Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

Happy New Year! Well, maybe not so happy for Sony. That's because -- if rumors and percolations are true -- PlayStation 5's ROM keys have been leaked, meaning that the console is likely on the verge of being jailbroken. And for veterans of the PS3 era, you know precisely what that means: Chaos. Well, maybe? Let's discuss this potentially serious development. Also: Ruminations on the passing of leg...

If rumors about PlayStation 6 are true, then we're well into the back-half of PS5's tenure as Sony's primary console. And -- as is often the case at this point in a generation -- the releases are starting to pick up drastically, especially dramatic considering the sheer number of options on the market these days. Thus, it's time for the second of our two yearly traditions here on Sacred Symbols, a...

The holiday season is here, which means we're off for a bit. But, of course, new episodes never cease rolling out! Thus, we've arrived at the first of our two Christmastime traditions: Recounting the most consequential 'moments' in the world of PlayStation and beyond for the past calendar year. As usual, we've each selected five choices for 15 total, and they touch on topics like the first concret...

Let's be honest: This whole Light of Motiram thing was shady from the get-go. A game that blatantly rips off Guerrilla's Horizon franchise, created by the publisher-and-developer combo that was later revealed to have unsuccessfully pitched Sony a Horizon spin-off beforehand? They call that 'dead to rights.' And now it's official, because Sony's lawsuit against Tencent over this facsimile has been...

The Game Awards have come and gone, leaving in its wake a whirlwind of game announcements, release date reveals, and fresh perspectives on our industry. Indeed, there's something for everyone, a draw for all comers. For starters, what's new? Two Star Wars offerings, Larian's secret Divinity project, Jonathan Blow's long-awaited Order of the Sinking Star, a sequel to Remedy's Control, Toshihiro Nag...

When it comes to the evolving gaming market, there's a lot for Sony to keep an eye on in the years and decades to come. To keep PlayStation the vibrant brand it is today, the company needs to spread the field, and two newly-announced projects -- an all-new co-op multiplayer game from the director of Left 4 Dead and a mobile port of mega-popular baseball franchise MLB: The Show -- fit the bill nice...

Two months ago, a now-fired Sucker Punch developer lost her job due to an ill-timed social media post, and she's been fairly quiet ever since, at least until now. In a new article, artist Drew Harrison talks about what befell her, but -- truth be told -- she seems to have missed the biggest part of her own story: How much she could have (and did) harm the hundreds of other people that worked for y...

Last year, Sony launched it's service-based third-person shooter Concord, and it bombed worse than virtually any PlayStation-developed title in history. In fact, it was received so poorly that Sony disappeared it off the market in a matter of two weeks, gave everyone their money back, and snuffed the entire project out of existence while closing the studio that made it. Fast-forward more than a ye...

PlayStation 5 has officially turned five, giving us much to reflect upon. Has the console lived up to its potential, left folks disappointed, or fallen somewhere in between? We get into that -- alongside new Sony financials that paint an admittedly rosy picture -- before getting into the meat of our show. Two new Sony-aligned games have been revealed, but they've left many potential players puzzle...

For those with specific use cases, the PlayStation Portal has always been awesome. But Sony has been quietly bolstering the device over the last two years, and with its newest update, it's become more powerful than ever. Those with a PS+ Essential subscription can now purchase and stream nearly 3,000 games directly to the device without any sort of console tether, a major step-up for a peripheral...

An old piece of games industry lore has recently reemerged, and it has people wondering about a tantalizing what-if. Back in 1999, The Matrix hit theaters, and the co-creators of the film happened to have been huge fans of Hideo Kojima, himself a year removed from the launch of Metal Gear Solid. And, as was reported at the time, there was potential that Konami would allow Kojima to pursue a licens...

With Xbox's famous ringworld officially arriving on PlayStation 5 in 2026, we can rest assured that Sony's longtime rival has finally conceded the console space for good. Halo: Campaign Evolved -- clever! -- is a ground-up remake of the smash-hit 2001 Xbox launch title, and it comes with some new bells and whistles, including fresh content and a four-player online-enabled campaign. Microsoft even...

Time sure is moving, but has a sufficient amount of it passed for us to start considering the next generation of PlayStation console? According to two reliable leakers, the answer is yes: Sony is very much aiming to get PS6 out in 2027. This makes sense by historical standards -- seven years between consoles is fairly normal, if not even a little slow -- but it really doesn't feel like we need thi...

If you're a regular purchaser of games, you're a stark minority within the very industry you know and love. We've known all about the revenue-related trends directing games as of late, but recent data indicates things are far more dire than they seem, particularly if you're a single player purist. For instance, a third of gaming consumers purchase less than one game a year; 12% buy one game a year...

All anyone wants to talk about right now is Electronic Arts, and reasonably so. The American publishing titan is on the verge of being purchased by external interests for $55 billion, and when we say external, we mean it. The major player in reverting EA to a private corporation is Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, muddying this already complex deal that also happens to be the largest leverage...

The "where are the games?!" crowd is having a bad week, because PlayStation's most recent State of Play showed that plenty is indeed incoming for your PS5. For starters, Insomniac's long-dormant Wolverine has reemerged. Revealed four years ago and having clearly gone through some tribulations behind-the-scenes, Wolverine is slated for PlayStation 5 next fall, and it looks violent and grisly in all...

The internet is alight with word that a State of Play (or perhaps even a proper so-called Showcase) is right around the corner, and with it the purported reemergence of Insomniac's Wolverine, first revealed way back in 2021 alongside Spider-Man 2 (which itself came out two years ago). Is our clawed, self-healing, and somewhat short friend about to reemerge from the shadows, perhaps with a 2026 rel...

Name any random PlayStation IP from the days of yore, and people will claim to want it back. One such franchise is Sucker Punch's long-dormant Sly Cooper trilogy, the third game of which is now 20 years old. (And yes, we got a fourth Sly game from Sanzaru in 2013, but it's not like many of you played it.) A recent interview indicates there are very few people at Sony's Washington-based studio inte...

While Ghost of Yotei has gone gold and is now right around the corner, other segments of PlayStation Studios are on far less sturdy ground. Fairgames (or Fairgame$, if you like marketing) is seemingly the latest victim of an unprecedented run of bad decision-making, execution, and leadership within Sony's first party, as the upcoming shooter has shed its director, often (though not always) a dire...

New leaks from friend-of-the-show MLiD have given us a deeper glimpse into Sony's plans for PlayStation 6, especially when it comes to the rumored handheld iteration, codenamed Canis. It appears this device -- slated as part of a potential trio of PS6 hardware due out in '27 -- will be affordable, powerful, and perhaps most surprisingly dockable. With all first party competitors now occupying spac...

For prospective PlayStation 5 owners, America's new tariff regime has struck at a most inopportune time. Having carved through their backfill of PS5 units in America, and seemingly moving at least some of the console's manufacturing process out of China, Sony still has to foot the bill to import the machine. A $50 increase across the board -- on standard and Pro units alike -- has led to much cons...

Sony is a many-tendrilled corporation, which can be both a blessing and a curse. But in fully leveraging all that the wider company does well, it seems they're closer than ever to achieving the "One Sony" goal from years and decades past. Enter Physint (sometimes typed PHYSINT, for some reason), a Hideo Kojima-led project revealed last year as a mysterious cross-pollination between PlayStation and...

If Sony's recent fiscal report shows anything, it's that PlayStation is turning into a bona fide money printer. Yes, PS5 has surpassed 80 million units sold, and that in and of itself is a substantial figure. But the more interesting numbers reside in the financials, where the brand netted more in profit in a single three month period than it did for much of entire previous generations. That's com...

Earlier this year, Chinese publisher Tencent revealed a new project so shameless that it belies belief. It's called Light of Motiram, and it's no exaggeration to say that it's a pound-for-pound carbon copy of PlayStation's vaunted Horizon franchise. It crossed the line to such an extent that Sony is suing Tencent over it, packing fascinating evidence that this title was likely intended to be Horiz...

With leaks galore coming out of its closed testing period, it should come as no surprise that Battlefield 6 is real, and it's en route very soon. Electronic Arts and its quartet of fully-owned teams under the Battlefield Studios moniker promise a full multiplayer reveal in late July, and rumors indicate the full title is primed to launch in October. Can EA finally turn the ship around and fully de...