Sacred Symbols, Episode 105: Dollars and Sense

No worries Colin I appreciate the response nonetheless. Police Officer from the UK and been listening since Beyond. Loving the random chat Chris and you have in the first part of the show. The talk about strangling swans was a particular highlight. Keep on going and doing what you do. Stay safe and all the best

Jacko Ting

I don't know about that; not my area of expertise, certainly!

Colin Moriarty

Listening to conversation about game prices increasing. Over here in the UK, I am sure game prices have increased with every generation. I used to pay £39.99 for PS2 games, £49.99 for PS3 games and now £59.99 for PS4 games

Jacko Ting

Thank you for that information.

Colin Moriarty

I thought this was interesting what I learned in nursing school. The groin, the area in between the scrotum and thigh is the most germy area for males. For females, it's right in the middle of the...lips. lol

Not Sure

Can't fault her charity at all, she seems like someone who genuinely cares. I'm a big fan of her work. I was more on about her retroactively retconning some of her stuff to please the people who are coming for her now. You ever think you'll go back and read the other HP novels? They get so much better!

Liam Mcnulty

I was actually reading about her last night in the bath. She has given SO MUCH MONEY away, it's nuts.

Colin Moriarty

Yes... very good.

Colin Moriarty

I feel bad for JK Rowling here, even though she's often overly progressive and pandering but all she said was that trans women aren't biologic women, that's true, it's like facts are offensive now 😂 I'll happily call any trans person by their preferred pronoun, being respectful costs nothing, but to say biology isn't a thing at all is ridiculous.

Liam Mcnulty

Colin, to contribute to the ketchup and egg discussion, it is standard practice in southern Ontario to pair the two. Any and all breakfast restaurants or delis have ketchup available at every table. I grew up always pairing ketchup with eggs and could not eat them otherwise

Thank you. <3

Colin Moriarty

2EC SPK, loser.

Colin Moriarty

I haven't heard any of these complaints, so I suspect it's on your end. But, if you wanna provide timestamps (via DM), I can look into it!

Colin Moriarty

DAAYYYYVID.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah, just a funny story I thought I'd relay.

Colin Moriarty

No, I'm into economics. I get it. It's funny -- and I never said this publicly, because people will just yell at me -- but people in this GI Joe group I'm in on Facebook noticed that on eBay, prices of Joes have gone up since the stimulus (etc.) went out, which is fascinating, because it shows that money circulation drives prices up (which is why I'm against UBI). So, yeah. We're fighting two different inflationary cycles, now.

Colin Moriarty

Great debate on upfront cost and optional purchases. I side heavily with Chris, but enjoy hearing Colin's view even though I can't agree with it.

Jacob

Eh, it might be good with a slight amount of high quality ketchup, not the shitty Heinz or Hunts. Many people eat eggs and omelettes with ketchup though, it's pretty normal

Cash

What kind of egg sandwich has ketchup? Blasphemy.

Jake Woods

Been hearing a lot of audio hiccups on this episode whenever Colin speaks. Issues that can be fixed with editing by Dustin?

Gene

More commonly known as Chub Rub.

Deieevid

Muhammad Amir

Funny thing about Abbie Heppe - I was first introduced to her when she worked for G4 as a writer and host of a podcast called Feedback. I found her analysis insightful and engaging, but when she left for Respawn and I didn't have an XBox, I figured "Well, guess that's the last I'll hear from her." She saw the writing on the wall, though, as G4 ceased to produce gaming content very shortly after her departure, leaving me searching for some sort of long-form gaming discussion. Enter Beyond! and Colin Moriarty. Moral of the story: You and Abbie have linked fates, regardless of whether or not you played Titanfall in Germany.

Zach Brown

Colin, thank you for discussing inflation in relation to game prices and how $60 in 2006 is around $72 now. Something to add, due to Covid-19 Stimulus we've increased the M2 money supply by 25% on an annual basis (so far) this is unprecedented. M2 money supply is essentially all the money circulating within the economy (Check Investopedia if you want a deeper explanation). This measurement is often used to calculate future inflation. The last 15 years have seen lower than historical average inflation rates. I can't find another time in history in the US that the M2 money supply has increased this quickly. Not even during 1979-1981 which averaged 11.7% inflation annually. Long story short, $70 seems low to me moving forward and game publishers may be forced to charge more like $80, unless they go to remote teams where rent costs can offset some operational costs to the tune of 10-20%. Hope I didn't make your brain work too hard! Keep up the great work guys.

Nick Amato

I meant the heat, not best. Sorry I'm just never going to reply againef

Okay, good to know.

Colin Moriarty

Pricing doesn't happen in a vacuum. The Australian market is different than the American market. I'm sure you pay different prices for almost everything than we do, better or worse. I don't understand this economic relativism approach.

Colin Moriarty

This is the total opposite feedback we've been getting!

Colin Moriarty

Thank you! =)

Colin Moriarty

Well, that's because everything is performance these days.

Colin Moriarty

Yes, this is true. I certainly don't endorse piracy!

Colin Moriarty

Deoderant between the legs is for chaffing. My wife taught me this trick. Great for working in the best

Colin, Australia was paying $99 for new games even when the Australian dollar was stronger than the US dollar.

Dee Han

Colin I disagree that the vast majority of people playing TLoU - I think it’s the reverse. One thing I have to say is that I feel that you didn’t give your opinion of TLoU outside of the SS+. I was surprised when you said that Chris didn’t like the game since he did not really talk about it.

Dee Han

This is a playstation podcast but I absolutely love the banter between Colin and Chris at the beginning of the podcast 😂

DarthLemon616

I think the J.K Rowling controversy is absolutely ridiculous. Trans women are "trans" because they don't have the same biology as biological women. That's a fact, we're literally approaching a point where biological realities are becoming offensive. I honestly think if you asked random 100 people in the street to explain what's offensive about the phrase "only women menstruate", at least 95 of them would struggle to explain it. It's a completely fabricated controversy by the out of touch media; it really annoys me hearing places like Giant Bomb say "fuck J.K Rowling" when discussing the game so thank you for being the voice of reason within gaming journalism as usual, Colin. Even worse is people who are indebted to Rowling like Daniel Radcliffe coming out and condemning her with generic and absolute statements like "trans women are women", that's not even addressing what she said.

Your Boi Nicky V

Collin, I also enjoy the conversation around the last of us 2 a lot as well, however, it is not something unseen before, maybe in video games it is, a very very similar thing happened with the last Jedi down to the reception from critics and audiences that if you check (metacritic and rotten tomatoes respectively) are almost the same. That conversation is is still raging in some communities and it has been a joy for me for years. Also I wanted to ask you if the disco Elysium guys are Communist will they mind if I sail the high seas to play that game? I mean it is our product, comrades.

Fotis Lyto

On your point #3; rather than being representative of an entitled generation - isn’t this just a recruitment tactic being deployed by Tencent’s studio to give them a competitive advantage when trying to lure new hires from a finite talent pool? The challenge for them will be to convince people that it’s a sustainable model and then deliver on their projects. If they can, then fair enough. And if they can’t, they won’t. It'll be interesting to see what the outcome is.

Michael Carpenter

Colin, huge congrats on the stake in Lilymo. If you're ever up near the studio hit me up. We've shared a conversation before at an IGN meetup and I assure you I will not kill you. First round is on me dude! Now; -As a Canadian and player of video games for 35 years it's long passed due for these price increases to our games. Like you I remember the Phantasy Star 2 and 4's, the Chrono Triggers etc and it didn't stop me then. We're spoiled and while I know times are tight, this shouldn't be a cheap hobby and as long as this money is passed to the hard working people at the studios and not executives I'm in complete agreement. -I've played sports my entire life, some at high levels and continue to do so at 41 and I'm just going to tell you that putting deodorant in your ass is a sign of psychosis, no one does this. My man that writes in needs serious help. -Building a studio around avoiding crunch just seems like appeasement talk. The entitlement of a generation of people that have built relatively nothing and don't want to work hard is hilarious as anyone that's ever done, or built anything of work will tell you that it isn't getting accomplished by putting in a 9-5 work day. Saying that, there's nothing wrong with doing that in your life and neither is the opposite. -JK Rowling said nothing remotely controversial to anyone living in reality. Until next week my friends!

The Rose Experience

I'm with you in terms of simply not buying them. If they're still there, that's because other people are, and we can't control their consumerist behavior.

Colin Moriarty

It doesn't get higher than AAA, for me.

Colin Moriarty

Thanks for listening!

Colin Moriarty

No, you are certainly an ornithologist. And a gigantic nerd.

Colin Moriarty

Like you said, before we even worry about that, we've gotta get through Corona.

Colin Moriarty

I'm an advocate of guacamole.

Colin Moriarty

I'm in general agreement: I don't have a problem with microtransactions. Why is it so hard not to buy them?

Colin Moriarty

As I recall, Armature was also the studio charged with making the cancelled Bloodstained Vita port.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah, that's insane.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah... I mean, if you don't want to crunch and work hard, go into a field that doesn't require (or even demand) it. No judgments from me.

Colin Moriarty

Chris, destiny was one of the most egregious example of price gouging. Funny how it is one of your favorites. I have no problem with micro transactions, i simply dont buy them.

Travis B

Oh man I made the mistake of asking if tlou2 could be the 1st 4A game on playstation and oof ppl is mocking me hard, probably deserved it but definitely is a topic coming in fast.

Chris GameOverCholo

Chris, man I really appreciate your take on micro transactions. Thanks for that ✊🏽

Kershon Chapman

Hey Collin, Concerning your quandary about how bright cardinals and other birds can survive while being so vibrant; typically, only the males are so bright. Female cardinals are a muddy brown. They don’t need the brightness to attract other females and they have more survivability to rear the chicks. I’m not an ornithologist or anything. I just love in a place with cardinals and have googled them before. Cheers

Go visit Barry in Ontario and do a meet and greet post corona. You got lots of fans up here too

my latest favorite breakfast thing is eggs with guacamole and ketchup. It’s great!

kentuckyfried

So Chris doesn’t mind micro-transactions in the games that he likes and/or understands? But god forbid Madden or Call of Duty has micro-transactions for their fans? Nobody is forcing anyone to buy micro transactions for crying out loud.

Zack E

Where the heart is, is from developer Armature studio, they are no greenhorns. They made my favorite game this gen, Recore. It's the ex-Retro studio guys that made acclaimed Metroid Prime Series. Their game may fall under the indie category but the talent behind it tells another story.

SteelChevron

Chris speaking about the Halo games not having achievements tied to the hardest difficulty isn’t entirely true as there are achievements tied to the Master Chief Collection for finishing each game’s campaign on LASO difficulty (legendary difficulty with all skulls on). These achievements have between a 0.03 and 0.05% unlocked percentage. One has to be either insane or a masochist to even attempt this sort of challenge.

James Costello

I’m so tired of this emphasis on being crunch-free. I work between 60-70 hours every week at one job. I haven’t worked less than 50 in three months. I work at a bank. I’d much rather be stuck at work for 60 hours a week if it meant I was creating something. I’m sure those people make a lot more than me too

Hodge

I've not tried Tobasco in many a year. Maybe I need to try it again.

Colin Moriarty

Certainly.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah, that's the one! Eager to try it.

Colin Moriarty

Where do you live, 1987?

Colin Moriarty

Yeah, I just think they need to put more thought into the design of these lists. Like, not for nothing, but Twin Breaker's Trophy list is perfect.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you! <3

Colin Moriarty

Eh. LOL.

Colin Moriarty

Don't hesitate to report back.

Colin Moriarty

Oh dear.

Colin Moriarty

Yes, precisely. Game prices will still drop, and the market will be more competitive. It just gives us a higher level to begin at, which is good for devs, I think.

Colin Moriarty

Okay, good feedback!

Colin Moriarty

I think there's more to it than that, personally!

Colin Moriarty

She speaks in defense of women and their experiences, which I appreciate.

Colin Moriarty

Good choice.

Colin Moriarty

=)

Colin Moriarty

The competitive nature of the market will drive costs down, and will continue to! There will just be a higher starting point, I think.

Colin Moriarty

Devious sons of bitch.

Colin Moriarty

It's important for you to understand: Chris is illiterate.

Colin Moriarty

=)

Colin Moriarty

Si.

Colin Moriarty

=)

Colin Moriarty

It's possible the prices remain flat elsewhere, but I wouldn't count on it...

Colin Moriarty

I'm with you, I think. I just think we need to judge everyone as an individual, allow people to live their lives to their specifications so long as no one is getting hurt, and not get caught up in this intersectional, cutting-us-all-up game. I don't like it.

Colin Moriarty

You're very welcome. Thanks for writing in.

Colin Moriarty

I'm actually with you, minus the hostility. =) If you don't want microtransactions, don't buy them. I literally don't understand the issue here, either.

Colin Moriarty

That's a good one, too. I mean, there are others. But... we only have so much time. =D

Colin Moriarty

I totally get it. You have to do what's best for you as a consumer. Whatever that is, I say do you.

Colin Moriarty

I won't remember this, but we definitely tried.

Colin Moriarty

No, apparently not.

Colin Moriarty

That would be good to know!

Colin Moriarty

Yes, BUT the three games you mentioned were developed by Sony-funded (or in the case of Puppeteer, Sony-owned) studios.

Colin Moriarty

My sincerest apologies.

Colin Moriarty

I love over-easy eggs.

Colin Moriarty

Excellent! Be safe.

Colin Moriarty

This is apparently more common than I originally understood.

Colin Moriarty

No, I've not listened to or watched any TLoU2 content. Trying to keep my own thoughts fresh and unique.

Colin Moriarty

It's an important error.

Colin Moriarty

My ear wax seems somewhat flaky, but it can be wet when the Q-Tip goes in the hole, obviously.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you. It is indeed a dream!

Colin Moriarty

always mayo and ketchup on egg sandwiches. I was born and raised in PA and this is a staple. However, as I got older I used Tabasco rather than ketchup. Tabasco is the nectar of the gods

Jordan Knepp

I live in North Carolina and my mother-in-law has a bunch of bird feeders and bird houses in her backyard and there is ALWAYS 10+ birds in her backyard constantly. Usually cardinals and blue jays. It's amazing.

Jordan Knepp

Ms. Pac-Man fucking rules dude.

Will Hahn

Insomniac confirmed that MM is Uncharted Lost Legacy in scope. Most likely this means it will priced similarly

JD

Did they update to fix the dropped frames? Other than that it was a perfect 20hr trophy run for me. Chris Parnell narrator was great too. Would definitely play the dlc.

JT

Colin, Cardinals are awesome. My father and I have property in the mountains in North Carolina full of cool animals and by far the cardinal is his favorite. He sends me pictures all the time to update me on “his” birds since I’m on the opposite coast. Fuck giant bats though. Much love, JT

JT

I didn't see any comments clarifying, but 'Moonlighter' is the RPG Item shop game for anyone who's interested. I can confirm it is pretty great.

Henry Maxwell

Actually my theater is still under six bucks. So take that cocksucka!!

There’s No I in LLC

Ni no Kuni 1 and 2 are wonderful games enjoy

Wayde

How about instead of having trophies attached to these specific runs without dying or beating a game on survivor plus why not have in game unlockables or themes or avatars associated with doing that achievement

Wayde

I can confirm Ni No Kuni sold at least one copy because of you. I just picked up the game a couple weeks ago, after hearing you gush about it for years. I haven't had much time to play it. Only a couple hours. I like it a lot so far though.

Miles Williams

If Miles Morales is $70, only on PS5 & about 10 hours like Infamous: First Light / Uncharted: Lost Legacy, that’s very concerning. I would keep an eye out for this.

Brandon Soto

Forreal man. It ain’t that serious. 😐

Brandon Soto

This is one of the very best SS episodes to date. It started so fun and random. It got into some interesting news. And finished strong. Love you guys. Keep Fridays

CompulsiveNerd

You guys had that Xbox first party question, and this is just your half-annual reminder to play Gears 5 sometime! You’re a busy man, but would love to hear what you think of it one day :)

Caleb Greer

Gonna give this buttcrack deodorant a shot. I usually just Gold Bond up to help fight the summer swamp ass. Interested to see if the deodorant affects fart smells as well.

PissJug

Maneater is really good and has a really fun trophy list too.

D'Ante Almo

The Buttcrack Deodorant Saga is legit wild. 😂

NeO JD

I think it’s safe to say we all did 😄

NeO JD

I’m sorry - did Chris just say that little people have a “waddly quality?”

Josh McKinney

I think that the price of games going up is inevitable and perfectly reasonable. If you think a $70 price point for a game is too high, just wait for it to go on sale. Games don't stay at full price for very long anymore. I just picked up Part 2 for $60, but before that it had been a very long time since I paid full price for a game. Maybe the Bioshock Collection?

Matthew Cooper

Nintendo games are already 70 bucks.

There’s No I in LLC

I think $70 has hit the limit at which I’m willing to take a chance on a game. I think I’m just going to make the transition to Nintendo and say goodbye to Sony/Xbox.

Jason Moss

She got out of the car in a hurry to go find her credit card so she could become a patron :D

JD

I can concur on the "not talking enough" during spoilercast. I've noticed very quickly that you (Colin) have mostly read the question from the audience and passed the question off to Chris. You chimed in here and there but mostly Chris did the heavy lifting. Which was to a degree disappointing because as much as I like Chris, I was looking forward more to your opinion /thoughts, especially since you're more happy with it than Chris, who found the game average as per his description. To top it off, that sometimes bleeds into normal episodes. Seems like you should let Chris read some quarries from audience to you to spur your involvement with certain subjects. Just my two cents. Thank you.

Zibi Majewski

Colin, just a quick comment on the paying more for games discussion. The only thing that bothers me and as a fan old school games you might agree... is I‘d be fine with paying more if the games were just that much better. They are in a sense...visuals. For sure. But gameplaywise I’m not sure they are

Calcifer

Y'know outside of JK Rowling's incessant retconing of her books I've kinda been on her side with her past few "Contaversies". No one should be dragged for having reasonable opinions.

Empty Symbol

Every time I hear Tencent I'm instantly out

Empty Symbol

Leg crevice = touching the void. Hahahaha this really got me. The internet is the gift that keeps on giving.

Aaron Murray

Video games nowadays have been devalued in a way that I just never saw in the 90's and early 2000's. PS2/Xbox era AAA games rarely dropped in price within the first 9-12 months of release, while nowadays, it's not uncommon for a AAA game to be discounted within weeks of launch. If you're paitent enough to wait 1-3 months, you likely never have to pay more than $45 USD for a big release video game brand new. I think that is the bigger issue, especially with the introduction of subscrpition services like Xbox Gamerpass, UPlay +, and EA access.

TimberWolf0080

Of all the episodes to listen to with my mum in the car, it went from talking about a guy putting deodorant in his ass, then a guy who talks about putting it in his leg crevasse, then we move on to a discussion about pigeons we then got to her destination and she got out the car. Idk what my mum thinks of me now.

Louis

Colin, I'm the same as you. Live super clean and have ants every March-June invading my house. Fuck ants!

Monterey Jack

Google goose teeth... ‘nuff said.

Nick Moss

On Cassowaries: Hey guys, i live in North Queensland, Australia and can definitely attest to these fuckers being the descendants of dinosaurs. I had a recent run in on a camping trip and was stuck in my car with my wife for nearly an hour while the Cassowary re-enacted the T-Rex scene from Jurassic Park. Just one issue i have, Chris - please look up the pronunciation for Cassowary, it literally kills me to hear you say it. Its casso-wary as in i’m “wearing” my clothes. Love all things CLS, keep up the great work.

Dean Campbell

Colin - my girlfriend just wanted me to let you know she got a good laugh out of your “buenos dias” pronunciation lol

Matt Greider

Colin googling "leg crevice" and getting Touching the Void as a result is one of my favorite Sacred Symbols moments.

Agent Chodey Banks

El podcast es muy bien

Brandon Hardman

2 and a half hour episode? LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO

Watch Ergo Proxy

Dude, 70 USD is exactly 100 AUD which is what I ALREADY pay for digital games on PSN. I dunno what monopoly money Canada uses, but if I have to pay more than you guys for digital games...? I might start flipping tables. I'm hoping the prices in AU stay the same and you guys were just being charged too little. Fingers crossed.

hugplx

Thanks for another great episode guys, I was glad to hear you address the JK Rowling controversy. While I agree a lot needs to be done to improve the rights and support of trans people, I can’t help thinking that there will always be fundamental differences in the life experience of trans people, and the people genetically born to their assigned gender. Dismissing the importance of cisgender identity (and the unique life experiences which come with it), is surely equally as damaging as dismissing transgender identity. Both disregard the core basis of what makes us who we are as individuals, much like race, beliefs, and sexuality.

NJ

Hey, thanks for reading my over the top rant.

Mr Worry

So tired of hearing people whine and moan like a bunch of babies about microtransactions. Publishers put microtransactions in games because people buy them and buy games that have them. If you don't like microtransactions, stop buying from publishers that put microtransactions in their games. Games are not food, or water, or shelter. Games are not a necessity. You can go without playing a fucking video game. But God forbid gamers exercise a modicum of self control.

George

I thought for sure Colin was gonna mention Shatter for the games he has helped

Richard Duflo

Sorry but you're confidence in taking on swan is incredibly misguided. In man vs swan (and especially it's more psychotic relative, the urban goose), always bet on feathers. They're nasty bastards.

Michael Cook

I live in Canada and there is no doubt that our dollar is much weaker 0.75 as it stands but with the $10 increase and after taxes I will be paying $100 per game which is insane. It can’t be helped but for myself I’ve been transitioning to PC gaming for a while now where there are sales and other ways to get around paying those prices like subscription services. Console gaming has become an exclusive machine for me now and same with a lot of my friends who buy even less and I think that could become an issue in the future. None of my friends will be buying any of the new consoles when they comes because why would you? It’s something to think about but maybe it won’t affect overall sales anyhow.

Adam

It's pronounced Coh-tee-ha cheese

Jose Horrach

Have people not heard of Gold bond/man powder??? Lol.

Luis Sanchez

Out of the Xbox event, I really want to know what Obsidian is working on... ( I expect that there's more in the water than just Grounded)

Philip Andersen

PlayStation Indies gives me vibes of when Sony put more effort into experimental, smaller games like Unfinished Swan, Puppeteer, Fat Princess etc.

Real Radec

You guys make my heart hurt with this Harry Potter game.

Shawn Kelvey Jr

I’m going on a little drive to visit someone tomorrow. (Dw im still being safe about it). I’ll have to listen to this in the car though! :)

Gabe

I thought I was the only one that liked a cold drink in the shower, usually a can of Coke. Also in the summer I buy a separate deodorant for my seat to keep them from sweating so much and thus smelling. It's hot in Houston ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jorge Sosa

Hey Colin, congrats on your recent boss moves with Lillymo. I was just wondering if you’ve heard on of the recent interviews with Neil where he explains his thought process throughout the making of tlou2. I checked out Greg’s podcast with Neil, Ashley, and Troy. I recommend giving it a listen although I’m waiting for the official PlayStation spoillercast.

Bryan Lozano

I thought I was the only person who realized that it was Hercules and Xena. Not Conan and Xena. Glad others wrote in as well to correct the blunder.

Anthony J Sanchez

Thank you! <3

Colin Moriarty

Yes.

Colin Moriarty

Hey Colin, I too have always been told I have a neutral smell. I've found out that a lot of East Asians(I'm Korean) have a genetic trait that stops them from producing that musty sweat smell and natural body odor. There's also a correlation between having this trait and having dry flaky ear wax instead of the wet waxy kind. Curious to know what kind of ear wax you have.

Bogey Zero

Congrats on Lillymo Colin! Really happy seeing all of your (much deserved) success since starting CLS. Can't wait to see what you will do with a JRPG, what I can imagine is a life long dream of yours.

Henry Viola

Still crazy to know that Lillymo is just a little over half an hour away from where I live. Congratulations on the acquisition and excited for more games from you and Barry.

Ryan Capling

But any way games are cool

Liam Fagan

It absolutely is.

Joe McPartlin

Everyone is allowed at least 1 first in thier life

Jose Horrach

Gaming is not cheaper than ever. My god

Liam Fagan

First. Calling "first" is corny but I'm rarely met with the chance to do it so here we are.

Joe McPartlin