Sacred Symbols, Episode 34: The Game of Capitalism (Patreon)

At the center of any enterprise is money, and the gaming industry is no different. But with the recent layoff of a staggering 800 people at gigantic (and profitable) publisher Activision Blizzard, questions are starting to be raised about the financial viability of game development as-is, and the treatment of the thousands of talented men and women that make the games we love. Se, we dive head-first into the subject. There's also plenty of news to get through. A high-ranking Sony executive has spoken openly and candidly about PlayStation 3's struggles. Is that a good sign for PlayStation 5? Also: Hollow Knight's getting a sequel, Tokyo RPG Factory's next game has been revealed, The Division 2's open beta is inbound, and both Catherine: Full Body and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night have much more release clarity for we, the western gamer. As usual, we round things out with your letters, including a chat about hunting games, the longterm viability of the Battle Royale market, the future of EA's NCAA Football series, and violent video games' relationship to real world violence.

Timestamps:

0:00:17 - Intro.
0:00:36 - Extraneous fast food and movie talk.
0:03:32 - Due to travel, next week's episode will be recorded and posted one day later than usual.
0:03:54 - Chris' computer died.
0:05:48 - Is porridge a soup or a cereal?
0:06:30 - The Resident Evil 2 Platinum isn't apparently as difficult to get as Colin claimed last week.
0:07:22 - Thank you for your incredible feedback pertaining to our "Relationships With PR" segment last week.
0:08:18 - Reminder: Patreon supporters can now vote on some of the Let's Plays we do. (Be gentle.)
0:08:51 - What games are we playing?
0:15:58 - With 80 Platinum Trophies under his belt, what's Colin's technique to chase Trophies?
0:18:12 - Activision Blizzard lays off 8% of its staff; reports profitable year.
0:29:32 - Sony leadership speaks candidly about PlayStation 3's awful launch and troubled lifecycle.
0:31:31 - A sequel to Hollow Knight has been announced, and it's PS4-bound.
0:32:08 - Tokyo RPG Factory announces Oninaki, and it's PS4-bound.
0:34:13 - Catherine: Full Body on PS4 finally gets western release date; Special Edition also revealed.
0:35:47 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night slated to finally come to PS4 this summer.
0:36:18 - The Division 2's open beta has been dated (and preliminary Anthem talk).
0:40:16 - THQ Nordic acquires Warhorse Studios and its Kingdom Come IP.
0:41:17 - BioWare wants to continue with Mass Effect.
0:43:12 - Activision confirms that 2019's Call of Duty will have a single-player campaign.
0:44:42 - Final Fantasy XV, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and Dragon Quest XI DLC details revealed.
0:45:22 - Minor game announcements and release date information.
0:46:55 - This week's new releases for PS4, PS Vita, and PSVR.
0:52:31 - Has Colin tried these Final Fantasy Tactics-like games?
0:56:41 - Out of the games we play, what percentage of them do we beat?
1:01:29 - Would Sony be wise to introduce a Switch-like device?
1:03:42 - With so much competition, is the Battle Royale genre/model sustainable?
1:10:27 - One listener highly recommends Hunter: Call of the Wild.
1:12:26 - Will EA's NCAA Football series ever return?
1:14:42 - Are iterative and/or modular consoles the future?
1:17:33 - Why are video games and/or gaming culture sometimes blamed for acts of real world violence?
1:24:51 - Is the Uncharted trilogy overrated, particularly from a gameplay perspective?
1:29:17 - Outro.