Sacred Symbols, Episode 54: eGirl Arms Race

I haven't spoken to Naomi since I left IGN, but yeah, that could be an interesting option!

Colin Moriarty

I saw this, actually. My answer is the same: It's the responsibility of the parents to raise and watch over their kids. If their children are running up £3,000+ in a video game, maybe they should be better parents. =D

Colin Moriarty

Colin, maybe you should have Naomi Kyle on fireside chats to discuss some of the gamer-girl questions you brought up near the end of this episode. She streams on Twitch and has tastefully done Playboy photoshoots. She might have an interesting perspective on some of this topic and how her boyfriend Kyle deals with some of the unwanted attention that comes from guys in the online community. Sorry if this has already been posted in the numerous comments above. Thanks and keep up the great work and content!

David Passman

Hey C-Squared, Long time listener but new patron. Keep posting good shit. Microtransactions in games are nothing new, of course, but today an article was posted in the news over here in the UK with many testimonies of kids emptying parents banks accounts in games; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48925623 Whilst I do have sympathy with the families who have lost their savings I do think parents need to take more responsibility with what they let their kids access on mobiles/consoles. I am not absolving the developers of blame, we all know a lot of games are predatory and intentionally try to entice younger gamers to spend money, but at the same time there are numerous parental safety features on phones and consoles that parents can easily access to stop their children doing this. I think when things like this happen we want to point the finger and blame the big companies for shitting on the little guy, but somewhere down the line people need to look at themselves for what they let their kids access. At the end of the day, you wouldn't let you kid run around a shopping mall with your credit card, so why are you letting them do it online? Thoughts?

Michael Dalgleish

Always good to give an option. I've no issue with that.

Colin Moriarty

Good call.

Colin Moriarty

I thought Witwer was great! I liked his performance.

Colin Moriarty

I did my best. LOL.

Colin Moriarty

I don't agree at all. Of course they're talented! But if you never give anyone else a shot, how do you know what's what and who is who? There's a weird center of gravity around these folks, and again, I don't really get it.

Colin Moriarty

Are we pessimistic? I don't think so. Just realistic. I'm excited for the future. I'm also personally happy with PS4. If we're coming off as negative or pessimistic, I don't want to speak for Chris, but that's certainly not my intention (and I doubt it's his, either).

Colin Moriarty

...maybe.

Colin Moriarty

See, that's because you have no taste. ^_~

Colin Moriarty

One of the best censored parts in Brutal Legend is at the beginning of the game where you can hit choose swearing and it was something along the lines of "Fuck Yeah I want Swearing" or "No swearing cause I think the bleeping sound is funny"

MeatSpin11

Final Fantasy 7 actually did it this way too with named prequels and sequels to a numbered game. 7-(-1) (Before Crisis), 7-0 (Crisis Core), 7-1, 7-2 (Dirge of Cerberus.)

Kaz Redclaw

There was another series that had sequels to a single numbered title... Assassin's Creed. They didn't put numbers on their sub-games, but I just call them AC2-1, AC2-2 (Brotherhood), AC2-3 (Revelations), AC3-1, and AC3-2 (Liberation.)

Kaz Redclaw

Lmao @ the way Colin says “Kunio-kun” with that Japanese inflection

Cole Minder

Hey guys. Just a quick comment on voice actors and why it’s the same people frequently. I think Chris suggesting they are safe hits on the nose. As I’m typing this you had just brought up David Hayter and I was going to suggest that as a perfect example. He’s great as snake, but as Zangetsu, the performance to me just sounded awful. These performances aren’t selling more copies but I do think the safe performances keep you immersed rather than sell copies. Another example is Witwer in days gone. He ranges from good to awful throughout. A very uneven performance

John Lynch

Completely disagree on the actors topic. They get all the big games because they are the best in the field and they prove it time and time again. Your right, a game may not sell more copies because Troy Baker is Joel but it for sure would be a lesser game without his performance which would in turn hurt review scores and then in turn hurt sales. Robert Downey Jr is Iron Man, but hes also Sherlock Holmes. Nathan Drake is not the same character without Nolan Norths unique personality. The talent pool is 100% not deep in games at this point. Name good voice actors besides them that are not TV or movie actors? No one knows who plays Leon Kennedy in RE2, but every knows who plays Nathan Drake and Joel. They get the big roles because they are the top of the talent heap. If your a director you are going after the best actors to play the part. Everytime.

Brett Carlson

I still cant believe how pessimistic you guys are still about Playstations future. I think you lost the plot a little bit. This is what Playstation fans want and have always wanted. Focus on the games. The best games. Playstation is a specific brand. It's not just a game company anymore. Xbox is focuses on 100 different things because they have no history. Xbox has no story. They have maybe 10 total franchises with any lasting historical meaning. Playstation has 5x as many. From Crash and Metal Gear Solid to Last of Us and God of War and Infamous and Ratchet and Resitance and Killzone and Horizon Jak and Daxter. I mean the list goes on and on. People who play on playstation ARE THE HARDCORE GAMER. That's the point you guys are missing. Playstation doesnt have many casuals. The casual player is who plays Xbox and Nintendo ( on a macro level). The core Playstation audience has been with the company since PS1. Most adults 30 and younger had the PS1 and there first console. The days of Nintendo on top are a bygone era. Teenagers today dont care about NES or Sega Genesis. The Playstation audiences wants this direction. We laughed at Sony when they wasted resources of the friggen move controllers and the stupid playstation eye and all these gimmick shit products that Nintendo and Xbox just cant let go of and in the long run it was the best move. People will always gravitate towards the best games and who makes them. 90% of the 100 million Playstation owners have never even played an indie game. As a lifelong Playstation historian and self described fanatic I think this is setting up for them to hit it about 500 feet out of the park. With one caveat, Playstation Now has to be a fully realized game service that MUST be included with a PS Plus subscription. Riddle me this Colin, everyone waxes poetically about how fantastic Game Pass is. Games Pass has 100 games at all times. Never more or less. PS Now has 700 games! The libraries between Xbox and Playstation are not even in the same galaxy. If Sony revamps PS NOW for PS5 its game over.

Brett Carlson

Can Colin's bathwater be a new Patreon tier?

T

How you feel about P4 is how I feel about FF VI...I just don’t get it.

Myles Rivera

Absolutely man. That guy just thinks he's funny. His isolation has led him down a road where he doesn't have that social tempering necessary for normal interaction.

There’s No I in LLC

Someone saying that about her made me so sad and angry. She is like the single sweetest creature on the entire planet. She loves everyone. She just wants attention and pets. I don't understand people. I hope that dude fucking rots. =D

Colin Moriarty

It's definitely gonna work next-gen.

Colin Moriarty

It took me seven years to play Persona 4 Golden, so I'm looking to play Persona 5 sometime in 2026.

Colin Moriarty

Session, that's the one!

Colin Moriarty

That may very well be true.

Colin Moriarty

That's so funny you say that, 'cause I kinda feel the exact opposite. When the game finally lets me go into a fucking dungeon, I'm relieved. So much wasting time and waiting in P4G.

Colin Moriarty

Yeah. Rosemary's Baby was just an example that came to mind since I recently rewatched it, and was taken by Polanski's choice there. I'm usually of the mind that less-is-more when it comes to sex and violence. I don't mind either, but I don't like when a scene is five minutes of sex or several minutes of violence. It virtually never serves the story, and often wastes precious runtime.

Colin Moriarty

Sometimes, but it's a PlayStation podcast.

Colin Moriarty

Chris and I barely talk (and almost never see each other) outside of Mondays, when we record. I honestly think that's a big reason why the show is so good.

Colin Moriarty

I want you to love me for me.

Colin Moriarty

Well guess what, they're definitely going to be ignoring indies. (Although rumors are circulating that Housemarque is getting back into bed with Sony. We'll see.)

Colin Moriarty

I think P4G is a very good game. High production values (for the time), interesting characters and story, lots of non-linearity and options. I think I struggle with these types of games because while I love wide-open, do-anything affairs, P4G wildly swings from linear to non-linear, from guiding you to making it seem like you're just wasting time. There are too many unexplained systems, and it's unclear what's important and why. It's certainly getting moved into the "Vastly Overrated" category, considering how much people have been talking up the Vita port for like seven years. But it's still good, and I'm still gonna continue to play it.

Colin Moriarty

Gotcha.

Colin Moriarty

I totally believe it. And I think you'll get Skate 4. And I don't expect it to do very well.

Colin Moriarty

I'm glad to hear that! Erin goes to Starbucks everyday, so we're supporting you as best we can.

Colin Moriarty

They are obviously talented, but I don't believe their recurring use has much to do with talent. Like I said on the show, dollars to donuts, it's because they know how it's done and don't need guidance.

Colin Moriarty

Someone's gotta tell people.

Colin Moriarty

Is that her boyfriend in the show?

Colin Moriarty

You never know quite what will happen when you submit a question, comment, concern, thought, or idea.

Colin Moriarty

=)

Colin Moriarty

Oh, it's perfectly fine. I'm not gonna censor myself. Thank you for your support and kindness. <3

Colin Moriarty

I don't think I've spent one minute on Twitch since I left Kinda Funny, truth be told.

Colin Moriarty

<3

Colin Moriarty

Nah dude as far as Lola is concerned get her fitted with some .357 shoulder mounted cannons, micromissile nano-triweave heat seekers, and a deployable, dual servo, autonomous plasma blade defense system. You can get a deluxe package at your local neo-futurist pet shop. P.S. Lola was incredible this episode.

There’s No I in LLC

It’d be nice if the DS4 worked next-gen. All the DS5 needs is just faster charging and longer battery life.

NeO JD

Don’t worry Colin. When you FINALLY start Persona 5, you won’t have to wait a bajillion hours for it to get good. It will be a total romp from hour 1 allllllllll the way till hour 300+ when the main story is done 😁😝

Martha Silla

Hey guys. I believe Session was the Skate successor you were trying to think of. I’m sad that it’s an Xbox exclusive that’s supposed to come out later this year. There is also another game called Skater XL that is on steam that is pretty similar to the skate series but no word yet on when it’s coming to consoles. The Skateboarding game market is very lacking currently and I wish the void would be filled.

Trent Miller

The reason why we don't have a new Skate is because Chris doesn't want it.

hugplx

I'm a big persona fan. Got the plats for 4 and 5. Here's the thing though, I think the turn based combat and dungeons are super boring (I'm bored by all turn based combat in general tbf, which is why I'm baffled why you and others love it so. 13 hit the sweet spot with turn based action though). Its strength really is the story, characters and being able to vicariously live as a Japanese school kid. In that regard, if you're not pulled in by that, you won't think it's as amazing as everyone tells you it is. It's also why i get the 'you've not played enough' argument people are spewing. While I hate that argument, it makes more sense in this game that relies so heavily on story and characters.

hugplx

Great point bringing up Rosemary's Baby. The same thing applies to the original. Halloween, there's hardly a drop of blood in it. I think it all depends on what you're looking for or are in the mood for. Sometimes I'm in the mood to see a gory movie like the old George Romero zombie films. So in terms of the restraint or self-censorship leading to better quality, I think you have to know your audience as a creator and you have to know what it is that you're trying to create.

Nate McKinney

Will SSPlus have topics from the other consoles ? I would like to hear about Xbox and switch games not on PS4

Hose A Contra Razz

Happy to hear about the extra SS episodes we will be getting next month. It’s exciting. But does that mean you and Chris are like , best friends now ? The amount of time spent together has gotta make Erin jealous , or worse yet .... Lola ! God no not Lola ! P.S. No animal or human is excited to see me the way Lola is to see Chris. This could cause a rift in your 3’s company you got going on over there. Colin of course be Chrissy in this 80’s sitcom world.

Anthony Longo

I get it: You don't appear on camera anymore because you want to know that we actually like you, and aren't just lusting over your anatomy.

David Graham

If PS5 ignores most Indies, that’s another W for Nintendo. We need Resogun 2.

Brandon Soto

Colin, if you're not "seeing it" in Persona4 in 30 hours, just wait for Persona 5....50 hours in and I was over it. The Game. Won't. Let. You. Play. It. I walked away for a year+ and finally got back into this past march and finished it. RIGHT where I left it was where it opened up a bit, but the game never hands over the reigns as fully as even P4G does. so....be on the look out.

Toren R. (KESA)

Belle Delphine is 19 years old

I remember when PewdiePie started playing/making videos on Skate 3, EA reported a huge boost in sales for the game despite the game having had been out for years and it’s hype was nonexistent. It was pretty cool to see.

Kenneth Oms

I usually don’t comment on episodes but I just wanted to say that you guys make my 9 hours shifts at Starbucks marginally better :)

Jenn Scott

Yeah I don't agree about the overabundance of roles by the same iconic voice actors. I feel the obvious reason is because of their talent. Sure they're many others out there that deserve the spotlight but there was a time where Baker and North were those guys. I personally get excited everytime I recognize their respective voices. Idk just my take and I respect your guy's. I just see it like films, I'm not gonna get tired of Will Smith or Keanu Reeves.🤷🏾‍♂️

Marcus Brown

This is the 2nd I hear Colin telling listeners to “wash their balls” in his Long Island accent. Always makes me laugh! XD

Juan Paolini

One of my good friends here in Northern Kentucky is actually Natalia Dyer's (Nancy from Stranger Things) cousin. Kind of funny when he mentioned that her and Charlie Heaton (Johnathan) were dating in real life and had Thanksgiving with them.

Barrett Boswell

Wow, was not expecting my name to be read out... very humbled, thank you!

Murray. M

Insert CJ's "Ahhh shit, here we go again" meme LOL.

Jeff Caseres

Hey Colin, sorry to hear you lost a patron for sticking up for Lola, upgraded my Patreon to the next level. If Lola needs to form a small militia to go to war with the gutter punks then I'll gladly sign up

Dann O.K.

Ff13-2 with help of TriAce made the maps and polished combat very fun. I wouldn’t mind if the story had ended with 13 as the ending was one of the strong parts^

Philip Andersen

If you have ever checked out the “just chatting” area on Twitch you can see wild stuff and the comments on those channels are definitely in violation of all of Twitch’s decency policies.

James Galos

I'll have you know the Final Fantasy 13 sequels were actually pretty good. 13 happens to be the worst of the trilogy while 13-2 is, in my opinion, among the best of the FF series overall.

Kaleb

I’m ready! Ty!

Anthony Wright