Sacred Symbols, Episode 60: Welcome to the Family (Patreon)

Today's episode was already shaping up to be a sizable one. After all, there's THQ Nordic-related news galore to get through, not to mention the conspicuous exit of two prolific producers from BioWare, new NPD sales data, and much more to discuss. But then a meteor struck: Insomniac Games has been purchased by Sony, the first acquisition PlayStation's first party has made in more than eight years! This news comes unexpectedly, but also represents a seemingly necessary move, particularly in light of Microsoft's recent splashes in the exclusive studio space. So let's chat about the biggest news in the PlayStation universe in quite some time, and then wrap things up with delightful listener questions on topics like retro game collecting, couch co-op, loading up on sales, and generation-defining experiences.

Timestamps:

0:00:17 - Intro
0:03:47 - CLS merch reminder (and Sacred Symbols+ is a hit!)
0:05:02 - How does one balance playing games and spending time with a significant other?
0:08:10 - Supposedly, there’s no such thing as a vegetable.
0:10:28 - What games are we playing?
0:13:18 - Sony has purchased Insomniac Games.
0:22:23 - Shawn Layden teases potentially releasing Sony games on other platforms.
0:25:18 - Both Anthem and Dragon Age 4 lose their producers in one week.
0:30:27 - Sony surprise-releases Erica on PlayStation 4.
0:32:23 - THQ Nordic has acquired two new studios and invests in five others.
0:35:52 - Dead Island 2 has moved on to its third developer.
0:43:23 - EA has revealed Need For Speed Heat.
0:44:35 - New Metro, Saint’s Row, and TimeSplitters games are in development.
0:49:01 - PUBG on PS4 is getting cross-platform support with Xbox One.
0:50:41 - How's the financial health of the video game industry?
0:56:44 - These were the best-selling games in America in July.
1:02:35 - There will be a MediEvil comic released alongside the game this fall.
1:04:29 - Persona 5 Royal has a western release window.
1:05:24 - Spelunky 2 has been delayed.=
1:06:27 - Four new DualShock 4 colors are coming this fall.
1:07:22 - Pantsu Hunter: Back to the '90s is coming to PS4 and Vita.
1:07:56 - Minor game announcements and release date information.
1:11:02 - This week's new releases for PS4, PS Vita, and PSVR.
1:19:17 - What co-op game have we put the most time in via local multiplayer?
1:21:56 - Would we ever want to collect retro games?
1:26:14 - Why does Epic keep Fortnite in beta?
1:29:35 - Has it been an off-year for games?
1:34:19 - Are rampant game sales making backlogs worse?
1:35:49 - What games define each PlayStation generation?
1:39:23 - What does Chris think about Halo Infinite’s creative director leaving 343?