Sacred Symbols, Episode 18: PlayStation Classic Blues
Added 2018-10-30 16:01:01 +0000 UTCSony has finally revealed the 20 games that are set to come loaded onto each and every PlayStation Classic. The lineup has pleased some, but has left many others disappointed (and dare we say aghast). Not surprisingly, we jump into the ongoing conversation. Plus, Shawn Layden finally talks specifics when it comes to PS4's Medievil remake, Spider-Man sets sales records, Bethesda continues to pay for the trap it set for itself with Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI, there are problems galore with the PSN name change beta... and one intrepid listener asks what Sony thinks when its hardware appears in porn, which is a surprisingly great question. Speaking of questions, we wade through many other listener inquiries, too, including ones about review scores, midnight launches, and much, much more.
Timestamps:
0:00:17 - Intro.
0:01:34 - Sacred Symbols is now on Spotify!
0:02:27 - Chris' Halloween tribulations.
0:05:48 - There's a new exclusive Sacred Symbols episode available now (Patrons only!).
0:06:39 - Chris has earned the Spider-Man Platinum.
0:07:24 - We're doing a RDR2-centric Sacred Symbols episode: Here's the plan.
0:08:12 - In addition, we're rolling out more "special episodes" in December.
0:10:34 - Someone says something nice.
0:11:43 - What have we been playing (plus Q's)?
0:26:30 - Sony reveals the full PlayStation Classic game lineup (plus Q's).
0:33:02 - First details about PS4's Medievil Remake revealed.
0:36:24 - PS4's Spider-Man sets sales records; full September '18 sales report (plus Q's).
0:43:52 - PSN name changes come along with serious issues, according to beta (plus Q's).
0:47:07 - Lots of great new games join the discounted "PlayStation Hits" lineup.
0:49:05 - Bethesda continues to explain why it announced Starfield and TESVI so early (plus Q's).
1:01:06 - EA and DICE delay Battlefield V's Battle Royale mode until 2019 (plus Q's).
1:05:52 - Is Sony overtly censoring its third party development partners (plus Q's)?
1:08:58 - Minor game announcements and release date information.
1:12:36 - This week's new releases for PS4, PS Vita, and PSVR (plus Q's).
1:19:39 - How do we feel about midnight, in-person launches?
1:21:39 - What do we think about review scores?
1:25:02 - How does Sony feel when their hardware or games appear in porn?
1:26:25 - What beloved video game series don't we like/understand?
1:30:06 - Why do so many gamers feel they need to play the newest thing?
1:31:50 - Chris and Colin complain about YouTube.
1:35:27 - Do we worry when we don't get games early? Does it hurt our competitiveness?
1:40:22 - Outro.
Comments
For sure not the whole game, but combat and hunting are exceptional in FPS. Also if you turn auto aim off and fanagle with the settings the gunplay is nowhere near bad or average. The default settings are almost on rails for whatever reason. Def a paculiar choice for default gun control.
Brett Carlson
2018-11-05 21:46:23 +0000 UTCI've not, actually. It seems like a tough road to play that game in first-person, but I could certainly give it a try.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-05 19:17:14 +0000 UTCHey COlin. Heard your misgivings on the RDR2 gameplay/combat. I would agree that the shooting in 3rd person is very realistic/stiff compared to the best 3rd Person Shooters, but have you tried combat in 1st Person? In my opinion the combat is 10x better as a first person shooter. It is vastly better
Brett Carlson
2018-11-03 08:53:01 +0000 UTCPerfect! Thank you!
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-01 22:05:23 +0000 UTCI understand that, but I have no idea what a score without words behind it really gives to you, in terms of value or utility.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-01 22:05:16 +0000 UTC=)
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-01 22:04:53 +0000 UTCDon't you try and explain your behavior to me.
Colin Moriarty
2018-11-01 22:04:48 +0000 UTCEpic move to Spotify Colin! I was able to recommend you to 4 friends right away simply because they use the platform.
Daniel Schiffer
2018-11-01 11:12:39 +0000 UTCRe: review scores, I'm kinda on the opposite end of the spectrum to you guys. I only care about the score. I don't want to know much about another person's thoughts on a game before I play it myself, and I think it's difficult to talk about a game in any meaningful way whilst steering clear of spoilers. I prefer watching/listening to spoilercast-style discussions after I've played the game myself, but before that I just want a general quality indicator to help me decide whether to buy a game or not.
George
2018-11-01 09:03:09 +0000 UTCJust wanted to say that I appreciate when a line from LOTR is used effectively in everyday conversations.
Felipe Delfin
2018-10-31 21:54:23 +0000 UTCThank you for the clarification Colin! As a new patron, I'm still learning the ropes.
Justin Marxer
2018-10-31 20:18:34 +0000 UTCI'm not a Mormon, but my mother in law just returned home to SC from an 18 month mission to ND. She decided to do this at 71 years old after she lost everything in a house fire. I've had many interactions with her church and have a lot of respect for Mormons in that they place a lot of the onus of one's salvation on the individual's relationship with God as opposed to many Christian sects that make individuals dependent on the clergy for that privilege. You don't meet too many unhappy Mormons, and I think there's a reason for that. Colin, I'd love for you to dive into this topic.
Forrest Hunter
2018-10-31 20:13:07 +0000 UTCI think Mormonism is super interesting, so yeah, excited to chat with someone who can tell me more about it. (I think you meant to leave this on Fireside Chats.)
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:07:17 +0000 UTCCould be, could be.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:06:52 +0000 UTCWe will certainly see how it panned out. I'm hearing a lot of mixed stuff about the beta, but they'll have (a little) time to clean some stuff up before launch.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:06:43 +0000 UTCVery nice. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:05:54 +0000 UTCOh, interesting!
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:05:43 +0000 UTCI detest laziness, so maybe that's just a me problem. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:05:30 +0000 UTCWe'd be happy to, but it'll need to be included in the thread, so I can easily pull it.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:05:14 +0000 UTCQuestions go in the questions thread, JUSTIN! Look for it on Friday.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:04:48 +0000 UTCI'm glad to hear that!
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:04:34 +0000 UTCFirst off, nice comment. Consider including it in the upcoming thread for the next episode of the show, if you want us to possibly include it. To answer in brief, though: I thought they were mighty close with realism in RDR2 on my PS4 Pro and 1080p TV, so... And I will say that, yeah, we were speaking in hyperbole, but only somewhat. There are games that I was stunned by that I can't believe I was ever stunned by, and that's kinda the point: We're reaching critical mass, where it'll no longer be hyperbole. Then, to Chris' point, it'll become about style.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:04:22 +0000 UTCTo be clear, I don’t want video for SS and was not requesting it, I’m an audio guy. I was just trying to suggest a YouTube replacement.
Ian (616Entertainment)
2018-10-31 20:03:52 +0000 UTCWE'RE NOT DOING VIDEO FOR SACRED SYMBOLS. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:02:51 +0000 UTCI remember Dagan and I playing through Parasite Eve when it came out. It was so unlike anything I had ever played before.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:02:31 +0000 UTCI totally disagree. I think Battlefield 1 was great.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:02:09 +0000 UTCIs it not a PSone Classic?
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:01:59 +0000 UTCThere's a chance it is. LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:01:07 +0000 UTCThank you very much!
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-31 20:00:57 +0000 UTCInteresting that your having a Mormon on the show! So interested in seeing what you have to say. As someone who served a Mormon mission for two years but is a little disillusioned regarding spirituality as of late, I still hold myself as 'culturally' Mormon. The Mormon Culture has a lot to offer to communities.
Andrew Christensen
2018-10-31 18:27:36 +0000 UTCThe PSN name problem is the reason we wont see a PS5 play PS3 games.
Hose A Contra Razz
2018-10-31 18:00:49 +0000 UTCI tweeted this at ya but i figured i'd comment here since youre always awesome at reading comments. I played Fall Out 76 for a few hour yesterday on PS4 and I gotta say it was a lot of fun. Most fun i've had in a while. The graphics weren't bad at all. I think certain areas probably have texture problems but i didn't notice it. I came out of the Vault and there were tons of players using their mics to talk to myself and others and they were stoked to be playing the game. I ended up finding some random dude and he teamed up with me and we set off on a long ass adventure till the beta closed. We ended up in the Mothman Museum town and there are these Petrified Corpses from the nuclear blast kind of like the remains of the town near Pompeye, they are even set up on the roofs of the buildings, and i was amazed because the Ghoul enemies would pose like the petrified corpses and shoot at you while you weren't looking, and when you would aim at them you'd think they were a statue. It was a pretty awesome moment. Last paragraph I swear, and sorry for writing a novel, i'm just excited to share this with someone. The game does have the fps drops but it felt more like server connectivity issues, for instance i would drop to a frame but the stranger i was with would not experience it, and vice versa. Besides that I think the game is good if you like sandbox MMOs. This game was designed with the help of Devs from Star Wars: Galaxies the sandbox mmo, and you can really tell by the content placed in it, and by the fact that most of the content will be created by the players. That is its strongest point and biggest flaw because it wont be for everyone. You have to have time, creativity, and be social to enjoy this game and thats a bummer because people really aren't like that. At the end of our play session we found a town with a merchant robot, and I think if people got together they can turn it into a hub town. It kind of reminds me of the first season of SAO, where they are stuck in the game and don't want to die, so they decide to create lives for themselves within it. Anyways TL;DR: it has potential.
Kenneth Oms
2018-10-31 13:25:43 +0000 UTCPrickly Pete is such a great name for a horse! I called mine Rusty like the one Kramer fed beefarino lol
Mason M
2018-10-31 06:05:48 +0000 UTCJust a correction to Colin's comments about the the ostensibly leaked video of Sir Dan Fortesque walking in the graveyard possibly originating from the development of the remake; it turns out this is not true. It was fan made to try and get Sony to see how excited everyone would get about another game so they would make another one. It seems it may have worked. See here: <a href="https://youtu.be/yd80uokktUY" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/yd80uokktUY</a>
Colin Aulds
2018-10-31 04:05:32 +0000 UTCRelated to your discussion about scores- I run a shop that sells toys & comics... people are constantly asking me to grade stuff on a 10 point scale instead of reviewing pictures & descriptions. Folks are lazy & don’t think for themselves.
Kenneth Koepnick
2018-10-31 01:48:59 +0000 UTCGreat question, Justin. This happens to me somewhat regularly, and I never get back to the game in question. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I hope they answer it.
Dave Carsley
2018-10-31 00:21:37 +0000 UTCThe controls drive me batshit. And yes, I'm so tired of getting bounties for everything. Like animal cruelty. WTF, the dog RAN IN FRONT OF MY HORSE!!! ....That said, DEFINITELY game of the year!!🤣😂
Jeshua Anderson
2018-10-31 00:20:59 +0000 UTCI believe all signs point to an October birth (and no not Halloween related).
Jeshua Anderson
2018-10-31 00:18:40 +0000 UTCHey Colin and Chris, I have a semi-topical question related to new-releases & Red Dead. Up until the release of RDR 2, I was playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey and enjoying the hell out of it. With RDR dropping last week, my gears switched and though I really like Odyssey, I'm certain I won't return to it until RDR 2 has been completed and it might be hard to with the type of world building Rockstar has managed to create. With that said, what games have you two played in the past and loved, only for your efforts to complete it be torpedoed be a newer, hotter release? Have either of you faced this situation? Or am I the only one that is Game-DD (A.D.D.)? Keep up the awesome work and thank you both for everything you do. -Justin
Justin Marxer
2018-10-30 23:05:56 +0000 UTCThis really cheered up my day <3
Scott MacLure
2018-10-30 22:45:35 +0000 UTCColin and Chris, For a long time -- especially since the late 90's -- game developers have been chasing "graphics" in an attempt to make their games look like real life. Awed gamers began saying their games "looked realistic", while reviewers touted the "life-like visuals" of these new 3D titles. Of course, we were all speaking in hyperbole. What we meant was that we understood the real life things that the developers were trying to convey with those blurry pixels; nobody ever actually thought Half Life (to choose a random game) truly, honestly looked exactly like the real world their eyes gazed upon when they stepped outside or viewed a Hollywood film- we simply understood the loose facsimile on our screens. Developers continued chasing this holy grail, and recently, while playing RDR2 on the Xbox One X, it occurred to me that in many areas, they are extremely close. Obviously, this isn't true in all scenes and all situations (character's mouths while they're speaking for instance), but at many points while riding or walking through the wilderness, I'm not sure the average human walking into the room would be able to discern that this wasn't a real person filmed in a real place. This got me thinking: Since this industry's inception, hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into improving game engines and other tech. The vast majority of this has been spent specifically on the goal of visually emulating real life on our screens. We're now getting very, very close. What happens when we get there? When developers are no longer constantly chasing visuals? Where does this industry go? How do games change when they are finally visially indistinguishable from film? What do we chase at that point?
Dave Carsley
2018-10-30 22:35:59 +0000 UTCHey Colin, I understand your frustration with YouTube seemingly fucking up your viewership and views in general. You mentioned possibly killing Side Quest if it doesn't work itself out. I would selfishly be heartbroken to see SQ go away, but have you thought about maybe killing SQ and instead recording video for SS? The long form videos might do better traffic and better revenue. Or, there's a chance I'm way off and its a bad idea. Just a thought!
Ian (616Entertainment)
2018-10-30 22:32:48 +0000 UTCI was going to send you a question about Parasite Eve asking if you've played it. It's one of my favorite games and has the best setting: NYC in the winter! Glad you enjoyed the game and I'm also disappointed it isn't being included in the US classic release.
Forrest Hunter
2018-10-30 22:20:39 +0000 UTCThe last great Battlefield was Bad Company 2. Still has the absolute best modern warfare Multiplayer combat. BF 3 was decent, but the brand has not been the same since.
Zack E
2018-10-30 21:43:35 +0000 UTCLastly the fact that Intelligent Qube got included on the PS Classic makes me wanna buy it. One of the great lost games of my childhood.
Owen
2018-10-30 20:42:11 +0000 UTCWhile I agree RDR2 is doing so much right, the gameplay definitely has some issues. Not only just being janky in terms of controlling Arthur, but the Wanted system is straight broken. That said... I can't stop playing it.
Owen
2018-10-30 20:36:43 +0000 UTCA couple of things point to Jesus not being born in December - The shepherds were out watching their flock, this would not happen in December. - Joseph and Mary participated in the Roman Census. This also wouldn't happen in December. -- Essentially December is fuckin cold everyone would stay home and inside.
Owen
2018-10-30 20:29:03 +0000 UTCWith you guys on Kingdom Hearts, I often find myself believing the entire fanbase is playing a massive prank on me.
Travis Johnson
2018-10-30 19:54:21 +0000 UTCExcellent episode as always. Nothing to add really, just wanted to let you and Chris know that both of you are appreciated.
Jason Bolla
2018-10-30 19:49:58 +0000 UTCIt's a weird inclusion. Truly.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:25:11 +0000 UTCIt's weird that they didn't include the Rondo remake in this, though I guess that port would have taken effort. I doubt I'll dedicate a video to the Castlevania Netflix series, but I'm sure I'll Tweet about it and/or talk about it on Sacred Symbols.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:24:51 +0000 UTCThank you so much. That's very kind of you to say!
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:24:15 +0000 UTCI suppose I'll have to judge it for myself.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:24:03 +0000 UTCYou people (yes, YOU PEOPLE!) and your co-op games, and your friendships!
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:23:44 +0000 UTC=D
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:23:28 +0000 UTCIt's all Battlefront's fault, I'm telling you.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:23:18 +0000 UTCHe was too pure for this world.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:23:07 +0000 UTCGood point.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:22:57 +0000 UTCWe could do an entire episode dedicated to R2-D2, if it pleases you.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:22:50 +0000 UTCI'll probably barely get to Castlevania. LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:22:34 +0000 UTC=) =) =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:22:20 +0000 UTCMTGA.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:22:07 +0000 UTCYou got it! Thanks for your support.
Colin Moriarty
2018-10-30 19:21:59 +0000 UTCI’m happy with the classic lineup for the most part. The only major head scratcher for me is Rainbow Six. The PS1 port is notoriously awful. My guess is that Sony wanted to include a first person shooter and they couldn’t get Medal Of Honor for some reason.
Michael Miller
2018-10-30 18:51:46 +0000 UTCGreat episode, dudes! I was able to get through Rondo of Blood on PSP back in the day and I don't think I have the patience to do it again. It's nice to have Symphony of the Night on PS4 though (even if the menus are laughably bad). I don't know where you'd post it, but I'd love to watch a video from you (Colin) on the Castlevania Netflix series. If it's not something you feel like dedicating a whole video to, I'd love to have you as a guest in a video on my channel to talk about it! Anyways, keep up the great work and Happy Halloween. 🎃
Jimmy Champane
2018-10-30 18:45:02 +0000 UTCConsistently funny, informative, and entertaining every week. Can listen to Colin and Chris talk about games for hours. Sometimes I just replay the episode after I’m finished listening to it the first time. Just so damn good!!!
Timothy Bryant
2018-10-30 18:42:41 +0000 UTCConcerning Castlevania, I think it felt rushed. They spend too much time in a certain place and the finale is pretty abrupt. Honestly the unnecessary fleshing out of side characters ruined it for me. It all detracts from the our main cast, Trevor, Sypha, Alucard, and Dracula.
There’s No I in LLC
2018-10-30 18:31:43 +0000 UTCI would love a Spider-Man co-op. I’m still disappointed Arkham Knight didn’t have co-op
Tyson Williams
2018-10-30 17:34:55 +0000 UTCHell yeah ;)
Saulius Vekteris
2018-10-30 17:23:17 +0000 UTCHow does EA drop the ball so bad after Battlefield 1 did so well? It’s like they watched the reviews and said let’s not do any of that again so we piss off all our fans.
James Galos
2018-10-30 17:20:29 +0000 UTCR.I.P. in pepperonis, Schmuckface, a good friend, a beautiful horse :,(
Tyson Williams
2018-10-30 17:09:35 +0000 UTCThe only thing I can think of for RDR 2 blocking my “Prickly Pete”, was that it has “prick” in it
Richard Duflo
2018-10-30 17:03:12 +0000 UTCI haven't gotten around to Red Dead Redemption 2 yet. When I saw RDR2 in the timestamps, I immediately thought that Colin was planning a R2-D2 themed episode of Sacred Symbols. No idea why that would be a thing, but It goes to show how out of the conversation I am, regarding Red Dead Redemption 2...
Prince Borutski
2018-10-30 16:55:02 +0000 UTCJust 1 thing about the Castlevania show, it's so good because it's written by Warren Ellis who is a genius comics writer, his run on Hellblazer (all in collections now) is truly legendary, check his other stuff out it's all excellent.
David Kramme
2018-10-30 16:33:40 +0000 UTCIt's time, happy days
Niall Harrison
2018-10-30 16:12:26 +0000 UTCReady to make my Tuesday great!
Tim J Weckwerth
2018-10-30 16:06:47 +0000 UTCJust when I thought my Tuesday had all but gone to Hell in a handbasket.. I get a tap on my wrist from my Apple Watch. Colin and Chris save the day again. Thanks guys!!
Tony Rivera
2018-10-30 16:03:05 +0000 UTC
