For as long as there have been video games, there have been remakes of video games. Today, some five decades into the history of our industry, the market for rereleases and remasters is thriving, and some of players' most-anticipated games -- like Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Remake -- are old...
2019-11-01 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The ESA and the Politics of Gaming!
2019-11-01 06:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
In middle school and high school, the house party -- or your local equivalent -- was a rite of passage. It's when you got away from the doldrums of secondary academia, socialized with your peers away from the prying ears and curious eyes of teachers and parents, and perhaps even indulged in some ...
2019-10-31 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Lobbyin'.
2019-10-30 18:26:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Today's guest is named Darren MacNally, and Darren has been on a pretty interesting voyage these past few years. One day a little over a decade ago, he fell in love with Creative Assembly's long-running Total War gaming franchise, and even parlayed that passion into a job at the developer for a t...
2019-10-30 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Obsidian's all-new open world RPG The Outer Worlds is a blatant (and in some ways even shameless) ode to its 2010 cult hit Fallout: New Vegas... and it should come as no surprise that it's pretty damn good. So let's spend some time talking about why, and celebrate the many things it does so very ...
2019-10-29 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
With so many good inquiries coming through the Sacred Symbols inbox, it's quite literally impossible to keep up with them all on the 'regular' show. So we've been stowing them away in a spare Google Doc for rainy days, and today Colin (that's me!) returns with another handful of excellent questio...
2019-10-25 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki brings a fantastical flair to all of his work, but out of Studio Ghibli's entire roster of films, 2001's Spirited Away might be the weirdest and more extraordinary of all. Steeped in Shinto symbolism and vague in its message, Chihiro's misadventure is ench...
2019-10-24 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
It might be easy to poke a little fun at massage therapy, what with the easy Happy Ending jokes and all. But in reality, the art of relaxation is a serious endeavor, especially here in the 21st century, as people around the world become more aware of their bodies, and the curative qualities unort...
2019-10-23 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
As we settle into the fall months, rumors abound. A new photograph seems to confirm the v-shaped PS5 dev kit design that was earlier making the rounds, much to our chagrin. But does it actually matter? Guerrilla Games is mo-capping, while Sony Bend is pre-producing. But should we be surprised? Th...
2019-10-22 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
With 1.4 billion citizens and counting, China isn't only the world's most populated country, but home to nearly one-in-five human beings anywhere on Earth. It's a political, cultural, and economic powerhouse with a rapidly-increasing standard of living, a widening middle class, and immense pull o...
2019-10-18 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
There's nothing quite like a good mob movie, and when it comes to 1990's Goodfellas, there are few better. Based on a authoritative, journalist-written book drawing from historic experiences and events, and played by a series of actors mimicking their real-world counterparts perfectly, Goodfellas...
2019-10-17 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
For many married couples, having children is a huge part of The Plan. But what happens when biology doesn't cooperate, and you're left unable to have kids like you counted on? This week's guests -- The Mayberrys -- have special insight into an issue that affects millions of couples the world over...
2019-10-16 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
We were spoiled last week, what with lots of new PlayStation 5 details to obsess over. But Sony has another piece of PS-themed hardware that's worthy of next-gen attention, and no, we're not talking about a third handheld (which is surprising, since we talk about Vita constantly). PlayStation VR ...
2019-10-15 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The last quarter of a console generation is always fascinating, because we get to watch console manufacturers simultaneously tackle two separate problems. On the one hand, the likes of Sony have to put their last-gen machine to rest, while on the other, they need to convince the enthusiast market...
2019-10-11 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Like horror, the science fiction genre simply wasn't taken very seriously until well into film history. By the 1970s, though, specific pieces of cinematic sci-fi were beginning to distance themselves from the schlock that dominated decades past, and Alien should certainly be counted amongst the m...
2019-10-10 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
We've been calling Sony's next-gen console PlayStation 5 for quite some time now, but we weren't sure that's what it would actually be named. Now, we know PS5 is indeed PS5, and along with that news comes lots of fresh details straight from the horse's mouth. From the console's release window to ...
2019-10-09 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
John Shehan is a 24 year old man who first realized he was gay when he was six, but only came out to his friends and family very recently. Today's episode of Fireside Chats is dedicated to his story, and how he found himself after years of self-doubt and anxiety. The outcome of his journey has be...
2019-10-08 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Buzz Aldrin would be ashamed.
2019-10-07 23:06:05 +0000 UTC View Post
In years past, the fall and winter months were when most of the games you actually wanted to play would come out. That's not exactly true anymore -- solid games worthy of your attention launch year-round these days -- but there's still something special about the 12 or so weeks leading up to the ...
2019-10-04 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
For many of us, high school was a bizarre experience, particularly in hindsight. It turns out that much of what we cared a great deal about in our teens doesn't actually matter whatsoever, but when you're there -- in the moment and living that life -- the gravity is all too real. 2007's Superbad ...
2019-10-03 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
If you didn't know, I'm obsessed with space and space travel, and obviously, Fireside Chats couldn't possibly end without having someone from the space industry on our show. Let's call today's guest John Doe, an engineer who works at a major American aerospace corporation on projects for NASA (an...
2019-10-02 18:25:22 +0000 UTC View Post
We recorded this week's podcast, flipped off the microphones, and went on Twitter, where we discovered a surprise piece of late-breaking news: Shawn Layden is leaving Sony. Layden used to be CEO of the American branch of PlayStation, and most recently held the position as Head Honcho of PlayStati...
2019-10-01 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Colin's Last Stand's completely unintentional (yet still expertly-timed) The Last of Us Week concludes with an episode of Sacred Symbols+ all about The Last of Us: Part II. Over the past few days, a deluge of information concerning the eagerly-awaited sequel has been released, including the game'...
2019-09-27 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Don't lose your head.
2019-09-26 19:57:16 +0000 UTC View Post
It took a while for PlayStation 3 to really get going, but when it did, it graced players with a slew of amazing exclusive games that solidified the console's place in industry history. Interestingly enough, though, it was one of its very last exclusives -- launched in the shadow of PlayStation 4...
2019-09-26 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The silence surrounding The Last of Us: Part II has been somewhat deafening, what with PlayStation 5 hurtling toward us on the horizon and PS4's most important and anticipated exclusive still unreleased. Our patience has been rewarded with precious new information, however, including the game's r...
2019-09-25 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
At Boise State University in Idaho, a small group of college students in a program called Games, Interactive Media, and Mobile Technology work quietly on prototypes and projects that could very well be The Next Big Thing in gaming. To represent the school and the program, welcome Nicholai Cascio ...
2019-09-24 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
"Video Game Critic" is a cartoonish job title on the face of it, but in reality, it can be a pretty weighty gig, particularly if you work at a large outlet. Thousands -- or tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, and sometimes even millions -- look to the world's biggest gaming sites and pub...
2019-09-20 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Yes, it's true: There's a lot to love about the 1970s. But the reality is, it was kind of a down decade. Unemployment was high, and inflation was, too. An oil embargo crippled western economies. The peace and love of the '60s rapidly gave way to stagnation, corruption, and agitation. By 1980, peo...
2019-09-19 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post