Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast

Sony's procurement of its first-ever mobile studio isn't something to get excited about, and we're not even gonna pretend to try. However, the acquisition of Savage Game Studios does suggest a new strategy for PlayStation, one that seeks to protect its various flanks even if it's not yet necessarily begun to fight on said front. Mobile gaming is a good example: They've said they've wanted to do so...

For the first time in the history of the gaming industry, a major piece of hardware is getting a price increase across virtually the entire world. PlayStation 5, launched in 2020 at $500 or your local equivalent, will still cost that much (with a disc drive) here in the States. But virtually everywhere else in the world -- from the UK and Europe to Australia, Japan, and beyond -- PS5's price is ab...

There may not be very many games coming out right now, but there sure is a lot of news to get through. For starters, enterprising internet detectives have conclusively uncovered an unannounced second party PlayStation game from a British studio called Ballistic Moon. Staffed by ex-Supermassive personnel, some are wondering whether their title -- codenamed Project Bates -- is a horror game in the v...

What was supposed to be a routine exchange between corporations and an economic regulatory body in Brazil has turned into the hottest news in gaming over the last week. That's because both Sony and Microsoft have launched soft salvos at each other, picking apart each other's strategies on the market and their intentions to squeeze the other guy out. Buried within both of their arguments are intere...

Is PlayStation missing an element of 'fun' that used to be present in its ecosystem? One listener wrote in with such a thought, revolving his argument around one key figure from yore: Kevin Butler. The long-lost fictional Sony executive represented a different time for PlayStation. The question is, do we want to go back? News items this week include a peculiar missive from Sony in Brazil about Mic...

An industry source was kind enough to leak to me (Colin) what purports to be a script being circulated for the upcoming Tomb Raider game. It's codenamed Project Jawbreaker, the two-scene script is for actors trying out for various parts, and I forced Chris and Dustin to read through the entire thing for your amusement... with Chris as an apparently lesbian Lara Croft. Plus: More news! An ex-studio...

There can be no doubt, now, that Sony wants to be a major player in the esports space. This was first evidenced by left-field acquisitions like EVO, moving into branding decisions like INZONE. Now, with the purchase of esports tournament operator Repeat, the writing's obviously on the wall. Can PlayStation discover success in the games-as-a-service and competitive spaces, where they've traditional...

The Last of Us: Part I has officially gone gold, interesting news considering it doesn't launch for some seven weeks. Yet, the upcoming PS5 remake's very existence has proven mighty contentious. Some claim it doesn't need to exist at all; many others insist it's a "cash grab" of the highest order. But some folks who worked on the game have come out staunchly in its defense, not only in terms of it...

It's always fun to receive a letter, unless that letter happens to be very sad. Sony-owned developer Sucker Punch penned one such melancholy note to its audience in recent days, and it relayed sorrowful news indeed: The team isn't working on Infamous or Sly Cooper games now, they won't be in the foreseeable future, and -- perhaps most surprising -- no other studio is, either. Is the abandonment of...

It's a relatively slow week in the world of PlayStation, but there are still matters to discuss. Yes: We're all curious about when God of War: Ragnarok's release date will be revealed, and we have some things to say about this strange new line of Sony electronics under the INZONE brand. But really, we'd rather get into the weeds with smaller stories and lots of listener inquiries. Topics range fro...

The news can be painful sometimes, and, well... get the medicine. It appears Activision, in its infinite wisdom, halted its developer Vicarious Visions (now Blizzard Albany) from remaking PlayStation 2-native titles Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 in a similar fashion it remade the PSone THPS games for PS4 in 2020. This leaves us crestfallen, wondering why such a money-hungry entity would leave suc...

This is a week tailor-made for Final Fantasy fans, particularly on the back of Final Fantasy XVI's re-reveal. That's because... well... wait! There's more! During a brief live stream celebrating Final Fantasy VII's 25th anniversary, publisher-slash-developer Square Enix made two big announcements: The 2007 PSP Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core is coming to PS4 and PS5, and the second part of t...

Joel and Ellie are set to return to PlayStation, and a lot sooner than you might think. The long-rumored The Last of Us: Part I is real -- it's a ground-up remake of the 2013 PS3 original, slated for PS5 and later PC -- and it comes out in just a few months. But that's not all: Naughty Dog has also opened-up about not only its upcoming TLoU multiplayer game, which it describes as their biggest gam...

It's good to keep your expectations low. That way, surprises could be around every corner. With the PlayStation ecosystem so vacant in recent months, it's clear that Sony and its many partners have a lot to say. It's just that we didn't think a State of Play presentation that Sony seemed to actively and repeatedly lower expectations for would be the venue. Well, consider us surprised, indeed! Duri...

When PlayStation 4 Pro launched in 2016, it was fairly divisive. Why did we need two iterations of the same console? Isn't it a waste of money? Wouldn't developers have more work to do? It all ended up being needless worry, and so it should come as no surprise that -- if indications are correct -- PlayStation 5 Pro is en route for 2023 or 2024. What's the potential of the machine? Do we even need...

In the coming weeks, the all-new PlayStation Plus will begin rolling out, and we've finally learned more about what we can expect, especially when it comes to games. First and second party are well-represented across PSone, PS2, PS3, and PSP, and of course PS4 and PS5 will have plenty of fodder for you, too. And yes: PSone games can have Trophies! Apart from talking deeply about PS+ and its evolut...

Sony's annual financial report brings with it good news for the brand. PlayStation, as usual, is the most important vertical in its corporate family in Japan, pulling in the most revenue and raking in the highest profit (even more than Sony Pictures, currently in a renaissance of its own). Yet, with PlayStation 5 doing well, Sony has a serious issue: It still can't manufacture enough PS5s to satia...

The Embracer Group's appetite for developers cannot be satiated. The never-ending expansion of what is rapidly becoming gaming's largest publishing entity has gobbled up three more studios from rival Square Enix (as well as a bunch of IP) for cash money. Does this say anything about Embracer? Probably not. It seems like they'll buy just about anything, and $300 million is a small price to pay for...

It's a celebration! Our PlayStation podcast-that-could has reached its 200th week of existence, which of course means its 200th core episode is here. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, we decided to do thing proper-like, renting out a famous theater in Richmond, Virginia entertainers much more talented than us typically play, and recording live in front of 400+ fans. The topic? PlayStation 4...

Where is Kratos? Belief that we'd see God of War: Ragnarok by now has left us dismayed, particularly in light of a rather odd video from Santa Monica Studio that gives us little information about a game originally slated to launch in 2021. But without a release date (outside of year) and no confirmation it's even incoming by year's end (except for from a random Tweet from a dev), PlayStation fans...

The recent 20th anniversary celebration for Kingdom Hearts came with a major surprise: The announcement of Kingdom Hearts IV. While leaked in unintentional (and obviously completely accurate) GeForce documents last year, the new Square Enix-Disney collaboration is the talk of the industry, and obviously, we dedicate plenty of time to it. We also touch on the week's other news, including Ghost of T...

The studio behind Alan Wake, Remedy, has certainly come into its own in recent years, particularly on the back of its surprise-hit third-person shooter Control. Now, they've decided to go back to the near-beginning, remaking both the original Max Payne and its sequel on behalf of publisher Rockstar. Thing is, this spreads the team to at least five projects helmed by four publishers, so a big quest...

As long-rumored, PlayStation Plus is receiving its first major refresh since the subscription service launched in 2010. Beginning in June, the PS+ will split into three, with its base form being the PS+ we're all familiar with. Atop that will be two more tiers, however, giving players access to hundreds of PSone, PS2, PS3, and PSP games, and more. But there are, of course, many catches. We spend a...

In recent years, Sony's first party family has grown mightily, with sensical additions like Housemarque, Insomniac, Bluepoint, and others filling obvious roles. That's why the outright purchase of fledgling, game-less second party partner Haven is a little confusing. Yet, through the lens of the modern industry -- which is crunched by worker shortages, high budgets, and even higher expectations --...

After much waiting, we've finally been treated to a deep-dive into Hogwarts Legacy, the controversial Harry Potter-aligned game slated to launch on PS4 and PS5 later this year. Developed by one-time Disney outfit Avalanche, Hogwarts Legacy is -- in a word -- ambitious. Like, really ambitious. And it looks awesome. So let's discuss. Plus: News! The very Supermassive-2K title we told you was coming...