Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

PlayStation 4's smash-hit exclusive Spider-Man game was played by more than 15 million people, and when they jump into the PS5 port, they're going to receive something literally not one of them asked for: A brand-new Peter Parker. Sometimes, the intersection of art and business can be messy and confusing like that. We discuss. Plus: Is the most recent report of crunch at CD Projekt yet another reo...

Things have been looking great for PlayStation 5, but a seismic event threatens to restructure the entire landscape of console gaming. With Microsoft's purchase of ZeniMax Media (and therefore Bethesda, all of its studios, and all of its IP), Xbox suddenly controls the fate not only of talented teams like id Software, Machinegames, Tango Gameworks, and others, but some of gaming's most iconic fran...

We've waited so long for concrete details concerning PlayStation 5's release date and price that it all feels a bit like a fever dream. But the spell has broken: The results, as Maury would say, are in. PlayStation 5 has a price and a release date; it all fits exactly where it should. But there are some complications, to be sure. For instance, did you know Miles Morales is also a PS4 game? Thanks...

For months, we've been noting the shocking level of silence emanating out of both Sony and Microsoft. Eventually, something had to give, and it has: Xbox Series X has a release date, a price, a launch library, and even a cheaper companion, the long-rumored Xbox Series S. These two machines are interesting in that they're truly different from one another. They play the same games, but they don't ha...

We're something like two months and change removed from PlayStation 5's presumed release window, but if you were expecting Sony itself to say anything about it, keep on hoping and dreaming. One of the upcoming console's deepest mysteries remains just how far in PlayStation history its backwards compatibility will allow us to delve; yet if a seemingly-innocuous FAQ from Ubisoft is any indication, y...

It was just weeks ago that we were chatting about persistent rumors concerning WB Interactive, and the potential sale of its studios, projects, and licenses to outside interests. But suddenly, we're talking about the publisher in a different light, because not one -- but two! -- of its games have been revealed, in all their DC glory. Suicide Squad looks a bit like Sunset Overdrive, while Gotham Kn...

You didn't expect it. You may not even want it. But you're going to get it: A free, multiplayer-centric update to Ghost of Tsushima called Legends is coming this fall, an update that allows you to play the game with up to four players, with missions, endless waves of enemies, and even raids. Does such an addition to Sucker Punch's most recent game make any sense? Or should we be skeptical? We disc...

You may not have heard of The Embracer Group... but they've heard of you. Okay, maybe it's not that serious, but Embracer -- the holding company that owns THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, Koch Media, and others -- has been steadily acquiring dev talent for years. And now? Well, now they have a first party family of studios bigger than PlayStation's and Xbox's combined. It's not all AAA talent, of course,...

Next month, the long-in-development Avengers game comes to PlayStation 4 (it'll come to PS5 when the console launches, too), and there's a special sort of catch for Sony gamers: When Spider-Man arrives in Crystal Dynamics' long-awaited multiplayer adventure in 2021, he'll only be available within the ecosystem. That is to say, Xbox and PC players won't have access to arguably the biggest character...

We may not have any idea when PlayStation 5 is coming out, what it'll cost, or even if many of us will be able to get our hands on one at launch. But what we do know -- thanks to a recent consumer survey conducted in the UK -- is that Sony's upcoming console is far, far more eagerly-anticipated than Microsoft's Xbox Series X. Does this spell good (or even great) news for PS5, or are any celebratio...

We already know PlayStation 5 was primed to provide a technological quantum leap to AAA projects, but what it'll be capable of in its first round of games is fairly surprising. Sony-owned Insomniac has revealed that its launch game -- the kinetic Spider-Man: Miles Morales -- can run at 60 frames-per-second in 4K resolution, which is virtually unheard of on current-gen consoles. But nothing is free...

It was a really big week for Ubisoft. They revealed (the admittedly leaked) Far Cry 6, stamped a couple of release dates on Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and gave us some more details on the upcoming battle royale Hyper Scape, too. But the company has also been persistently dogged by accusations of sexual impropriety and other illicit activities at its highest levels of managem...

Until Fortnite, the primary fuel that made Epic Games run was Unreal Engine, its ubiquitous and flexible framework on which hundreds of notable, successful, and popular titles have run for more than two decades. But these days, Epic's many initiatives have the North Carolina-based company accelerating at light speed, and now, Sony owns a sliver of 'em. We discuss what this modest acquisition means...

Now that we've gotten a limited look at next-gen, a few major unknowns remain. Perhaps the biggest mystery -- apart from the cost of PlayStation 5 itself -- is how expensive AAA software running on the new hardware will be. Thanks to 2K, we may have an answer, marking the first price hike in well over a decade. Such a move may cause sticker shock at first, but rest assured: Gaming is still cheaper...

As you probably know, Chris has a very specific arcane power: He can seemingly wish games of his choosing into existence. So when Crash Bandicoot 4 was revealed, it appeared that the planets aligned for Ray Gun (it's one of his favorite series, after all), and so we have much to talk about with that topic alone. But there are other important pieces of news to get to, too, including a deep dive int...

Publisher Electronic Arts gets a lot of grief -- much of it earned -- but it also announces something truly exciting and different on occasion. Star Wars Squadrons is one such game, a dogfighter in the same spiritual vein as beloved Star Wars-related franchises of the past like Rogue Squadron and X-Wing (vs. TIE Fighter). It sounds pretty awesome, and we go deep into why we think so. Plus: We talk...

It's hard to believe, but the time has finally come, for Sony hasn't only shown PlayStation 5 games galore, but PlayStation 5 itself. That's right: The box. Now that we know what the console actually looks like, it's time to discuss its aesthetic. But more importantly, it's time to discuss the titles that will run on the machine. From first party to second party to third party, Sony brought out so...

Here in America, a cop's murder of an unarmed black man has temporarily torn our society asunder. It's caused peaceful mass protests around the country, and the situation has occasionally fallen into outright rioting and looting as well. In other words, we're experiencing a period of substantial unrest. That unrest has naturally transferred its way into the World of PlayStation, where Sony's much-...

We've somehow made it 100 episodes, and it's all thanks to you, our precious listeners. To celebrate our auspicious milestone, we thought we'd do something a little different: Answer 100 minutes worth of listener questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas. You can find that at the end of the normal show. In the meantime, though, there's a ton of news to get through, and we discuss it all....

We're getting close now. Really close. Compelling rumors are now circulating (along with some vague words from Sony's CEO himself) that PlayStation 5's official reveal is close on the horizon, and may happen in just a few weeks, along with the first showcase of Sony's first party, next-gen offerings. So let's chat about the rumors, what we think will happen, and when we can expect everything to go...

When it comes to Ghost of Tsushima, Sony-owned Sucker Punch has the distinct honor of delivering PlayStation 4's very last first party AAA exclusive. Yet, there's no doubt that both the publisher and developer of the 13th century samurai adventure have been pretty quiet about it, which raised some doubts about whether it'd be any good. The silence has been broken, though, with an 18 minute-long pr...

The hunger for next-gen information is palpable, and with this week's Xbox event, it seemed like Microsoft was keen on going first in some sort of substantive way. Instead, most fans were left confused by their showing. But there's good news for us here in PlayStation Land, because concentrating on third parties simply means that what's coming to Xbox Series X is coming to PlayStation 5, too. We d...

Our shifting podcast schedule couldn't have possibly come at a better time, because it just so happens that the last seven days (or so) in the gaming industry have been among the most news-packed in recent memory. For starters, The Last of Us: Part II has a new release date, but such a revelation comes on the back of something truly traumatic for Naughty Dog, Sony, and TLoU fans: Catastrophic stor...

That face in the thumbnail? That's the face of your doom. It's also the face of a bizarre patent Sony filed for a robot that can experience PlayStation games right alongside you. What does it mean? We don't exactly know, but we're definitely afraid of it. Also: A new Bloomberg article talks much more about PlayStation 5 and when we can expect it, and even how much it'll likely cost, giving us much...

Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally arrived, and with it a bevy of high expectations. Have they been met? Well, for one of us, anyway, expectations have been far exceeded. We're excited to gush about Square Enix's fresh tour-de-force, and dedicate tons of time to Cloud's new-old adventure. Of course, we won't forget about the news! DualSense is PS5's new controller, Resident Evil 4 Remake and Sil...