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Sacred Symbols, Episode 292 | Meet Me In Outer Space

A new State of Play presentation -- arguably the best Sony has ever executed -- has given us a plethora of items to discuss on this week's all-new episode of Sacred Symbols. For starters, we finally have a release date for the amazing-looking second party PS5 exclusive action-RPG Stellar Blade, which we cannot wait to play. We also got a lengthy glimpse at Team Ninja's Rise of the Ronin, confirmation of a near-remake of Until Dawn from Ballistic Moon, a fresh look at Death Stranding 2 en rout...

Defining Duke, Episode 161 | MASSIVE Layoffs Hit Xbox - What's Next? (Video)

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Timestamps to skip ads:
0:00:29
0:18:36

Defining Duke, Episode 161 | MASSIVE Layoffs Hit Xbox - What's Next?

The moment we’ve long anticipated since Xbox began gobbling up various publishers has arrived and indicated a change in direction for the brand. On January 25th, a day after Microsoft was named the second $3 trillion company, Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees (accounting for 8% of their gaming division) across Activision, Blizzard, Xbox, and Bethesda. This pushes the industry as a whole beyond the 5,000 mark for total layoffs in 2024. For comparison, 2023 saw a total of 10,500 layoffs in i...

Knockback, Episode 278 | Jaws (Video)

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Knockback, Episode 278 | Jaws

1975's Jaws is a seminal work in the thriller genre, and it was somehow delivered by an overwhelmed, overworked, and over-his-head Steven Spielberg, directing only his second theatrically-released film. With a bloated budget more than twice as high as originally anticipated -- and filmed on-location with great difficulty, sending it more than three months beyond its planned schedule -- Jaws had everything working against it. But in the cauldron, something rather revolutionary cooked. From sco...

Summon Sign, Episode 5 | Health is Infinite Wealth (Video)

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*PLEASE NOTE SPOILERS IN TIMESTAMPS*

Summon Sign, Episode 5 | Health is Infinite Wealth

Gene and Cog join Brad and talk Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Palworld, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion, and Resident Evil Remake.

*PLEASE NOTE SPOILERS IN TIMESTAMPS*

0:00:00 - Introduction

0:05:37 - Arcade Memories

0:17:34 - Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

0:44:27 - Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth spoilers (ends at next timestamp)

0:58:09 - Tekken 8

1:30:54- Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion

1:47:03 - Sort It Out!<...

Defining Duke, Episode 161: The Thread

Hey, all!  It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 161 of Defining Duke. 

NOTE: Brad shall be joining us this episode. As he's a massive Blizzard fan, we felt this week's range of topics suits his expertise. Do be sure to include him in your write-ins!

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuati...

Constellation, Episode 56 | Gossip, True Crime, The Public Domain (Video)

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Constellation, Episode 56 | Gossip, True Crime, The Public Domain

Welcome to Constellation, Last Stand Media's conversational podcast. This week, the Brothers Moriarty are joined by Sacred Symbols co-host Chris Ray Gun. A trio of topics therefore await you this episode, beginning with Dagan's deep-delve into gossip. It turns out Dag's a bit of a gossiper himself, and wonders if we partake, and if so to what extent. Colin thereafter turns everyone's attention to the so-called 'public domain,' where created works across mediums reside after a certai...

Sacred Symbols 300 Celebration Ticket Access

Update: VIP tickets sold out in ~5 minutes. <3

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Tickets for Sacred Symbols 300 Celebration are now on sale for our Patreon supporters!

Join us, the many personalities of Last Stand Media, at the SVA Theater in New York City on Sunday, March 24th at 7 PM for a night of irreverent fun to celebrate 300 episodes of our flagship show, Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast. In addition, our friends from the Iron Lords Podcast will be kicking off the evening....

Sacred Symbols, Episode 291 | The Guillotine (Video)

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Timestamp to skip the ad:
0:21:12

Sacred Symbols, Episode 291 | The Guillotine

Our beloved games industry is currently mired in an economic crisis of its own creation. By rapidly expanding corporate headcounts during the pandemic -- and by foolishly forecasting 2020-era gaming habits would persist into future years -- many publishers and developers have found themselves dramatically overextended. In 2022, some 8,500 people lost their jobs in gaming; that number grew appreciably to 10,500 last year. Here in 2024, though? Not even a month into the calendar, we're sitting ...

Defining Duke, Episode 160 | Palworld + Hellblade II - The TRUTH About Xbox's Dilemma (Video)

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Defining Duke, Episode 160 | Palworld + Hellblade II - The TRUTH About Xbox's Dilemma

Following the Xbox Developer_Direct, we have much to unpack. In the world of Avowed, we received an extended showing that gave us more gameplay, but some viewers were still left with that same sense of uncertainty. With the game confirmed to be AA style, in an alpha state, and aiming for a Fall 2024 release, the Duke boys get into the expectations surrounding this title and what is missing. Meanwhile, Hellblade 2 was at the center of its own sort of conversation. While it did have an incredib...

Punching Up, Episode 19 | Palworld Vs Pokemon: Copying Nintendo’s Homework (Video)

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Punching Up, Episode 19 | Palworld Vs Pokemon: Copying Nintendo’s Homework

In a very short amount of time, Palworld has exploded to become one of the biggest games of the year. Combining numerous elements of other successful games, it’s easy to see why it’s been appealing to so many. Despite the successes, there’s one area of the game that’s been called into question: the so-called 'Pals' themselves and their Pokémon counterparts. When does inspiration cross the line into theft, and has Palworld gone too far? Should Nintendo consider legal action against Pa...

Summon Sign, Episode 4 | Learning to Love Weebs (Video)

For your viewing pleasure.

Summon Sign, Episode 4 | Learning to Love Weebs

On this episode, Brad, Micah, and, Lockmort chat about a bunch of games including Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Dave the Diver, Persona 3,Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and more! Will Lock be able to handle all the weebs? Tune in to find out!

Note: Major spoilers have now been marked with a timestamp.

Timestamps:

0:17:05 - Dave the Diver

0:32:59 - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

0:46:05 - Baldur’s Gate 2...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode 364 | Sacred Symbols x Defining Duke: The Great Flattening (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 364 | Sacred Symbols x Defining Duke: The Great Flattening

It's been awhile since we've published an episode of Sacred x Duke, so why not get our first entry of 2024 into the wild? Today, Last Stand's PlayStation and Xbox podcasts combine to discuss topics of mutual interest, including compelling rumors of Xbox exclusives migrating to PS5 and Switch and the seemingly-changing direction of publishers like Square Enix. But we also touch on some more partisan issues just to get "the other side's" take: Xbox's recent showcase, the lack of a PlayStation S...

Defining Duke, Episode 160: The Thread

Hey All!  It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 160 of Defining Duke. 

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored. 

As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, January 24 at 3 PM E...