't stopped boo-birds from raining down upon Sony yet again, at least from some particularly loud corners. It seems that some people will literally never be satisfied, no matter what. But for those who are looking forward to new games to play, there was much to be excited about in the form of Lost Soul Aside, Metal Eden, Borderlands 4, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Hell Is Us, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Days Gone Remastered, Tides of Annihilation, and even a brand new Housemarque PS5-exclusive called Saros, amongst much more. This week, we take time to delve into everything discussed during the newest State of Play, and dive into a bunch of other news too. Sony's quarterly financials are out, and PS5 sales are booming, reaching 75 million sold and counting. Meanwhile, Astro Bot is getting even more free DLC, God of War may be reverting to its Greek roots, Resistance and The Order are likely permanently dead, Twisted Metal returns to Peacock this summer, and so on. Then: Listener inquiries! Is Kendrick Lamar a PlayStation nerd? Does HDR even do anything? Why aren't more old folks playing games? Should Colin just retire?

• This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/SYMBOLS and 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.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:20 - Super Bowl stories

0:39:47 - Bellota <3

0:47:32 - 2x Speed

0:52:27 - In some sense

0:54:56 - Napoleon's penis

0:59:25 - PSN outage

1:17:20 - PS5 sells over 75 million

1:29:11 - Astro Bot bundle incoming

1:38:02 - Death Stranding 2 stream at SXSW

1:41:27 - Elden Ring: Nightreign release date

1:46:04 - The Order 1886 could have had a sequel

1:50:54 - 100% new information about Resistance 4

2:00:01 - God of War in Greece?

2:07:30 - Twisted Metal Season 2 coming this summer

2:10:35 - Koei Tecmo's CEO steps down

2:13:52 - Layoffs at Crytek

2:17:07 - DQXII is still in development

2:18:53 - PUBG is more lucrative than ever

2:23:36 - What Are We Playing?

2:53:24 - State of Play general thoughts

3:18:42 - Monster Hunter WIlds

3:19:57 - Shinobi

3:23:35 - Sonic Racing Cross Worlds

3:25:15 - Digimon Story Time Stranger

3:29:18 - Lost Soul Aside

3:32:55 - Small updates/games

3:36:47 - Borderlands 4

3:41:39 - Split Fiction

3:43:41 - Directive 8020

3:48:38 - The Midnight Walk

3:50:43 - Darwin's Paradox

3:52:28 - Warriors Abyss

3:53:50 - Onimusha

3:56:42 - Metal Gear Solid Delta

3:57:47 - Hell is Us

4:01:33 - Lies of P Overture

4:03:07 - Dreams of Another

4:08:16 - Days Gone Remastered

4:17:43 - Stellar Blade DLC

4:20:16 - Lost Records

4:21:54 - PS Plus games

4:24:28 - Tides of Annihilation

4:30:00 - Metal Eden

4:33:54 - MindsEye

4:40:11 - Saros

4:45:24 - Sony cleaning out AI games

4:50:34 - HDR woes

4:55:12 - IGN's Twitter antics

4:58:43 - Earthblade cancellation

5:03:34 - Too old for video games?

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When truly great games are delivered, players tend to respond. The industry's newest sales success is the long-awaited Kingdom Come: Deliverance sequel, which immediately sold a million copies upon release. But it's hardly alone. And the rest of this long year is already shaping up to be something special, with Metal Gear Solid Delta's release date leaking, Death Stranding 2's newest trailer drawing nearer, and EA's Battlefield finally toying with a real comeback. Other news this week includes the potential of a discless PlayStation 6, the arrival of more Xbox games on PS5 in the form of Age of Empires and Age of Mythology, Capcom's announcement of a port of PS2's Onimusha 2 for PlayStation 4, and more. Let's then round things out with listener inquiries, as is our tradition. What are our thoughts on the return of games media brand Rooster Teeth? Is Sony putting its own games on sale too quickly and too steeply, to its own detriment? Did EA executives really claim Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed because it wasn't live service? Will Colin ever recover from tendinitis, or are his weightlifting days over?

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

0:23:28 - Side Quest is back!

0:29:11 - Colin's tendinitis

0:32:14 - George's bush

0:48:41 - Career switching advice

0:57:39 - Why is Abby tiny?

1:06:19 - Shawn Layden thinks PlayStation will keep physical for PS6

1:12:25 - Metal Gear Solid Delta release date leaked

1:17:31 - Death Stranding 2 is rated in South Korea

1:21:42 - KCD2 sells one million in one day

1:27:25 - New Battlefield game by early 2026

1:34:43 - MultiVersus is going offline

1:42:13 - Devil May Cry remake coming?

1:49:04 - Prince of Persia The Lost Crown sold 1.3 million copies

1:50:02 - Konami churned $500 million in profit over 9 months

1:51:06 - Sony integrates SN Systems

1:52:11 - What Are We Playing?

2:31:06 - Age of Mythology is coming to PS5

2:38:03 - Onimusha 2 is being remastered

2:46:00 - Rooster Teeth's return

2:57:37 - Should PlayStation stop putting their games on sale?

3:06:17 - Will Sony stop releasing on PC?

3:13:42 - Sony's live service push concerning for the industry?

3:16:28 - Is EA crazy?

3:23:38 - Is new IP overvalued?

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Just last year, Sony had grand designs of a new PlayStation leadership structure executing on an exciting multi-pronged strategy, but only three fiscal quarters later, the plan has come undone. Hideaki Nishino and Hermen Hulst were bestowed co-CEO roles -- the former looking after hardware and services, the latter after software -- but now, Nishino will hold the CEO role alone, with Hulst demoted and now reporting directly to him. While Sony Corporation itself made some other changes as well, including installing Hiroki Totoki as the larger entity's CEO, changes to PlayStation's executive structure so soon after alterations were first made says something rather clear: Bad choices were made, and rectifying them as quickly as possible is the best idea. We discuss. Other news this week includes Xbox quickly becoming PlayStation's biggest publisher, with yet another Xbox game -- Forza Horizon 5 -- en route to PS5, rumblings of new films for Resident Evil and Beyond: Two Souls, PlayStation 5 continuing to outsell the PS4 in the US when adjusted for time, layoffs at BioWare following Dragon Age's tumultuous end, MLB: The Show 25 skipping PS4 for the first time since the console launched, and more. Listener inquiries wrap things up. Is NCSoft's Horizon MMO cancelled? How does a game's budget actually get determined? Should future Dragon Quest games abandon Akira Toriyama's art style? Will Colin's Herman Miller chair ever arrive?

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

0:10:14 - Gooneral

0:25:29 - Punching Up rising up

0:27:14 - Herman-Miller woes

0:30:13 - Raymond

0:40:52 - PS5 is outselling PS4, time-adjusted

0:52:26 - PSN logins on PC are now optional for single player games

0:59:23 - 30th Anniversary themes are gone (but coming back)

1:21:16 - MLB The Show 25 coming on Match 18

1:35:38 - Spider-Man 2 is out now on PC

1:43:51 - BioWare downsizes

1:56:44 - Helldivers 2's director is taking a sabbatical

2:04:44 - Silent Hill 2 Remake surpasses two million copies sold

2:05:03 - Sega renews the trademark for Skies of Arcadia

2:09:00 - Berserk Boy

2:11:44 - What Are We Playing?

2:49:50 - Shakeup in Sony's leadership

3:10:58 - Xbox is the biggest publisher on PlayStation

3:33:13 - PlayStation Productions news

3:44:16 - New PS Plus games

3:50:12 - Horizon MMO canceled?

3:53:09 - Difficulty and trophies

3:59:43 - Best tip for aspiring journalists

4:19:05 - Why does game production cost so much?

4:23:22 - Should Dragon Quest's art style change with Toriyama's passing?

4:27:40 - What is the golden age of gaming?

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Insomniac Games' co-founder Ted Price is retiring from the company after a storied 30 year career, but it's what he's leaving behind in his stead that's truly curious: A three-person CEO grouping, virtually unheard of in the corporate world, that hopes to leverage the unique skills of each person. When taken into account with PlayStation's new co-CEO structure, it makes us wonder if Sony seeks to spread the field instead of focus decision-making and responsibility on a single person. Is that such a good idea? We discuss. Meanwhile, Xbox had an exceptional press conference, and as Xbox games are now PlayStation games, we have a few titles of import to go over, including the reveal of the Microsoft-published Ninja Gaiden 4 and release dates for both Doom: The Dark Ages and third party RPG Clair Obscur. Other news this week includes chatter of a $100 pricetag for Grand Theft Auto VI, impressive new gameplay footage for Phantom Blade Zero, the commercial bombing of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and more. We then wrap up with six inquiries from the audience, as is our tradition. Could tariffs on Mexico drive physical game prices higher? Are there more game cancellations than ever, or simply more transparency in the process? Did Xbox miss an opportunity to strike at a vulnerable and underperforming PlayStation? Is Colin over-reliant on email, rendering him an exceptionally old man?

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

0:15:28 - Staying strong during a breakup

0:23:51 - Colin and email

0:42:15 - Winnie the Pooh style forever sleep

0:53:36 - Colin's thesaurus

0:56:32 - Dustin at the symphony

1:00:53 - GTA VI costing $100?

1:24:17 - Phantom Blade Zero gameplay

1:31:00 - New Astro Bot content

1:33:42 - Dragon Age bombed

1:48:46 - Resident Evil 6 rated for Xbox

1:53:44 - Silent Hill F ESRB rating

1:57:35 - Balatro sells over 5 million

2:00:35 - Civ 7 has gone gold

2:02:11 - What Are We Playing?

2:31:48 - Xbox Developer Direct

2:57:35 - Ted Price is retiring

3:20:07 - New sales data

3:24:16 - Tariff check

3:28:35 - Game cancelations

3:34:27 - Do kids care about PlayStation?

3:41:50 - Is Sony relieved at the state of Xbox?

3:46:01 - "DEI-Woke" games selling softer

4:00:33 - Was Jim Ryan horrible for PlayStation?

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We had already finished this recording when surprising news broke in the world of PlayStation: Sony has cancelled two of its upcoming, unannounced games. And -- would you believe it? -- they were both live service titles, including a God of War spin-off. The really unfortunate news, however, is who was making these titles: Bend and Bluepoint, two smaller AAA teams that typically work on a single project at a time, thus wasting years of development, as well as time and resources that can never be recovered. What in the world is going on with PlayStation Studios, and how did the person who helmed the first party family during such a tumultuous period of greenlights and plug-pulling ascend to the top of PlayStation itself? It's time to start asking some really hard questions. Other news this week includes substantial rumors of more Xbox content en route to PlayStation which, if true, will make Microsoft the single most-prolific producer of content for a platform that was once its arch-rival, but no longer. Also: Reactions to the first Until Dawn film trailer, a surprising end to Rocksteady's Suicide Squad game, accolades for an exceptional-looking upcoming vampire RPG called The Blood of Dawnwalker, tantalizing news about Bungie's in-development Smash Bros.-inspired MOBA, and more. We wrap up our episode (as we always do) with listener inquiries. Now that Nintendo's Switch 2 has been revealed, what are our preliminary thoughts? Is 2025 the year we finally give PSVR2 the respect it deserves? Why is it so hard to make swimming control well? Is it just a weird coincidence that SEGA renewed its Ecco the Dolphin trademark on September 11, 2001, or is there something deeper at play?

• This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/SYMBOLS and 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.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:27 - Sacred car collision

0:25:01 - Ranking LSM autism

0:28:06 - Do Colin and Chris drink coffee?

0:47:45 - Phil Summers Mega Man book

0:49:52 - Sony and SoCal studios are donating to the wildfire recovery

0:51:47 - Until Dawn movie

1:00:11 - Rocksteady ends Suicide Squad

1:05:09 - The Blood of Dawnwalker

1:11:35 - Ubisoft + Tencent?

1:18:59 - Square Enix releases a Group Customer Harassment policy

1:23:27 - Ecco the Dolphin trademark

1:29:02 - Elden Ring Nightreign network test registration is up

1:30:28 - Lunar Remastered has a date

1:33:14 - What are we playing?

1:54:54 - Sony has shut down two live service projects

2:19:14 - More Xbox games on PlayStation

2:43:49 - Bungie's Gummy Bears

2:57:35 - New PS Plus Extra and Premium games

3:05:41 - Top downloads on PSN for December

3:09:52 - Our thoughts on Switch 2

3:30:35 - PSVR2 recommendations

3:36:29 - Gamifying our life

3:45:11 - Swimming in games

3:50:41 - PS4 living on

3:53:33 - Prestige system for platinums

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We're back! 2024 is so last year; it's now time for us to dwell here in 2025... and perhaps even beyond. The holiday season was pretty quiet news-wise, but there were fairly substantial exceptions in the form of two lengthy interviews published by legendary Japanese games publication Famitsu, conducted with both of PlayStation's recently-installed co-CEOs. On the one hand, Hermen Hulst was peppered with questions about Helldivers 2 and Concord, the future of Sony's single-player initiatives, and whether PlayStation fans can expect more games to travel off-platform. On the other hand, Hideaki Nishino was prodded for answers on topics like the future of cloud gaming, the success of PS5 in the wake of PS4, and even when we might see a hypothetical PlayStation 6. Obviously, we're left with much to discuss. Other news of note includes another delay for Assassin's Creed: Shadows, early rumblings of a potential new emulation solution for PS3, compelling evidence of a forthcoming remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a turned-down pitch for Dead Space 4, and much more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why were so many people convinced Black Myth: Wukong was a PS5 console-exclusive title? Is it necessary for a True Yakuza Fan to play all titles in the series? 10 years on, how has Colin enjoyed his decade of media independence? Can we convince one listener not to name his son Simon or Ronan, but Richter instead?

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

0:27:58 - How was our break?

0:52:11 - Ronan or Simon?

0:55:38 - Internet service guy marks territory

1:04:51 - Halo x Doom

1:13:37 - AC Shadows delayed

1:25:19 - PS3 emulation?

1:33:34 - Ex-Platinum game director joins Housemarque

1:38:35 - The Midnight Black collection

1:45:12 - Sony is reviving old IP

1:50:17 - Is an Oblivion remake coming?

2:04:16 - Dead Space 4 denied

2:15:44 - Sega is considering a subscription service

2:23:55 - Stardew Valley keep selling

2:30:57 - What Have We Been Playing?

3:13:22 - Herman Hulst's Interview with Famitsu

3:26:31 - Nishino's Interview

3:42:39 - Sony at CES

3:54:37 - New PS Plus games

4:00:49 - How to get into Yakuza

4:08:16 - Should we comment on other's commentary?

4:17:19 - Black Myth Wukong's exclusivity myth debunked

4:19:12 - Mouthwashing's trophies

4:22:20 - Reflections on Kinda Funny

4:26:25 - Does LSM reimburse game purchases

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2024 is officially in the rearview mirror, which can only mean one thing: We're now in the exciting "next year" of video game releases on PlayStation 5 (and 4, too, to an extent). As is tradition here on Sacred Symbols, we cap-off our dueling annual end-of-year shows with a look ahead, each selecting five 2025 releases we're most amped about. This of course allows us to widely chat about 15 exciting upcoming games with only two rules in mind: Selections have to be slated for (or at least conceivably coming in) '25, and they must be on PlayStation hardware. Thus, we touch on just about everything you can imagine, from the biggest AAAs to our darling indies, and so much in between. Please enjoy, and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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The holidays are upon us, and thus it's time to roll out an old Sacred Symbols tradition: Our list of the most remarkable, interesting, confounding, and notable moments in the world of PlayStation for the calendar year. As usual, each of us has chosen five 'moments' -- that's 15 total -- and they all involve the PlayStation ecosystem in some way, some literally and obviously, while others more loosely and casually. So let's chat about Helldivers 2's meteoric success, the collapse of Concord and Firewalk, Xbox's wide-ranging publishing capitulation to Sony, the lead-up to (and launch of) PS5 Pro, the PlayStation brand's uneven 30th anniversary celebration, Sony's decision to publish Horizon on Switch, the furor around Stellar Blade, confirmation of a new PlayStation handheld in the years to come, and much, much more. Happy Holidays; please enjoy.

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