Sacred Symbols, Episode 361 | The Most Natural Thing, But Nothing We'd Expect

The global economy is in a tumultuous state, inflation has carved away everyone's purchasing power, and prices are almost universally going up. So naturally, PlayStation will follow suit and jack its rates up too, right? Well, no. Instead, they're doing the exact opposite of what seems natural: For their annual, weeks-long Days of Play sales event, Sony has slashed prices on PS5 and PS5 Pro, PSVR2 and DualSense, and even DualSense Edge and the Access controller. Is Sony's boldness in risking economic erosion worth it? Is its strategy simply to put its boot on Xbox's neck once and for all? We discuss. Plus: If all went according to plan, The Order: 1886 would have gotten two sequels, EA cancels its Black Panther project while shutting down the studio behind it, Build A Rocket Boy suggests there may be a paid, organized campaign against its upcoming title MindsEye, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! What does Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's success mean for the future of global JRPGs? Could Star Wars Battlefront be revived on the basis of a recent resurgence in popularity? Is Colin ignoring an obvious connection between Souls games and his beloved Castlevania? Should we invest thousands in a commemorative Concord plaque, currently for sale on an online auction site?

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro

0:39:27 - Store bought pasta

0:47:19 - Micah cooked Colin

0:49:13 - **TLOU2 spoiler** Jerkin Joel

0:53:34 - New YouTube censorship words

0:58:50 - Concord plaque found

1:07:37 - Days of Play 2025

1:17:56 - The Order's canceled sequels

1:26:43 - EA cancels Black Panther game

1:39:50 - MindsEye under attack?

1:57:53 - PS+ for June

2:05:40 - Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD release date

2:09:53 - Video game sales numbers

2:38:38 - What We've Been Playing (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Shovel Knight Dig, Powerwash Simulator Shrek DLC, Borderlands 2, Death Stranding)

2:47:09 - Gaming "moment of clarity"

2:52:29 - More JPRG settings

3:07:37 - PlayStation's return to handheld

2:08:32 - Watching a playthrough to catch up

3:14:16 - Battlefront 2 resurgence

3:22:31 - When will Colin play a Souls game?