Sacred Symbols, Episode 86: The Means of Production (Patreon)

The American publication Bloomberg is typically a reliable source of information, and a recent story within its pages tells an interesting tale. It appears Sony is having a hard time keeping production costs of PlayStation 5 down, so much so that it's delaying the Japanese corporation's ability to determine what it should charge for the console, or if it can even turn a profit selling it. There's even reportedly a little civil war going on internally, with some powers-that-be convinced profit should be extracted no matter what, even if it affects demand. Should we be worried? Well, maybe. We discuss. Then again, other news flows this week, too! After four Need For Speeds, EA is taking the series away from Ghost Games and giving it back to Criterion, Quantic Dream leaps forward into the great self-publishing unknown, People Can Fly's Destiny-like Outriders is PS5-bound, Ubisoft wants The Division 2 to live again, and much more. Plus: Listener inquiries! Was the Sonic movie any good? Should Untitled Goose Game really be DICE's Game of the Year? Is E3 in an uncontrollable death spiral? Can we please -- for the love of all that is holy in this world -- stop talking about Kingdom Hearts?

Timestamps:

0:00:17 - Intro.
0:03:08 - We're going to keep talking about Twin Breaker until it comes out.
0:04:06 - The official PlayStation Forums are shutting down.
0:04:43 - Take it. It's yours!
0:08:46 - A totally unnecessary Kingdom Hearts correction.
0:09:58 - Activision and the Tony Hawk IP.
0:11:31 - Was the Sonic movie any good?
0:16:02 - Colin and Chris titles.
0:16:36 - Colin watched Parasite and saw The Lumineers.
0:21:01 - A new idiom based on last week’s Vita theft story.
0:21:17 - Colin considers putting Chris into a jar and carrying him around like BB.
0:22:29 - Why buy Twin Breaker if fans can just make it in Dreams?
0:23:24 - What have we been playing?
0:31:32 - Sony is having a hard time keeping PS5 production costs down.
0:46:31 - PSVR2 is coming after PlayStation 5, says a reliable source.
0:51:12 - Sony purchased Insomniac for $229 million.
0:56:30 - Quantic Dream has revealed it’s future post-Sony plans.
1:00:19 - EA gives Need For Speed back to Criterion; Ghost Games to focus on Frostbite.
1:06:04 - A major expansion is coming to The Division 2.
1:12:18 - More Control is on the way.
1:17:57 - People Can Fly officially reveals PS5 game Outriders.
1:22:11 - NPD sales numbers for January 2020 have been reported.
1:24:30 - 2K Silicon Valley is now called 31st Union.
1:27:28 - Minor game announcements and release date information.
1:29:08 - This week's new releases for PS4, PS Vita, and PSVR.
1:38:22 - What are Sony's plans for Dreams?
1:45:00 - Just reveal PlayStation 5 already, Sony!
1:49:57 - How do we feel about Untitled Goose Game DICE's GotY award?
1:54:40 - What does Geoff Keighley's E3 absence say about the show?
2:01:50 - Should we be praising devs that make bad games better?
2:07:22 - It's okay not to like The Last of Us, right?