Sacred Symbols, Episode 251 | The Heat Is On
Added 2023-04-21 16:00:09 +0000 UTCAs it comes to grips with the new realities of an ever-consolidating market, Sony has opted to increase its aggressiveness by purchasing Firewalk Studios. Like Haven and Nixxes before it, buying Firewalk is an unusually premature move for a company that typically likes to conduct extensive second party dances before putting a ring on it. But its arch-rival and third party publishers alike have made it clear that the old rules of buying teams no longer apply, and that courtships can no longer span the production of multiple titles. Will this increasing embrace of size benefit PlayStation or hinder it? Only time will tell, but we've obviously much to discuss. Other big news this week includes PlayStation 5's staggering sales figures, the exit of more high-level talent from Media Molecule, and much more, and we round things out -- as always -- with listener inquiries. Is enemy scaling really necessary? Could Ubisoft be readying a low-key banger with XDefiant? Do players really 'graduate' from Nintendo to PlayStation? Is Colin developing a hankering for gardening?
Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro
0:03:56 - Congrats to Chris!
0:17:15 - What were our thoughts about the FF16 State of Play?
0:20:29 - What else will we add to the merch shop?
0:27:49 - Is it warm enough for Colin to kill frogs in the pool again?
0:34:38 - Tetris Effect is great
0:38:10 - Do we have any interest in Horizon: Burning Shores?
0:49:24 - HBO’s The Last of Us seems to be confirmed beyond Season Two
0:50:45 - Gut check on Immortals of Aveum?
0:56:04 - Diablo IV has gone gold
1:00:26 - Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions has been announced
1:06:35 - Armored Core VI may be imminent
1:10:58 - Sega has purchased Rovio
1:11:46 - AARP claims that 45% of Americans 50 years and older are gaming
1:14:08 - What have we been playing?
1:42:33 - Sony has purchased Firewalk Studios
2:00:28 - PlayStation 5 sales are still very strong
2:15:48 - Mark Healey has left Media Molecule
2:31:26 - Sony is attracting the attention of the U.S. government
2:46:48 - Bungie is taking action against leakers
2:58:58 - What video game terms have we used incorrectly?
3:02:26 - Do we have any expectations for the next Mass Effect?
3:14:17 - What’s the deal with RPG EXP inequality?
3:23:27 - Do we have thoughts on XDefiant?
3:31:28 - Are Sony’s games all the same?
3:40:48 - Why is the DualSense so uncomfortable?
Comments
If the original Xbox controller taught us anything, it's that there are great differences between people's preferences, and even what extensive focus testing ultimately teaches you.
Colin Moriarty
2023-05-01 00:49:07 +0000 UTCNo.
Colin Moriarty
2023-05-01 00:48:29 +0000 UTCIsn't Oxenfree 2 on Xbox if you have Netflix?
Josh Walker
2023-04-29 03:51:58 +0000 UTCYeah, but companies always seem to struggle with the optics of it. Kind of feels like two months after launch is the earliest DLC might be able to release without the developer and publisher getting a mountain of shit for it.
Fenixrisingxl21
2023-04-28 01:26:28 +0000 UTCThe timing situation disappoints me, too. I am an advocate for quicker DLC.
Colin Moriarty
2023-04-28 01:16:52 +0000 UTCYeah, it was fucked up, but it should be fixed now.
Colin Moriarty
2023-04-28 01:16:33 +0000 UTCAwesome.
Colin Moriarty
2023-04-28 01:16:19 +0000 UTCEA is quietly doing good shit.
Colin Moriarty
2023-04-28 01:16:11 +0000 UTCThe Dual Sense controller is very similar to the feel of the Xbox controller. I have loved hearing Xbox fans complain about how superior the Xbox controller is compared to the Dual Shock, and now that the Dual Sense has the weight and overall footprint like the Xbox controller it is breaking hands and hearts left and right.
Greg Hommel
2023-04-27 14:40:25 +0000 UTCI’m sure someone has said this but there are 3rd party usb attachments that will let you use other controllers on PS5
Oliver Johnson
2023-04-27 13:47:13 +0000 UTC@papaflow, Yes my hands hurts as well, sometimes I play Destiny for hours or any other shooter and I feel pain in my hands for days, never had this issue eith DS4 or switch pro or xbox controlers…. I thought I was the problem but when Colin was reading your letter, I was saying “Yes!” the whole time, it is terrible… sony never learns 😢
Marco Maluf
2023-04-27 01:28:20 +0000 UTCSS+ idea - Ranking the Metal Gear villians
Devin K
2023-04-25 23:59:18 +0000 UTCStill listening to this episode (four hours of content is chef’s kiss, baby), but I’m surprised Burning Shores being PS5-exclusive seemed to get handwaved by Colin and Chris. It’s insane to me that DLC is releasing a year after initial release, and is only being released on the platform with a much smaller install base. I would assume any design changes or game functionality ‘only possible on PS5’ would typically wait for a new full title, as opposed to leaving a certain percentage of current paying customers behind. As it stands, PS4 purchasers don’t have the option of getting the ‘full experience’ on their platform. I would assume this content would have been in development prior Forbidden West’s release, and I’m sure PS4 fans would like to have been warned back then only the PS5 version would be expanded upon, prior to making a purchasing decision. The cynic in me believes neither Sony or GG called attention to this prior to FW’s launch, specifically to not endanger PS4 sales for anyone not willing or able to purchase (or get their hands on) a PS5, and that’s a shit way to treat paying customers, in my opinion. Obviously, I don’t have sales figures to see the purchasing split between PS4 and PS5, but I can’t imagine that played much of a role in the release decision, as Sony or GG wouldn’t have had any solid numbers for at least a couple of months, presumably. Imagine a movie studio not telling anyone in advance only IMAX ticket purchasers will get an extra thirty minutes of a movie, and customers who saw it in regular theaters finding out they got stiffed out of the whole story after they get home. (Please tell me this doesn’t actually happen in the movie industry.) Apologies for the long post. Now, back to the show!
Fenixrisingxl21
2023-04-25 18:41:39 +0000 UTCI’d argue, even with Odyssey and BotW withheld, Nintendo’s Pushmo IP is more thought provoking than anything Sony has produced, from a non-narrative stand point. Purely from a gameplay perspective, it’s leaps above anything anyone has releases since Fez or even Teris.
Kid-Organic
2023-04-25 05:17:29 +0000 UTCDid anyone else have an issue on spotify with the episode only being 8 minutes long?
McTrizzle
2023-04-24 20:44:17 +0000 UTCWas in a Wal Mart on the weekend and saw multiple PSVR 2 bundles in store.
Myles Murray
2023-04-24 18:55:24 +0000 UTCThe normal Dualsense was very uncomfortable for me, I decided to get the Edge, and the softer edges on the grips solved the issue entirely for me. It’s expensive but worth it. The base Dualsense definitely has something wrong with it.
Noah Trujillo
2023-04-24 16:33:02 +0000 UTCHaven’t purchased any SS merch yet, all though I intend to. But 10/10 SS tank top i would instantly buy like 3 of haha. Please do tank tops.
Malcolm G
2023-04-24 14:34:25 +0000 UTCI find the Razer ps5 controller is quite a premium construction with its clicky mechanical buttons and metal stick shaft etc 👍
Your name
2023-04-24 08:01:36 +0000 UTCDefinitely agree on the EA Originals thing; high quality, modest scope and relatively short time between announcement and release. Good stuff, what a large section of the audience at large has been clamouring for, no?
TheSissyOfFremont
2023-04-24 07:42:24 +0000 UTCDid Colin just coin the term “Nintendo Adult”?
Jacob R.
2023-04-24 05:55:21 +0000 UTCgood luck my friend
Josh Ashley
2023-04-24 01:56:52 +0000 UTCThank you for the suggestion. I've never heard of that but it looks like quite the abomination of a controller lol. See part of the frustration for me is also the principle of the entire thing. The dualshock 4 is my fav controller of all time. Sony makes it and they make money when I buy one. So to go and to buy a backbone, or drop 200-300 on a victrix or a razer wolverine feels so defeating as I'm spending 100's to use a controller I probably just won't like as much as an $75 dualshock.
PapaFlow
2023-04-24 01:55:11 +0000 UTCWhen I picked up FFII(IV)for my SNES on a whim I had no idea how profoundly it would affect me. I was floored. Every single thing about it enchanted me. This is what made me a lifelong Uematsu, Amano, and FF fan. Like you said, playing the pixel remaster feels like going back home. Excellent stuff.
Nikitas Gagas
2023-04-23 21:04:31 +0000 UTCLol it's the very reason I know I cannot get into collecting vinyl records and various figures/collectables. I know my nostalgic and obsessive personality traits will absolutely ruin me
Josh Gamez
2023-04-23 17:30:25 +0000 UTCi agree, im a sucker tor hasbro selling figures that were on only one power ranger episode,
Josh Ashley
2023-04-23 17:17:41 +0000 UTC@poppaflow consider playing on a backbone 🤷♂️
Josh Ashley
2023-04-23 17:15:18 +0000 UTCI've thought that Nintendo, Disney and even the WWE (albeit in a lesser way) have been selling everyone nostalgia for the better part of 20 years at this point. And I know this makes me "part of the problem" so to speak, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. If anything as Gen Xers and Millennials have gotten older, we've all proven we fucking love nostalgia lol.
Josh Gamez
2023-04-23 16:57:29 +0000 UTCI vote for SS tank tops! Would definitely buy.
Miracle Peach
2023-04-23 14:27:34 +0000 UTCColin about PSV2: "I'm going to go with my gut. Do you disagree?" Dustin: "Yes, here's why." This is exactly why I love this show. The hosts respect each other's varying opinions and provide us with an intelligent and respectful conversation allowing us to be exposed to varying viewpoints and form our own takes.
Dave Ramos
2023-04-23 13:26:21 +0000 UTCGreg would savage me, he's huge.
Colin Moriarty
2023-04-23 01:47:01 +0000 UTCI've held off on buying one till they were in store. Just picked one up at bestbuy last weekend. I refused to get one scalpel and have better thing to do other than go on twitter to "win" one.
Mr Worry
2023-04-22 23:57:45 +0000 UTCMoriarty v Miller would sell enough pay per view to cure cancer.
DeucesBruh
2023-04-22 17:59:14 +0000 UTCI also find my hands hurt while using the dualsense. I vastly prefer the Xbox controller this gen.
Jeremy Seal
2023-04-22 17:30:33 +0000 UTCThe dualshock was perfect and as much as I like the dualsense controller's next level vibration features (Witcher 3's horseback riding, Cyberpunk's driving, and lately RE4's weighty knife), I can't play for more than 90 minutes at a time without feeling a twinge in my wrist.
James Pies
2023-04-22 17:06:11 +0000 UTCPlaying FFIV Pixel remaster while listening to this - golden. Also - really happy they released them individually as I only want to play 1, 4 & 6 - so if you have a problem with the bundle price buy them individually.
The Devmeister
2023-04-22 16:04:18 +0000 UTCI can listen to you talk Final Fantasy for hours. So excited for the Knockback p Episodes
Stefan Catinella
2023-04-22 14:26:57 +0000 UTC“He didn’t expect me to fart.”
NeO JD
2023-04-22 11:04:11 +0000 UTCDustin is right, the rules of Quidditch are dumb and could only be conceived by someone who doesn’t understand sport. Every single thing that takes place in the stadium can be rendered irrelevant by the seeker catching to golden snitch miles away. Genius.
Rich Price
2023-04-22 10:34:44 +0000 UTCI hope that you always think of plucks whenever you play Mario from now on =).
Monterey Jack
2023-04-22 05:05:26 +0000 UTCThanks for reading my story :) glad to add some grounded positivity to balance the hilarious insanity
James McGivern
2023-04-22 04:16:19 +0000 UTC
