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Sacred Symbols, Episode 308 | Second Party Puzzles

We talk about 'first parties' and 'third parties' all the time, and we all fundamentally understand the terms. But what about the mysterious 'second party' game? Where do those fit in? Well, PS5 has recently been the recipient of two key second party exclusives -- Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 and Shift Up's Stellar Blade -- and both have been wildly successful, surpassing the respective expectations surrounding each product. In years past with different studios (think Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, Insomniac, Housemarque, and others), this level of accomplishment in the second party (where publishers own the game and/or its publishing rights, but not the team making it) often meant acquisition. But things seem awfully different now. There's no doubt Sony's interested in Arrowhead and Shift Up, but is it mutual? Other news includes hints surrounding PlayStation's bubbling mobile initiative, Ghost of Tsushima's amazing performance on PC, Death Stranding 2 entering its final phases of development, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why are we so obsessed with PlayStation 3 games coming to PS4 and PS5? Have we ever kept a journal to chronicle our experience with a game? With LEGO Horizon rumors amok, what other Sony IP would make sense in that aesthetic? Has Dishwasher Gate officially broken the collective spirit of the Last Stand community?

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro

0:29:32 - Last week's unhinged start

0:42:42 - Sacred encouragement

0:45:28 - Southern man epidemic

0:50:15 - "I don't know"

0:59:39 - The Division 3 is coming

1:00:33 - Financial reporting correction

1:02:09 - Trophy completion data

1:05:26 - Where is the time to play games?

1:10:03 - Goodbye London Studio

1:16:10 - Death Stranding releasing in 2025

1:21:52 - Ghost of Tsushima is PlayStation biggest Singleplayer PC launch

1:32:27 - Strauss Zelnick is confident in GTA6's release date

1:41:38 - IGN buys everyone

1:55:57 - Rolling Stone revives its gaming coverage with Saudi money

2:15:00 - What we’ve been playing

3:06:28 - Changes at Arrowhead

3:26:11 - Shift Up's future plans

3:39:00 - PlayStation mobile job listings

3:48:50 - Why do we want PS3 emulation?

3:59:28 - Trophy addiction

4:07:15 - Video game journaling

4:12:13 - Dualsense Edging

4:18:22 - Other Lego PlayStation games

4:22:17 - Exclusives shouldn't exist?

Sacred Symbols, Episode 308 | Second Party Puzzles

Comments

Colin had me dying owning that write in asking about why we want ps3 games on ps5 💀

Ben Haner

Just want to add spec ops to that long list that makes the ps3 the goat console. Even though it’s unplayable now, Warhawk as well. Switched from 360 at its height to ps3 and I think Warhawk is just as good as halo 3 and cod4 at the time. Better than kz2 and R2. Great game

Caleb Peacock

It isn't the celebrities getting paid at conventions. It's the convention getting the money trying to recoup the cost of having that celebrity

Luke Trewarne

Jeez imagine thinking Fallon is funny. He's the fakest of them all imo Nothing touches Conan though for me

Luke Trewarne

Chris ‘enamored’ at 2:43:41. 2nd ‘enamored’ for animal well

Ryan

I really appreciate the words from Colin on the reality of playing games with people living busy lives with families. I consistently see morons in games media/creation speaking the “toe the line” mantra “own everything, play everywhere, simple answer” who has the fucking time? Unless you’re a child or an absolute loser with zero hobbies, friends and family, or a significant other, you can’t possibly justify owning everything or trying to play everything. With 2 kids I have no time for anything. Add a wife, running my business and just trying to keep my sanity, it’s overwhelming, life is overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life and my family, but I’m time poor and miss my hobbies, it’s more than video games even though that’s near the top of things. Value your time while you have it and make the most of it.

The Rose Experience

How was this episode not called “can’t stop edging?” Lol

Jeffery Carlson

Hey gang! I'm a psychologist who specializes in assessment and I have conducted many IQ assessment batteries in my day. While there are a wide array of validated IQ tests available, the best tests involve performing about ten or so different tasks that measure a variety of cognitive abilities such as reasoning, memory, processing speed, verbal comprehension, and so on. A few things of note: Given how the IQ scale is statistically derived, accurately measuring IQs about 145 is exceedingly difficult and would have questionable validity. I can assure you that Taylor Swift's IQ is not 160. Colin, I am certain that you would score very high in verbal comprehension, reasoning, and crystallized intelligence, but other domains (such as memory) may drag your overall IQ down.

Jeffrey Rommel


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