Sacred Symbols, Episode 19: An Unexpected Blizzard
Added 2018-11-06 17:01:03 +0000 UTCThe PlayStation news never stops rolling in, and with new PS4 global sales figures, random NPD releases concerning lifetime Vita and PSone software numbers, and fresh information about both the Medievil remake and the recently announced MLB 19: The Show, we have plenty to keep us busy. But we also wanted to take time to focus on the non-PlayStation fiasco surrounding Blizzard, Activision, the Diablo franchise, and... well... many gamers, including many of you. Why is the gaming industry becoming so increasingly toxic, and how can we repair the many rifts that exist around us? Did Blizzard commit a rare faux pas, are gamers expecting too much, or is the truth (as usual) somewhere in the middle? Plus: We remember Monster Rancher, discuss innovations from the multiplayer realm, give a fair shake to Fallout 76 and Kingdom Hearts, and gush over Netflix's Castlevania series. (And much more, of course.)
Timestamps:
0:00:17 - Intro.
0:03:00 - We're moving podcast hosts; you shouldn't see any differences on your end.
0:04:56 - We've delayed the RDR2-centric podcast to next week (we need more time).
0:06:08 - There's a great PlayStation Plus deal going on right now.
0:07:09 - Do we plan on tackling our respective backlogs this December?
0:08:44 - The Hitman 2 Trophy list is atrocious.
0:10:01 - We gush about Netflix's Castlevania; foolishly hope for new game (plus Q's).
0:15:00 - We wade into the Diablo Immortal drama for some reason (plus Q's).
0:26:54 - What games have we been playing?
0:32:15 - We were hard on Fallout 76 and Kingdom Hearts. Listeners chimed in.
0:36:32 - Sony reveals November's free PlayStation Plus games (plus Q's).
0:39:28 - Sony releases new PlayStation 4 hardware ans software sales figures, etc.
0:40:24 - Red Dead Redemption has biggest launch weekend in entertainment history (plus Q's).
0:44:04 - Sony announces MLB 19: The Show.
0:45:03 - NPD Group reveals the all-time best-selling Vita games in the US.
0:46:20 - NPD Group also reveals all-time best-selling PSone games in the US.
0:48:09 - Medievil on PlayStation 4 has been confirmed for 2019; new trailer (plus Q's).
0:52:28 - Minor game announcements and release date information.
0:52:25 - This week's new releases for PS4, PS Vita, and PSVR (plus Q's).
1:03:38 - How do we feel about leak culture?
1:12:18 - Why doesn't Sony just rerelease the original PSone instead of the PlayStation Classic?
1:15:53 - Remember Monster Rancher?!
1:17:39 - Why isn's there innovation in multiplayer like there is in single player?
1:22:52 - I haven't played games in a decade: Where do I start?
1:25:37 - Outro.
Comments
Done!
Cannonball_Jones
2018-11-10 19:51:42 +0000 UTCI feel like it's too late, now. I've been playing like this for 60+ hours. It would be insane to go back now! LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-10 18:57:22 +0000 UTCNot a terrible recommendation. NOT A GREAT ONE EITHER.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-10 18:57:00 +0000 UTCThrow this into the Sacred Symbols thread, you hooligan!
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-10 18:56:42 +0000 UTCMax, do you mind (if you see this) throwing this into the Sacred Symbols thread? We can do a (funny) correction for this coming week.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-10 18:55:23 +0000 UTCI saw a post in the CLS Community board, and we will be going ahead and covering that on Sacred Symbols. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-10 18:54:57 +0000 UTCHey. Wanted to let everyone on here who is playing Red Dead 2 that if you dont like the controls I advise changing the control layout to Standar FPS. This drastically changes the controls to a more traditional set up. Colin i know you said mashing X is not your thing so this setting changes running to the the thumb stick. Dont know why this is not default but it is in the game.
Brett Carlson
2018-11-10 06:13:44 +0000 UTCTo the gentleman who was asking for game recommendations... If you have a short time to play, want single player, and something older and cheap I have to say The Order 1886 is a great game if you can get it for $15-20. It’s usually on sale on PSN for like $8.
Daddy Dilkers
2018-11-10 02:56:39 +0000 UTCColin just wanted to hop back in and harp on PS Now again as a viable backwards compatibiility option that's doesnt get the credit it deserves. The numbers show it is by far the #1 gaming streaming service by far. Obviously some of that is due to the massive install base of ps4 but man has it come a long way. You can now download ps4 and ps2 titles from the service with ps3 hopefully coming later or possibly at launch of ps5. I just think just think the hate Sony gets for apparently no backwards compatibiility that this is a topic worth some research. It is not perfect but it is vastly improved from its inception. Games Pass is not that far ahead and PS NOW also has a much vaster library of titles, almost 600.
Brett Carlson
2018-11-10 00:42:40 +0000 UTCJust to give a little context, the theory wasn’t that The Grinch would be in Smash Bros. but that an image that seemed to leak the entire Smash roster was legitimate because it was in a photo alongside some unreleased and unseen marketing materials for the upcoming Grinch film. It turned out to be nothing following the reveal in the Nintendo Direct but you can at least somewhat follow the logic behind people believing it.
Cannonball_Jones
2018-11-08 23:14:37 +0000 UTCHey colin was just wondering if you saw the news about PS NOW being a success. 148 million in revenue in 2018, making it the most successful streaming platform based on sheer revenue. Very shocking, but I guess us playstation fans need to play old games anyway we can find lol.
Brett Carlson
2018-11-08 22:23:31 +0000 UTCI will!
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:59:53 +0000 UTCI'm not feeling the controls at all. Maybe I need to get over it and really figure it out. But the control scheme isn't good.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:59:44 +0000 UTCI played for < 30 minutes the other night. Gotta be honest with you: Controls like absolute shit.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:59:28 +0000 UTCI'll see what I can do.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:59:14 +0000 UTCIt's a good point, though I would have assumed that backwards compatibility would have been a digital-only emulation solution. While people want to play old games, I bet you the people who want to play their actual PS1 discs are a pretty infinitesimal group.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:59:01 +0000 UTCOh, interesting. I don't think I'd ever had made that connection.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:58:01 +0000 UTCThere are no rules, really, but I do try to spread the love around best I can. You'll notice that there are some names that pop up more than once; others maybe here or there. I try to focus on the content being submitted itself, and not the name affixed.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 18:57:43 +0000 UTCGreat episode as always! The Forest started out on PC and was in early access for years. I didn't realize it ever came OUT of early access but you reminded me to go check it out since I bought it during a Steam sale once. Please talk about it next week if you get time to play it.
Jimmy Champane
2018-11-08 18:55:25 +0000 UTCI played The Forest and it is terrifying. But damn, the night time is sooo dark I can’t see anything even with fire.
Tyler
2018-11-08 17:41:30 +0000 UTCExtremely interested in what you have to say about the Forest. I played it in early access around 2014 I believe on PC. Don’t game on PC anymore but if the final product is good I’d love to get it on PlayStation
John Lynch
2018-11-08 17:33:23 +0000 UTCColin, last year I remember you having a list of games you wanted to try out that you hadn’t gotten around to yet. Darkest Dungeon was on that list. I highly recommend it if you get some time in December.
Daddy Dilkers
2018-11-08 17:02:09 +0000 UTCHi guys just 2 comments about the PS1 backward and playstation classic compatibility: 1- As far as I know as weird as it sounds, the PS4 does not read CDs!! so, even if we get ps1 backward compatibly, it will most probably be only via download. 2- an interesting release on the playstation classic is TEKKEN 3. though it is the highest selling game in the series, it was not release as a playstion classic game (on PSP, PS3 nor Vita) Because of a guest character license call GON (a small Dinosaur). but it looks like Bandai Namco bought it few years ago! Thanks Ali for Kuwait
Ali Almutawa
2018-11-08 11:31:48 +0000 UTCRandom point of Castlevania Netflix trivia - Alucard is voiced by Gaius Baltar from BSG 😕 Amazing show - really makes me wish Konami would just cut the leash off all their franchises and let people like the Netflix show crew, who clearly care about their properties deeply, take the reigns. While a few liberties are taken, their attention to Castlevania lore is borderline shocking. I recently watched a YouTuber named GamerThumbTV’s Castlevania timeline series and it really demonstrated how many winks and nods to future storylines in the lore are in that second season. Amazing stuff. But enough talk, have at you!
Marc Boggio
2018-11-08 06:26:25 +0000 UTCAnother great episode :-) you and Chris seem to be jelling alot more together and loving the banter between you both ! Could you let me know what are you rules on submitting questions onto the show from your patreon subscribers ? If you read a question from me one week does this mean that you would not use another one of my questions then the following week as that would seem unfair ?
Matthew Perry
2018-11-08 01:32:29 +0000 UTCCould be, could be.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:05:43 +0000 UTCI honestly think Sony is just doing shit differently than Activision. Why give everyone everything at once, when you can drip it out? It's exactly what they're doing with Ratchet.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:05:34 +0000 UTCYou're very welcome. Thanks for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:05:08 +0000 UTCY'know, I really want to get Erin playing more hardcore games. Like, she loves Hitman. She just really struggles with sticks, and she refuses to really sit down and learn through doing. I'll see what I can do, though. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:04:57 +0000 UTCGlad to hear we could accompany you on your civic journey.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:04:22 +0000 UTCI never want to mispronounce anyone's name, so if you submit a question again, just put that tutorial in there. =D
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:04:09 +0000 UTCYes. Fireside Chats, tomorrow.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:03:40 +0000 UTCWhat was the fundamental innovation in Witcher 3, you think?
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:03:33 +0000 UTCSounds like something worth adding to the questions thread on Friday...
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:03:15 +0000 UTCInteresting. I don't think I've seen that context added anywhere.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:02:57 +0000 UTCThank you for your support, and welcome!
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:02:41 +0000 UTCThe game is huge. I assume the new schedule will be best for all.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:01:58 +0000 UTCDon't give him any ideas.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:01:47 +0000 UTCLike I said, I dunno that I've been eloquent enough in separating my thoughts on the platform and what it has represented from the games themselves.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:01:24 +0000 UTCWhatdya think of it? I was a little underwhelmed during the tutorial, so I shut it off for the time being.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:00:48 +0000 UTCWe'd rather do it right. I've mostly cleared my plate of work so that I can focus on getting through the rest of it over the next 3-4 days, without having to rush.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-08 00:00:18 +0000 UTCI like their style, yeah.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-07 23:59:53 +0000 UTC=D
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-07 23:59:39 +0000 UTCGotta read carefully! =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-07 23:59:34 +0000 UTCHey Colin, I am also blocked on Mat Piscatella’s Twitter. I have never talked to the dude in my life so I’m thinking it was a Twitter bot. It happens sometimes.
Michael Miller
2018-11-07 21:43:33 +0000 UTCI think they may of not remade MidEvil 2 with 1 because the franchise just isn’t as big as Crash or to a lesser extent Spyro
Tyson Williams
2018-11-07 21:28:08 +0000 UTCThanks for answering my Monster Rancher question! Man I miss those games
Mitch G
2018-11-07 21:22:48 +0000 UTCFantastic episode and thank you for pronouncing my last name correctly, you wouldn't believe how often people fuck it up. You know, piggy backing off of what Chris said about Diablo III, I know how you mentioned playing Overcooked with Erin in the past and you two almost killing each other in the process. Well I highly suggest you two co-op D3. Before marrying my wife, we bonded over playing D3 and probably have dropped close to a hundred hours into it in the past three years. So I don't know if you two regularly seek games to play with each other, but if so, I highly suggest it, especially if either of you are prone to stat-building even on a casual level.
Justin Marxer
2018-11-07 18:23:12 +0000 UTCListening to this episode sure made the drive home to the voting polls and back a lot more enjoyable yesterday.
David Graham
2018-11-07 16:40:43 +0000 UTCYep. If you don't like Assassin's Creed, you probably won't like those. If you want something different, you have to go with Origins or Odyssey.
Jason Stafford
2018-11-07 14:31:46 +0000 UTCThanks guys for taking the time to answer my question. I totally disregarded the backwards compatibility message and potentially lost revenue on Sony's part. Very valid point on the manufacturing costs as well. I guess I was just trying to explore options and ways to shake up that mini-console space before we see N64, Dreamcast and PS2 mini on the market. PS. I know my nickname is not English-friendly so just to clarify (not that it matters really) it is pronounced like peyote but replace P with a T ;) was funny to hear that pronunciation though - this is how guys in France used to call me during Street Fighter tournaments in Cannes 😁
tejotl
2018-11-07 05:25:22 +0000 UTCColin can we please get a discussion of the midterms
Elias Salcedo
2018-11-07 03:32:52 +0000 UTCColin I would argue that single player games for sure innovates. Witcher 3 is for sure an innovation of what the UbiSoft open world stagnated the market with. Also, games like Last of Us and God of War have pushed the boundaries of storytelling and emotional investment in single player campaigns. Game mechanics on a base level may be steady but I think if you look at storytelling and writing and voice acting, I think single player games are far ahead of even 5 or 6 years ago.
Brett Carlson
2018-11-07 03:14:22 +0000 UTCAm I the only one who simply does not care about "innovation" in games (and specifically, sequals)?? For years, I've been hearing critics and gamers alike slam sequals because they didn't "iterate" enough over the last entry, or didn't add enough new gameplay mechanics. Iterate; innovate; innovate; iterate..... To a large extent, I just don't get it. Take GTAV for example. I loved that game (although I have no experience with the multiplayer) and, as evidenced by the sales numbers, so did millions of other gamers. I would be perfectly happy with Rockstar giving me the same mechanics, the same guns, and the same features, but just setting it in a new city, with new characters, and a new story. I feel the same way about The Last of Us Part 2. I adore The Last of Us. It's absolutely the best video game ever made in my opinion. So why would I want the game's formula or gameplay changed for the sequal?? Just give me some shiny new graphics, give me Joel and Ellie, and send them on a new adventure to new places for a new purpose. I was perfectly happy with the guns, craft-ables (molatovs, grenades, etc.), controls, abilities, and enemies that I had in the first one - we all were. Just give me more of that exact thing with an exciting and emotional new story to play through! To be honest, I don't even care if the user interface, HUD, font, or title screen changes one bit. Why are people so quick to take something they absolutely love; something that they had a blast with; something that made them happy, and then demand that it be "iterated" upon (i.e. changed)??
Dave Carsley
2018-11-07 03:12:33 +0000 UTCJust to throw in a bit of context on that snidey April Fools comment during the D:I q&a - maybe you think this is funny, maybe not - but back in 2014(I think?), Blizz made an April Fools joke post about releasing a Diablo mobile game called Happy Reaper. They were basically taking the piss and given they often make a 'thing' of posting ridiculous shit every year on April 1st, the community and Blizz got a good laugh out of it. Thus the question. I think most there read it as 'What happened to the Blizz that took the piss out of mobile games and those who made them?'
hugplx
2018-11-07 02:41:12 +0000 UTCExcellent episode. As a first time Patreon, I can finally say, thank you for making Tuesdays great again!
SpicyVodka
2018-11-07 01:31:47 +0000 UTCThere's a way to get it on Vita utilizing a PS3 and memory card (Google it, it's complicated). It works perfectly so I'm not sure why it's unavailable.
Monta
2018-11-07 00:03:43 +0000 UTCGreat episode as always and I'm glad the RDR2 spoilercast had been pushed because my God it's a huge game and I'm only 30% in. Can't wait till next week.
Marcus Brown
2018-11-06 21:23:45 +0000 UTCThanks for answering my question guys! I wasn’t necessarily saying single player is always innovating but I’ve noticed when sequels come out everyone in games media almost demands some type of innovation from the previous game in the single player aspect but are fine to accept minimal changes to multiplayer. Anyway, I hope Chris referencing Digimon World is a permanent thing like Doom
The Chicken Chaser
2018-11-06 21:22:30 +0000 UTCWho’s gonna break it to Chris MGS1 isn’t on Vita
Tyson Williams
2018-11-06 21:06:25 +0000 UTCSome of my favorite indie games of the past couple years were on phone, but I think a relatively consistent theme is that the really good ones aren’t free apps, don’t have in game purchases, and the game was intended to be played on a touchscreen. Although I wish the Final Fantasy ports were of a higher quality, and there were more new jrpgs on phones, because navigating menus and selecting actions in turn based battles is perfect for touchscreens. Although Point and Click adventure games seem to be ported or made on phones pretty often, it works quite well since you can point and click with your fingers. I did play Downwell when it was originally released on iOS, although the best way to play it is on Vita imo, action platformers just don’t play as well on touchscreens, but Downwell is phenomenal either way. Tetris works fantastic controls wise on phones but it’s the EA version and it’s kinda lacking in modes, before sparcade was shutdown I just had it for the specific mode of Tetris on it because the EA Tetris didn’t have that mode or anything like it.
Tyson Williams
2018-11-06 21:00:05 +0000 UTCHahahahaha you right
Tyson Williams
2018-11-06 20:47:26 +0000 UTCBefore anyone says it: Yes, I have been absolutely nailing the show titles. It's true.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-06 20:04:40 +0000 UTCI also picked up SwapQuest for .99 cents, it has couch co-op, and I think my Wife would dig it.
four24twenty
2018-11-06 19:10:27 +0000 UTCI can’t imagine you will enjoy those 3 Assassin Creed games at all. If you don’t like AC2 or AC Brotherhood, I don’t see you liking these 3. I actually love those two and think these 3 games are exactly the thing that you’ve often complained about AC. Black Flag is the typical AC game. It’s great aesthetically, but just rough to play. I know a lot of people like this one, but I just can’t do it. The Ship gameplay is fun for literally about 3 minutes and actually becomes infuriating after that. You’re probably better off with the new ones.
Zack E
2018-11-06 18:08:48 +0000 UTCI am a little sad that there is no RDR 2 episode yet but I’m happy that you’re taking that game in the correct way
Elias Salcedo
2018-11-06 17:42:20 +0000 UTCYeah I know in Colin's signature self deprecating nature.
There’s No I in LLC
2018-11-06 17:39:43 +0000 UTCArc Sys would be a good fit with their anime engine.
There’s No I in LLC
2018-11-06 17:39:13 +0000 UTCo/
Saulius Vekteris
2018-11-06 17:32:30 +0000 UTCJesus! The 3:00 timestamp scared me mainly due to my lack of reading comprehension. Thought we were losing Chris, lol.
Kyle Goodrich
2018-11-06 17:07:42 +0000 UTC
