Sacred Symbols, Episode 162: Distant Horizon (Patreon)

The news out of Sony-owned studio Guerrilla is bad, at least if some recent rumors are true. Horizon: Forbidden West -- once promised for both PS4 and PS5 this fall -- is likely going to come out in 2022, instead. This leaves PlayStation 5 fairly barren for the rest of the year, with only the likes of Kena and Deathloop filling in the timed-exclusive gaps. Should PlayStation fans be disappointed, or even worried? Or is the old adage as true now as it has always been: A delayed game is never worse-off for being pushed. Let's chat about it. Then: Sony has overcome a major obstacle in the manufacture of PS5 consoles, PlayStation 4 is predictably losing steam, new PSVR rumblings sound awfully tantalizing, and Grand Theft Auto V sets a new, incredible sales milestone. Let's then wrap up our show, as we always do, with your inquiries. In light of Activision-Blizzard's recent scandal, how should Sony manage its exclusivity and marketing arrangements for Call of Duty? Considering staggering advances in AI, should we allow artificial intelligence to assist in making games? With both PlayStation and Xbox thriving, why are the fanboy wars seemingly worse than ever? With time as our barometer, will Colin ever get over the time he accidentally smoked a hit of opium at a frat house 19 years ago?

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:06:06 - You might be able to rent games from your local library.

0:12:21 - Politics that affect video games shouldn’t be ignored.

0:25:47 - Jeff Strain, founder of Undead Labs, has endorsed unionization of video game companies.

0:38:00 - Where do twin stick shooters get their name?

0:40:55 - Let’s get a gut check on Abandoned.

0:51:50 - What have we been playing?

1:04:01 - Grand Theft Auto V has surpassed 150 million copies sold.

1:12:10 - It appears Horizon Forbidden West will not launch in 2021.

1:24:11 - Ghost of Tsushima’s ‘Legends’ is getting a standalone release.

1:30:54 - More information is available about PSVR2.

1:40:20 - The Embracer Group continues to expand.

1:49:16 - Sony has secured the chips needed to meet their PS5 sales goals.

1:56:58 - PS+ has lost 1.3 million subscribers.

2:04:12 - Activision-Blizzard’s president, J. Allen Brack, has left the company.

2:08:10 - eFootball is being released as a demo.

2:12:33 - New games have been added to PlayStation Now.

2:14:14 - EA has revealed new games that are coming to EA Play.

2:15:03 - News Wrap-Up

2:16:50 - What’s Sony thinking about this year’s Call of Duty?

2:24:48 - Will Game Pass come to PlayStation?

2:34:55 - Are fanboys getting out of control?

2:52:45 - What role does artificial intelligence have in game development?

3:01:12 - How often do we replay our favorite games?

3:06:16 - What’s the deal with Steve Gaynor’s situation?