Sacred Symbols, Episode 359 | Such A Beautiful Lie to Believe In

PlayStation is booming, at least depending on how you look at things. On the one hand, Sony's annual financial results are incredibly strong: PlayStation drove more revenue last year than any gaming entity ever has in the entire history of the industry. Meanwhile, PS5 will surpass 80 million units sold soon, and has become the default console for most players this generation. But there's a downside; indeed, Sony is doing all of this damage with one hand tied behind its back, as major exclusive releases have slowed down to a trickle, while the level of behind-the-scenes mismanagement becomes ever-starker. As we were wrapping our episode up, word dropped that first party studio Haven lost its founder and biggest name, Jade Raymond, apparently after a tumultuous testing of Fairgames, boding poorly for the future of that product and team. Maybe this entire initiative was a bad idea, after all? Plus: Death Stranding 2 goes gold, Stellar Blade is coming to PC, rumors percolate about a Grand Theft Auto IV remaster, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Will Final Fantasy XVII be turn-based? What does the 11th hour saving of Giant Bomb mean for the future of games media? Could Game Pass' undeniable value proposition begin peeling away the Sony hardcore? Who should we cast Obesaga on, so that we can have an overweight cast member for representation's sake?

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro

0:19:30 - No more sad write-ins

0:22:20 - How are we doing?

0:31:22 - LSM needs more diversity

0:43:46 - This week's "situation"

0:47:08 - HBO MAX

0:54:09 - Guy waking up meme

0:59:22 - Sony FY2024 financials

1:20:50 - Capcom continues to dominate

1:26:38 - Death Stranding 2 goes gold

1:37:18 - Stellar Blade coming to PC

1:44:33 - Tati Gabrielle trained on online hate

1:57:10 - GTA IV Remaster?

2:04:34 - Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra delayed

2:10:21 - PS Plus updates

2:13:51 - Fallout Season 2 in December

2:17:01 - What We’ve Been Playing (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Doom Eternal, Doom: The Dark Ages, Tomba!)

3:16:24 - Final Fantasy returning to turn based

3:20:16 - Gatekeeping

3:35:18 - Giant Bomb goes independent

3:42:44 - Moon Studio in trouble?

3:55:14 - More Xbox games to PlayStation

4:03:13 - Will the value of Gamepass convert PlayStation users?

4:13:43 - Jade Raymond leaves Haven