Sacred Symbols+, Episode 89: Sending Out an SOS (Video)

Enjoyed this heartfelt episode, I want to get my first PS at some point but I think I'll keep waiting a while longer. Not that I can even see a PS5 in stock anyway.

Guybrush Threepwood

PlayStation exclusives are phenomenal experiences, there's no question about that. But the internal politics and decisions in Sony do not fill me with confidence...

JusticeSoulTuna

Hello. I am a new Patron here, but a long time freeloader of Sacred Symbols. I got the RSS feed which contains all the podcasts, but is there an RSS feed for just Sacred Symbols+ or both Sacred Symbols podcasts? I can't find it. Thank you.

Dustin looks like a scolded child during Colin’s rant at the end lol

Danny Gonet

=)

Colin Moriarty

That's wild

Andrew Morgan

Honest to god, Colin just going in on Sony was the funniest thing I've heard from SS in a while. Felt like I was back at school watching teacher having a go at another kid. Dustin silence for the majority of it made it too

Harrl

It really depends on the types of games you enjoy and the level of polish you expect in a game across all verticals… I think conflating the point that you could bring old games over because of backwards compatibility and the storytelling of naughty dog It’s not an apples to apples comparison. At the end of the day I don’t have any animus against what Xbox is doing and or a game pass but I just don’t see the a lore of older titles needing to be carried over when there’s a plethora of awesome games rolling out each and every year.

The Eclectic Gamer

Have you seen the Petition Colin on Change.org with fans of the game also donating money for the Petition to get more views

Zack Fair

Could you imagine working under Kneel Cuckman? What a nightmare, the guy strikes me as a Primo Fart Sniffer.

BlindRiot

I’m so glad I went heavy into investing in Xbox last gen. Having my 500+ digital library follow me is great not to mention the quality of life improvements that just keep coming. I feel for the PlayStation only fans these days.

BlindRiot

I’ve gotta hard disagree on NDog, they’ve gotta be the most over hyped dev in history. There story telling is trite, overwrought and cheap.

BlindRiot

Colin dropping absolute bombs at the 44 minute mark...preach brother. As a long time Sony fan, the news surrounding Sony Bend and Days Gone has coalesced into frustration that otherwise wouldn’t have been there concerning the tenor of news revolving around Sony and gaming in general. Letting a Days Gone sequel wait in the wings is insane to me...make this game!!!

The Eclectic Gamer

Another Golden episode. Wish Chris was here though.

BakerShop

Colin, Dustin, awesome episode. I loved the emotion. It certainly speaks to the care you have towards the brand making great games. A vibrant console space is what we all want, a healthy Xbox, and PlayStation is so imperative to that end. The writing on the wall is not encouraging.

Nigel

i may not always agree with Colin, but he does speaks from the heart. Great Video!

Wanghuao Zhu

This was both extremely enjoyable and depressing to watch. I've been with PlayStation since I was a toddler, and this is the first time I've ever felt like they've completely forgotten what made them so cool. I was recently re-watching the PSX 2016 presentation (which was one of my favorite memories since I was in the front row), and it's a stark day-and-night difference compared to how they are now. I always try to dissociate emotional ties to a corporation, but this whole situation still makes me so sad.

Adam Razak

Thank you! <3

Colin Moriarty

I'm a passionate commentator, but what PlayStation does in no way affects my actual mood or well-being. =)

Colin Moriarty

Damn Colin. This was fantastic. I feel like you spoke for the majority of us. This has been a difficult few months with Sony

Michael Toledo

I’m sad for you Colin I feel like this news caused you to be very upset I’m sorry. I hope there will be good days again for PlayStation.

Matthew Major

We felt like it had to go out immediately. Thank you!

Colin Moriarty

It'll go up on Wednesday, I think.

Colin Moriarty

=) <3

Colin Moriarty

Thank you.

Colin Moriarty

I think it's not so much the news as much as it's the total silence, along with questionable moves. Very confusing time.

Colin Moriarty

The game sold more copies than ever Bend game ever made, combined.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you. <3

Colin Moriarty

Yes.

Colin Moriarty

I just don't understand why you spend so much time trying to prove something only to abandon it after the first go.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you for listening!

Colin Moriarty

Doesn't matter if it can be reversed; how can one hand not know what the other is doing to that extent? It's insane.

Colin Moriarty

You're welcome. =)

Colin Moriarty

Thank you. <3

Colin Moriarty

Yeah. =\

Colin Moriarty

Sony's had a lot of body blows landed on it, for sure.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah, it's absurd, and clearly an attempt to take advantage of the show.

Colin Moriarty

Exactly. It's a shrug from me, too.

Colin Moriarty

Me too.

Colin Moriarty

Indeed. It appears that way from the outside.

Colin Moriarty

This comment may not make much sense seeing as I watched this a few days after it posted, but I can't express the appreciation enough for reporting on this the day it broke and releasing the video in advance. One of the many reasons LSM has become the best community/source for gaming news and content in my opinion. Much love to Colin and all the guys!

Cody Richter

I can’t believe this bit at the end is held back from a larger audience, it deserves to be a “what you’re missing” clip on YouTube.

Matthew Schultz

That shit was raw passion

Owen

This was a truly superb episode.

David Graham

Damn, the emotion in Colin's voice is real. It really puts things into perspective on how bad this looks, and even if Bend is making a new IP now and/or has autonomy, it cost them a really key figure because of Sony. It kind of sucks for those of us who aren't that crazy about the new God of War or Naughty Dog games, because if we don't like those games then there's even less for us to be drawn to PS5 in an age where there will supposedly be less of an output from Sony. Especially now that Japanese games will be even less present. And not only that but I've been given the feeling by Sony that apparently buying from them digitally may not be worth the investment, or that they at least don't care about their past. Or how they disrespect smaller indie devs just because they can. Like I turn on my series S, a console I thought I wouldn't use outside of BC, but it's actually a great user experience and has good services and an exciting future. And I'm playing fucking old games, but it's fun. And now I flat out just want a series x to make my main machine for the foreseeable future. I don't even use gamepass very much but I love this little thing like you wouldn't believe. I feel like the only other system I've felt this kind of affection for is my Vita! Still, these tides feel like incredibly fast change. But I guess it started when we saw how Sony was lacking communication building up to PS5 while Microsoft was constantly making a big deal out of its features. I wouldn't have foreseen this last gen.

David P

One thing I’ll say: Days Gone is the least completed exclusive game they’ve released, and it did bad critically and average commercially. I think social media upsells the buzz of a game that was clearly a disappointment for Sony

Dick Stillhard

As much as I hate seeing anyone upset, Colin becomes a laser-focused weapon when he is. I recently rewatched his monologue when Trump won in 2016, and it was just as amazing today as it was back then.

Forrest Hunter

I've felt this since PS5 was announced and, once again, contained no backwards compatibility with the PS3 when Xbox was doing so much in that arena. And the feeling has only gotten stronger since.

Dave Carsley

You hit the nail on the head at the end of this vid. This is exactly how I feel about sony right now and I'm a pretty big fangirl. I'm also really sad about days gone. Only hope is they might turn around and say they changed their mind since 2019. Especially since its now a plus game etc but I won't hold my breath considering all the bad decisions of late.

Kelly Perkins

Bluepoint and Housemarque have no valuable IP's.... there's no point in buying them. They could just buy a building across the street and hire all the staff for a fraction of the cost. If they bother to do an acquisition, it should be of an IP rich company.... that is the only case that makes sense unless there is a studio with a very particular or unique skillset.

BryanK75

I definitely love surprises! Especially Sacred Symbols+ surprises where Colin goes all out. Loved this episode!

looper

Agree Colin that selling you guys a test kit now, sounds like a dick move, but I imagine this can be reversed if you talk to them. Probably lack of communication between the department that is in charge of selling them and the division in charge of startegic actions alike the stores closure. This happens in big corporations all the time. Too bad it happened to you guys. Although, I come from IT and nobody would make a decision to create a project in a language or framework that is not supported or even hints at dying - PSV production discontinued at March 2019. I don't agree that Sony needs to talk to us. What they need is to be very careful in both messaging and steps, because they are dealing with a player out of their league. I find it funny how people talk about their fight with MS, like Sony was the bigger guy xD MS could buy Sony. And now Sony pays MS for Azure and that money is used to put MLB The Show on Gamepass.

Germanos

All the Playstation news the last few weeks, and just the lengths of silence we've been getting from them has been rather alarming. I thought for sure they would have some sort of decent announcement ready to go to attempt to dampen the flames of the Bethesda deal being finalized, but instead the flames just seem to be spreading like wildfire. I wasn't getting my hopes up to see any super crazy acquisitions like Square Enix, but bringing a studio like Bluepoint or Housemarque seemed like almost a no-brainer a few months ago. Hell, given some of their own narrative about "growing their first party organically" (I think it was phrased something like that) I was thinking maybe we will get announcements that Bend, Santa Monica, Insomniac, Guerrilla, SuckerPunch, or Naughty Dog had expanded into new teams to work on more projects. I mean there are loads of big name Sony IPs just collecting dust that they could pull from. Instead it seems they keep shooting themselves in the foot, I don't understand the path that leadership has set the brand on at all. Trust me, I know big games are coming: God of War, Horizon, Ratchet, Spider-Man... Even with that being obvious, it seems they could be doing more and doing much better. Another "realistic" acquisition I thought would be beneficial would be Ember Lab, Kena looks incredible and with extra financial backing they could really be onto something special there. Also, to add to this they could create another part to this team that could help work on PS Shows/Movies as this studio started out as an animation studio. Given Sony's recent obsession with using their Playstation IPs to create movies/shows why not have a team that could be branched out to work on animated movies for stuff like Ratchet, Sly, Jak, and many other properties. Sorry for the long post, just had a lot of different thoughts and even still have plenty of other things on my mind.

Aaron Kell

Loved the passionate speech you winded up with Colin. Jim Ryan really is starting to seem like Don Mattrick reincarnated at this point. The games are still looking sweet but I imagine his influence will rear its ugly head on them before long. Thanks for doing this anyway 😁

Your Boi Nicky V

Awesome podcast, guys! Love hearing Colin passionately explain his thoughts in a highly articulate fashion.

Brett Lindstrom

It's really pissing me off to see them invest in Music, Anime, Mobile and Mobile gaming and not reinvesting or growing PlayStation..... while also asking for 80 euro per game, putting exclusives on PC and running the company like completely incompetent fools. Jim Ryan and Hermen have to go....

BryanK75

The last few weeks I have been incredibly frustrated. I even posted a thread on Neogaf asking how PlayStation would fuck up the next week...it didn't even take a week, the MLB on Gamepass news broke 2 days later. I just want to say.... Sony is financially better than they've ever been. Sony will make over 10 billion this year, 3.3 billion from Playstation alone (That is enough to buy Sega in one year) while Xbox in all likelihood loses money. Sony are buying Crunchyroll and music companies left and right...... they also set up a mobile games division in PlayStation. But we have not got any new studios..... They need to shake things up! Buy Sega or a combination of smaller studios like IOI, Remedy, Kojima, MiHoYo and Arc System Works. They have the cash, they just aren't prioritizing exclusives....and they don't all have to be 200 million, 40 hour epics, they can be smaller or more cartoon-like graphically...... Guilty Gear for instance has beautiful 2D art and Kena has a wonderful Pixar type of aesthetic.

BryanK75

Aside from the disrespectful treatment of Bend, why do we need ANOTHER telling of the original Last of Us? 3 versions of the game plus the HBO show. That’s 4 tellings of the same game and it’s not even 10 years old yet. Excellent show. I could not agree more with everything you said, especially your closing comments. It’s a frustrating time for PS

Richard Duflo

I loved seeing Colin articulately venting, better than I ever could, the frustrations I, and many others have been feeling lately with Sony. I feel the same as Colin when I turn on my PS5... I look at the games, shrug, then go to the Funimation app and watch Attack on Titan instead. On my Series X I've been playing Outriders, Gears 5, Silent Hill 2 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Having the option to play old games along side new games on the same hardware is really appealing to me. Xbox is winning me over this gen, and I've never really been interested in Xbox before now. Sony, wind your neck in lol.

Liam Mcnulty

Great Podcast as always. The health of a company is always dependent on it's leadership. Right now, I'm skeptical of Jim Ryan's leadership over the long haul.

James R Langley

Playstation concerning Bend is sounding like the gov't with backwards leadership. Reward the lazy and punish the earners.

Not Sure

Bend clearly wants to do their own thing. They don't want to be a Naughty Dog vassal.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah, that's a swing and a miss for me.

Colin Moriarty

I appreciate your kind words!

Colin Moriarty

Thank you for your support.

Colin Moriarty

It's very weird!

Colin Moriarty

It'd just be cool to have them seem to care about anything.

Colin Moriarty

=\

Colin Moriarty

It's weird that we're having the opposite conversation we'd have just a couple of short years ago. Still, PlayStation has deep loyalty. I doubt it'll go away as hardware anytime soon.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah. I don't necessarily trust Microsoft to be able to execute properly... but we'll see.

Colin Moriarty

You're welcome. Thanks for your support!

Colin Moriarty

You too!

Colin Moriarty

Yes! Gotta fuel the train now to get it going down the tracks later...

Colin Moriarty

It's a strange use of resources, for sure.

Colin Moriarty

I'd agree. =)

Colin Moriarty

That's the idea. =)

Colin Moriarty

Indeed. Enjoy!

Colin Moriarty

<3

Colin Moriarty

Thank you!

Colin Moriarty

!!!

Colin Moriarty

=)

Colin Moriarty

I think you're commenting on the wrong thread, but we appreciate the kind words. <3

Colin Moriarty

<3

Colin Moriarty

Regarding Bend and DG2, I think you are overlooking the possibility that if it was approved you might get Last of Us remake and DG2 back to back again(remember how horrible that was). When it comes to Uncharted isn't Bend the right studio to Sheppard Uncharted since thier best game was an Uncharted game.

BM

Jason tried comparing Dreams’ potential to Roblox and I find that extremely hilarious

Stephen Forgione

It was special

Caleb Greer

God you’re such an eloquent industry pundit, Colin. That speech at the end was something else.

Caleb Greer

Possibly the greatest episode of Sacred Symbols+ so far. It’s been a while since I’ve heard Colin be so raw and shoot it like it is towards Sony’s very questionable recent behavior. Harkened back to the PSN OUTAGE Beyond days in 2011 and the messy 2012 Sony has. Keep up the great work and let’s hope for some hope to shine through again!

TheSlayerGiant

I've been enjoying these videocasts more and more, thanks for the extra layer to the content boys!

Who's asking for TLOU 1 remake? That's like asking for the Mona Lisa to be repainted. All of this is so frustrating. More Uncharted already? Why can't Naughty Dog try something new? Sony being so risk averse that they just keep putting out the same games over and over? If these trends continue Microsoft will "win" this generation..

Matthew Cooper

Longtime Sony fan (not fan boy) and this kind of feel has been going on a while now. I don’t recall what show it was even on, but a long time ago Alanah Pearce discussed how Sony actively did not want a personality anymore, but a corporate presence. I like the games and we will get more but it does seem to be faltering steps. I’d take Shuhei and Shawn back in an instant. We need personality, not sterile environments.

TL

Man... Sony is really fucking up right now. I've never heard Colin sound so defeated about the state of Playstation.

I think it’s pretty clear and obvious to anyone paying attention that Microsoft wants to own the video game space between Discord, HAVOK, and ZeniMax. They see it as an opportunity for them to be in a space where Apple and Google really aren’t. There is also the potential for them to own the complete stack of the video game vertical (owning the software, storefront and hardware) of a trillion dollar market. Microsoft is an incredibly ruthless company as any company should be. But anyone that thinks both these companies are going to have the same market share after this generation is hiding their head in the sand. I think PlayStation is in serious trouble and I don’t see a way out for them other than being a publisher and putting their games on PC and equivalent hardware.

Cameron O'Neill

I feel your frustration Colin, the Sony house of cards feels like its wobbling a bit. There's definitely an archaic nature right now with them and Microsoft seem to making all the right noises and moves. Time will tell if MS can keep the structure and organisation of what they've acquired but Sony can't just rely on a few pretty 3rd person adventure games every year now. It's time they up their game. Thanks again for the excellent work you all do. Take care

Kenny C

Today was rough, thanks for doing this.

MarkGrouch

I love you guys so much. You were right on top of this and I appreciate the quick recording and upload! Have a good weekend!

Charlie Cate

Fantastic episode. Your closing thoughts really echoed what I was thinking. Crazy to me that Naughty Dog's next projects are Factions, TLOU1 remake, and Uncharted.

Real Radec

Great episode, these last few months of negative Playstation news has given us fans plenty to worry about.

Tyler Brown

I can't help but think of "Message in a Bottle" by The Police when I see the title. "Sending out an SOS!" Thanks for the unexpected episode! I had no idea this Bloomberg report was a thing until this episode, but that's on me. It's the middle of my work day.

David Portnov

Amazing. Thanks guys. So much news to get into.

Kenny C

Fucking legends! Cheers boys

Phil Walker

Great job!

Lockmort

Hell yeah

Peter Medema

Emergency episode woooooo!

Tanner Brant

A wonderful Sacred Symbols+ last week, it was a perfectly held conversation that helped remind me and hopefully many other listeners of how the people who suffer from these unchecked and unopposed plain as day portrayel of unethical journalism (apart from audiences wanting to hear other perspectives of a story) is the people who are truly passionate about having a story heard, yes, "heard" not parroted or drowned out by the everpresent dogpiling that the playground bully named 'progressive journalism' has overloaded media sources with. It is very mentally fulfilling to hear people talk of gaming journalism with a genuine interest in the health of gaming journalism rather than the health of their political party and outright bullying of everyone else. You two are mature adults in a sea of preschool nonsense, stay lovely. Im definitely looking forward to checking out the escapists and hearing more from them on the podcast, thank you for staying true to your morals

Kazuhira 'most of MGSV is filler' Miller

That is what we call quick. Warranted early discussion and release.

Edward Walton