Home
Artists
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register
Partychan Telegram ThePornDude
Home Artists Posts Import Register

Sacred Symbols, Episode 186: A Very Stupid Arms Race (Patreon)

Published:
2022-01-21 17:01:04
Imported:
2022-01

Downloads

Content

Microsoft -- as it's wont to do -- just went and spent a bunch of money on a publisher. But this is no ordinary publisher or forgettable amount of money: By buying Activision-Blizzard for a record $68.7 billion, Xbox now controls some of the industry's most vital IP and studios, including the king of them all, Call of Duty, and its constellation of developers, including Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Yet, Microsoft's bullish move will likely set off an even-further damaging series of mergers and acquisitions that remove risk for certainty and eliminates creativity for volume. It amounts to a very stupid arms race that everyone else will be compelled to compete in, whether they want to or not, and there's only one entity to blame. Then: Release dates for Ghostwire Tokyo, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and WWE 2K22 have emerged, God of War does big numbers on PC, Sony renews trademarks related to defunct first party team Psygnosis, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! What's our temperature on Horizon: Forbidden West less than a month away from launch? Are we not keeping an open enough mind when it comes to the possibilities of gaming NFTs? Will Sony botch the little things that could make Project Spartacus shine? Is David Jaffe more attractive than Colin Moriarty?


Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:05:57 - Would we rather shit everytime we fart or puke everytime we burp?

0:08:03 - Is David Jaffe more attractive than Colin Moriarty?

0:09:02 - PlayStation Wrap-Up for 2021 is now available.

0:10:13 - Sony has reiterated that God of War will be released in 2022.

0:11:48 - The Cuphead Netflix series will begin in February.

0:14:22 - Shenmue anime is coming to Adult Swim and Crunchyroll

0:17:32 - New details have been leaked about Respawn’s AAA game.

0:22:21 - Troy Baker said something about NFTs and got dumped on.

0:32:44 - An Uncharted LEGO set is rumored.

0:36:42 - HBO’s The Last of Us has cast Storm Reid as Riley.

0:38:52 - What have we been playing?

0:46:27 - Microsoft has purchased Activision.

2:26:26 - Ghostwire Tokyo may be coming sooner than we expected.

2:29:02 - LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Story will be released on April 5th.

2:34:15 - WWE 2K22 will be released on March 8th.

2:35:04 - The PC version of God of War (2018) is putting up big numbers.

2:38:43 - PlayStation 3 games have begun appearing on PlayStation 5.

2:40:18 - Sony has moved to rescue their trademarks for Psygnosis.

2:42:12 - Yakuza’s creator may be working with Netease.

2:45:04 - Techland plans to support Dying Light 2 with at least five years of support.

2:50:25 - The December NPD numbers have arrived.

2:52:14 - News Wrap-Up

2:52:57 - Will Elden Ring’s release rekindle the difficulty debate?

2:55:37 - Could NFTs and video games have a solid relationship?

3:01:44 - Will Spartacus include frame rate and resolution boosts?

3:08:07 - Horizon Forbidden West gut check?

3:11:45 - Is it worth it to play Uncharted 4 if you haven’t played the others?

3:15:47 - If we could only choose Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, or Dying Light 2, what would win?

Files

Comments

Jacob

this thumbnail may be the closest sacred symbols gets to a political cartoon HAHA

Anonymous

ohhhh time to get Mr. Hoeg out again :))

Jackie Rheu

Every week at work I get up and dance to the Sacred Symbols theme music.

Forrest Hunter

Guys, please do a Sacred Symbols from the pool. That would be freaking awesome.

NuclearProstate

Hooray I can postpone killing myself for 3 hours and 23 minutes.

Joe B

I personally just cannot see why this is as awful as being described. Activision has been in a downwards spiral, this removes the cancer from their body and gives them a chance to survive and heal. They werent making anything but Call of Duty thus their other Ip's were as good as dead. And now it seems to be a good chance COD remains on Playstation due to either a preexisting deal with Sony or just due to the fact its too massive to lockdown to one spot, much like Minecraft. This could be a game pass and money move for Microsoft just like Minecraft was, not a way to kill Sony. Why is this being treated like its the end of the world? If Sony isnt losing COD, then this deal basically hurts them in zero ways, it just benefits Microsoft.

James Good

Why is Activision Blizzard shopping their business suddenly now an irrelevant detail in the story ? Activision wanted to sell there business and gave other companies an opportunity to buy it. This wasn't a hostile takeover the optical framing of this is disingenuous. One successful business willing sold to another successful business. What is Microsoft supposed to say when Activision approaches them ? Sorry Activision we are too rich and successful to buy. We need to arbitually cap our business here.

Matthew Two T's

I'm of 2 minds with the Call of Duty yearly launches and all those studios being trapped in that development cycle. On one hand that's such a massive cash cow and I'm sure Xbox would love to milk it but on the other hand they now have such a massive stable of shooters and not enough time in the year to not cannibalize their own sales. I think an every other year Call of Duty mainline game is very likely.

Chris

the thing that annoyed me about Troy's situation is if he tweeted about working with a voice AI company, reactions would be far more muted, there'd be a lot more curiosity. Instead, it's a huge controversy because the method of contracting the services will use NFTs and there's a huge contingent of people who don't understand the technology and consider it a synonym of the word scam, or that it's terrible for the environment. DeFi is an uphill battle, particularly when uninformed people react with such emotion

Shawn Yorn

Then. What. The. Fuck. Does. It. MEAN? Deleterious effect on creativity? Bad for the industry? I'm so fucking tired of hearing why this is bad because "it's bad". Please. Can someone reference an episode to me? Can someone please explain to me how this is objectively bad to the industry long term? There's so many glaringly positive aspects of this deal and it's frustrating to hear from someone so educated that there's "not a single reason this is a good thing". Team xbox "is not asking the difficult questions". PLEASE answer these mysterious fucking difficult questions. I'm so lost. "I'm not sure when everyone became such corporate cheerleaders. Things have started to change". I'm not so sure about that, Colin. I think there's just a lot of things people find objectively good about this and you're not acknowledging it.

Edwin Garcia

Why would you cancel Gamepass? Lol

Kaleb

The Xbox community has gotten so obnoxious it's genuinely annoying. I can't even listen to The Iron Lords anymore because they've practically devolved into a fanboy podcast. I'm not even sure the community cares about the games they're getting but they care more about them being excluded from PlayStation. "Yay the biggest company in the world is buying out the biggest games companies in the world and removing them from the most popular platform of choice " how GREAT for gaming.

Anonymous

Chris, just wanted to chime in about the LEGO Seinfeld set. It comes from LEGO Ideas, a LEGO brand that allows us peasants to submit custom set designs that can be voted on by other fans to become real LEGO sets, and they include original content as well as IP based content. I’m not sure how the legalities work, but so far the Sonic set, the Home Alone set, the Friends coffee shop set, International Space Station set, etc. have all come from successfully voted Ideas pitches. Just wanted to clear things up as to why these seem to come out of nowhere!

Stephen Forgione

I do think that the Activision deal could be a positive for the industry IF Microsoft sees it as a move to keep other competitors out (like Apple, Netflix, Google, and Amazon). Gaming content is a huge revenue stream that other big tech companies haven’t explored outside of mobile gaming, and Microsoft could use its assets to keep the current ecosystem in place before a disruptor comes in and buys a publisher to brute force their own console or streaming service (ex: Amazon buying Ubisoft for Luna). This could also lend to the Gamepass on PlayStation/Switch speculation, as the current big three could be working behind together the scenes to keep the current ecosystem as is. Call it wishful thinking, but Xbox could’ve done this deal to keep the big tech barbarians out of the current gaming keep.

Shawn Yorn
>>76163824

Stephen, we're going to need you to stop making some reasonable suggestions. This is bad. OK. There's not a SINGLE thing good about this. We don't like industry consolidation unless it's sony acquiring studios that they have a history with. Everything else bad.

Shawn Yorn
>>76161752

Joe, it's bad ok. It's bad because it's bad. There's not a single good thing about this. We don't like industry consolidation. Only if it's sony buying studios that theyve worked with.

Hose A Contra Razz

If Sony where to buy square enix Xbox would offer more , it’s a business you go with the higher bidder, if insomniac would of waited a year they would gotten more like a billion they are worth that much now

Kaleb
>>76161775

So that makes it okay? I'm sure many company executives would love to be bough out buy Microsoft, Disney, Meta, etc. and become billionaires but that doesn't make it okay. Activision was only shopping around because Bobby wanted out and they only sold to Microsoft because Meta wasn't willing to pay more than they were worth. There's a reason Microsoft way overpaid. Microsoft will buy the whole fucking industry if they could legally do it and I have no doubt they're going to go after more big publishers. They've only hurt PlayStation so far but once they start getting their hands on Japanese publishers they're gonna start damaging Nintendo too. All for the sake of gamers of course.

Anonymous

One comment i would like to make about the converaation around NFTs (which are fucking stupid) is that cost is not the same thing as value. The example of the immaculate xbox 360 box is valid. These NFTs are snake oil.

Conor Tickner

I know SS+ (and presumably DDU) already have episodes lined up, but I think another crossover between DD and SS would be interesting as it seems there are some pretty major disagreements about this deal. I know it may be overkill, and there’s only so much to say on the topic at this point, but it may shed some light on where similarities and differences lie in the communities. Great conversations as always!

Kenneth Oms

Great episode so far. I’ve mentioned this years ago on knockback, but Dash is such a cool fucking name. Someone was clearly a fan of Shadows of the Empire

Big titty drinker

The corporate cheer leading for Microsoft has been out of control for the past year. I'm kinda surprised your surprised by it colin. You guys ain't the norm , yall call out sony constantly and while alot of times I disagree I fuck with you guys becuase you tell it how you actually feel. I'm a very stubborn person but yall managed to change my view point on multiple things becuase I can trust yall opinions are sincere.

Jake Z

Colin, I'm really sad your addiction has kept you from playing Mushroom Wars 2. I went back to it on Switch recently in your honor after putting it down when I got stuck on a level. It's super fun! I put 20+ hours into it in the past week and finished the campaign.

Max Stahl

Make Activision Great Again.

Jeff Caseres

The “everyone hated Activision last week and now suddenly everyone loves them” point has been lingering in my mind this whole entire week and will for a while. You just can’t ignore that fact and it is super weird to see.

Chris
>>76163219

I'd like to see your arguments. tbh I intend to delete or edit my comments because Colin said more or less exactly what I was thinking. My knee-jerk reaction the moment I saw this news was to immediately cancel my game pass subscription.

Trevor Myers

love the art for the episode.

LastStandMedia
>>76162215

I think people are in wishful thinking territory if they think these studios aren't going to all still be working on Call of Duty.

LastStandMedia
>>76162699

I mean, he did the money move. Doesn't seem unlike some of what you hear about him, but I don't know. Seems an overreaction.

LastStandMedia
>>76163740

A lot of Xbox fans seem extra annoying right now, but I really think all fanboys are annoying generally. This is a time they're loudest, but it will wane and someone else will be annoying.

LastStandMedia
>>76168017

I'm not gonna reward a game with my money that can't even be bothered to do the bare minimum. Sorry.

hugplx

The reason why I play on PS is because I love their games and my preference is for the creation of new, interesting IP. The landscape has changed though. In a world where MS has shown they're willing to pay anything, and in a world where PS makes up for a third of Sony's revenue, I don't think it's realistic anymore for them to not consider acquiring publishers for the specific purpose of stopping MS from taking them away. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that it could be ruinous. Maybe. What if MS were to buy NamcoBandai? Then Sega? Do Sony start losing customers? Honestly? Deep down if I'm given the choice of these two shit-sandwiches, I'm pinching my nose and eating the one where Sony has control over FF, From and Persona...

Mike Po

So I won't cheerlead corporate consolidation, but I have to say, I don't get the gloom and doom eulogizing creativity in the gaming industry. Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, but Game Pass empowers me to play games and genres I would not normally try. It has exposed me to genres and games I would not have tried otherwise. And it isn't like I'm being cheap and harming the devs with my choices. The developers are choosing to seek out Game Pass as an option and many have praised what Game Pass has done for their financials and their exposure. Now maybe that's just short term and the sinister turn is yet to come, but so far I am seeing more, not less, creativity. I would be interested, though, in hearing negative Game Pass testimonials from developers; maybe burst my bubble a bit.

Joseph Cerini

The industry response is very strange. The comparisons to Sony are strange. I do not know how buying a 3rd party publisher, whose games are mostly multi-platform, and possibly taking them away from millions of gamers is a good thing for the industry. I am glad Phil finally said something but it isn't enough, with a deal like this, there needs to be more clarity in Microsoft's plans because this affects millions of gamers of whom XBOX marketing would have us believe they care about. On the comparisons to FF16/FF7 Remake and Spider-Man, both of these franchises have a history with Sony. FF has been a playstation leaning franchise since PS1. Sony owns the cinematic(movie) rights to Spider-man so that deal was obviously cut with Marvel/Disney. The list goes on but most of these exclusive deals make sense. How people are saying those examples are similar to a publisher like Activision, I really don't understand.

Wayde

I really do hope enchanted portals comes out it looks like an amazing game while yes it obviously uses a lot of things from cuphead it doesn't mean that it's a straight rip off. Lots of games use ideas from other games and then build upon them that's how we get to where we are now.

Jeremy Seal

I think you guys make a great point about FPS. Sony needs to bring out Socom, Resistance, Killzone, at least. This may light a fire under Sony to diversify their catalog.

Wyvborn
>>76174242

I mean this with all due respect, but a lot of this just sounds like excuses for Sony. They make moves that lock games off other platforms, that's just the truth. The biggest difference here is that Microsoft now OWNS another publisher which is a little scary, because they now have all the power with the studios they've just bought. People are worried that Xbox will take games away from the PlayStation ecosystem, but PlayStation has been making other IPs inaccessible on Xbox. Sony's been playing a dangerous game, and Xbox responded back. I can see why people are not happy with these types of moves though.

Greg McDonald

I had to pick the mouse that couldn't reach the cheese TWENTY TIMES in order to be verified and check my PlayStation Wrapped. Nice work Sony

Ben Scott

I know this isn’t topical but before becoming a patron, I figured I would just be getting content sooner, but I did not account for all the supplemental episodes. It feels like every day there’s something new to listen to. Thank you all! Please keep up the great work!

Nathan Favreau

Colin, heads up make sure your concrete is poured when the temperature is above 40 degrees for at least two days after pouring. Concrete will cure weaker and lead to cracking if poured when too cold.

LastStandMedia
>>76174150

Devs and publishers are going to be very sorry when they have no market to sell their games anymore, and only people want to have subscription services.

BM

I’d rather have my competition make 7 to 3 on one game on my platform if it allowed me to keep the player in my ecosystem. You guys aren’t accounting for third parties, PC store fronts and the effect on them. I feel we will see some sort of alliance between Sony, Steam and all the third parties that still want to sell $60-70 games or can’t have a subscription service.

Joseph smith

I just want a double fine rendition of space quest.

Brian

LSM just has a more sophisticated and much deeper insight into the industry than every other podcast. Colin’s point on Tuesday about How Microsoft just enriched people who promoted a shit culture was spot on. Everyone else making it like big bad Phil just put the smack down. If you are going anywhere else for coverage you are getting clown takes.

Tick Dickler

We’ve been through this song and dance before, c’mon gang gather round: Phil and target make ambiguous and conciliatory comments indicating IP will not be locked down, clearly trying to watch what they say WHILE the acquisition is still underway so they don’t blow up the deal with the FTC. Then, deal closes and IP is Thanos snapped out of there. Idc what Phil just said, mark my words, warzone will likely remain multiplat, but PlayStation will only get as many COD releases as currently contractually obligated. They couldn’t care less about the money on the table. A market that you own in perpetuity is worth far more than a tangible ROI, especially since money isn’t real anymore.

Zack E

No offense but why can’t either Chris or Dustin understand how game pass would work on PS? Colin you are spot on, the games wont run native on PS hardware (unless there already exists a PS build, for example legacy Call of Duty titles). True, pure Xbox titles will be cloud. It’s meant to provide both access to Xbox first party via PS ecosystem, and also serve as an advertisement for Xbox. I mean ok maybe Xbox gives it a different branding than “Game Pass”, whatever. Even current Game Pass Ultimate is on both PC and Xbox. And some games are only PC, some only Xbox. So there is already precedent for a patient to not have 100% access to the Game Pass catalogue. Guys, it’s not that deep. Sorry, just that part of the episode was frustrating to listen to. Anyways, thanks to all three of you for actually talking about things in such a way.

Mitchell Lundsberg

I am interested to see how ghostwire does. Loved the the evil withins and one thing mikami always gets right is style. I’m still a little worried about MLB the show and the player likenesses. It was a late round draft pick of yours and I think it will be great. The potential strike is just driving me crazy. Anyways this will be last time I even bring it up. I don’t want to be the MLB the show guy in the comments section every week lol. To conclude, you guys nailed the Xbox/Activision talk. Now it’s time to install my black faceplates and play some astro aqua kitty on the vita.

Anonymous

Maybe I misunderstood but did Chris shit on Sony for making games so good that nobody wants to play lesser quality games?

Anonymous

At the end of this generation when Sony is still on top, they will look at the insomniac purchase as the most important purchase in Sonys history. Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine is going to keep people in the PlayStation ecosystem and help ps5s fly off the shelves.

Tick Dickler

We need a Crossover of Defining Dukes and Sacred Symbols, as the two camps are developing echo chambers.

Angel DeJesus

Why are people positive on the buy? Cuz they are hypocrites. It reminds me of Tony Soprano's wife. She complained about how he makes the money, but enjoys the life. Games media complains about capitalism, but enjoys their successful, capitalism enriched lives.

Phil Walker

Its definitely taken the shine off of my hobby a little. As a massive Xbox and Halo fan, I dont even know what Halo really means anymore amongst that stable of games. Its just another IP to churn out into gamepass. Its no longer an event. It doesn't even feel like 'Xbox' now. It feels like Microsoft. I know that doesn't make sense. But Xbox was the outcast of the MS portfolio. But with the rise of gaming/mobile gaming revenue, the big wigs are getting involved and fucking it up. I know you probably don't follow the English Premier League. But the amount of Saudi money and owners coming into the League. Teams with no real heritage of success, buying rosters of mercenary players because they can just afford to do that and compete via brute force. Anyway, I ramble. Good show!

Zack E
>>76202190

Yeah idk, feel like he completely missed the point Colin was making.

Zack E

I think Colin really showed his experience and knowledge with his insights in this episode, and really lapped Dustin and Chris on a few specifics. No disrespect to either of them, but it is what it is and just giving my critique. And it’s not to say everything Colin thinks or predicts is true, it’s just he has the actual information, data, experience to back it up, and doesn’t go off of emotional feeling too often. That’s why I hope Colin doesn’t always stay away from critical long form writing. Obviously this is the platform that Colin uses and it is great in conversation form, but a few scorching op-Eds from Colin every once in awhile would be great and imo actually a bit more accessible in the future than the conversation had from time stamp xx:xx to yy:yy on episode z of Sacred Symbols. I think you want both. You should see if you can do some op-Eds for certain publications. And actually start trading blows with the Schriers of the industry because they need written form competition on certain topics. You may not want to hear it but I know you have great love for this industry, hobby, lifestyle etc. You are a voice that must stand up the the conventional voices of our medium, because those voices don’t represent most gamers and most developers.

Andy

What worries me is this, gamepass is $10 but after all these acquisitions and when they have “all the games” then that price will rise and you won’t be able to say anything because, where else will you go? It will happen, as it stands now they don’t “have all the games” but if they keep buying companies/studios up then eventually they will and we will be at their mercy. If it stops here fine, but I think it’ll keep going and if Sony buys or merges with, say EA or square or sega or Konami then this madness will never end until there’s nothing left. You will start seeing actual fanboys and tribalism. Nothing we can do other then sit back and watch the shit show at this point.

Mr. Plow

I got a Series S to go along with my PS5. First Xbox since 360 and I’ve been really underwhelmed with it so far. Halo is so unfinished but getting a pass because it’s “free” is ridiculous and it’s my opinion that any gamepass game will be a lower quality product. Gamepass reminds me of a knockoff cereal brand right now and PS Plus folded in with PS Now is a much better offering. Now Xbox is just doing the only thing they know how to do, pay to win.

Anonymous

Im an Xbox and Halo/FPS fan, but this acquisition worries me. Cod was Halos competition, but now that xbox owns both theres no incentive to keep improving Halo and fixing the horrible micro transactions. Competition is good.

LastStandMedia
>>76193310

Yes there is. There are rocks hurdling around this system that would support our race for a billion years.

LastStandMedia
>>76198833

My feel is that it'll be good. I also think they want to get it out the door as soon as possible within the parameters of quality and timeliness, because the quicker they fulfill the deal, the quicker they free up Tango resources AND start the clock on the game coming to GamePass.

LastStandMedia
>>76202510

Oh my god, no doubt. Sony paid for Insomniac 60% of what it cost Microsoft to buy Rare 20 years ago.

LastStandMedia
>>76214258

Thank you for your kind words. I think we all just have a different take and a different approach. I really enjoy the academic, philosophical, economic, etc. arenas of our hobby. That's not for everyone.

LastStandMedia
>>76226444

This is also true: The availability of an avalanche of games just means quality will be replaced with quantity. Of this, there is no doubt.

Colton McKinney

Just want to correct Dustin. The call of duty league is on PC, played with any controller the players want to use. It was on PS4 up until 2020 I believe.

Jack Sibert

Colin, Just FYI in case you and Dagan ever decide to do other Halo games foe Knockback- you can buy the individual games contained within Halo MCC separately on the Xbox store. They are Obviously the updated versions with graphical and fps upgrades and they are usually $9.99 per game. I believe you can also purchase the ORIGINAL xbox versions (or Xbox 360 versions) through the Xbox store as well. I know this is an alien feature to modern Playstation systems so just figured it might be worth highlighting. Loved this episode, thanks for continued excellent entertainment for me during my commute! Best, Jack

GameSimp

I am glad that Colin has a strong business acumen and understanding of how corporate finance functions, because a vast majority of the gaming industry - both media and fans - have no idea what any of this means. Xbox wants you to think it’s an “angel investor” through this acquisition by tying an ethical principle to it - that’s marketing. In reality, the acquisition merely represents a strong buying opportunity to purchase Activision at a discounted stock price deflated by executive risk, legal risk, and weaker sales growth. In other words, Xbox is buying a golden goose at a discount - not adopting a red headed stepchild at a premium.

Ambitious Casual

Shout out to Chris’ thoughts on advertisement and Microsoft’s ability to work these acquisitions. He worded it all perfectly

Michael Morris

Thanks for pushing back a bit Chris. I’m really getting bored with the PlayStation, cinematic 3rd person action thing. All my favorite games from the past few years are smaller A or indie titles. This acquisition doesn’t seem good for the health of the industry per say, but maybe we do get more interesting things. —Microsoft might not be pumping out 10’s (yet, ever? Idk) but at least they are trying something new, one of them will hit.

Anonymous

Great episode as always. I was shocked by how vitriolic the conversation surrounding the Activision acquisition has been online. There is something dystopian about seeing people being shitty to each others on behalf of mega corporations. Also wanted to say that Nobody Saves the World is a really good game. Been enjoying a lot. Hope it comes to PlayStation at some point, because more people need to play it.

illicit salt trade

Troy Baker could sell NFTs of Dustin's "If I could choose?!?" for a hefty sum.

Sweeney's Girlfriend Archive

If you can burp in your sleep, then Walter White can come in your room and not roll you over so you choke on your own vomit.

Gary Cavallo

There were rumors a little over a year ago about Sony buying WB games. I honestly think that's more likely now given the recent Microsoft news. Plus WB was looking to offload their gaming division at one point. We shall see. I'm with you in that I don't want to see more consolidation, but it might be inevitable now unless something changes.

NeO JD

Burps easily. WTF Dustin? lol People hated Activision and COD because of Kotick and the direction he took the company in as of late. With him being gone after the ink dries and Xbox looking into reviving IPs, it does sound like a win-win. If anybody were to buy Sony, Microsoft or Amazon are the ones I’d want it to be.

Fotis Lyto

Listening to Chris’s optimism that Microsoft will give life to dead games from AB reminds me of all the talk and optimism with people when Disney bought Lucasfilm and how Star Wars will be treated with the respect and care it deserves and I think we all know what happened. Games are a different thing but subscriptions and giant corporations are the death of imagination and passion, I hope I’m wrong but I really hated this acquisition.

Dan T

How about a drumming podcast called "Sacred Cymbals"?

Kevin Cooper

Raygun's old woman impression is on-point.

Anonymous

I think concerning the acquisition, that its less about celebrating and more about getting a hope of seeing something new as Chris eluded to. Beloved Blizzard has been in a rut for years, Non-COD properties are in all sense shelved, and the current business practices of Acti-Bliz compared to MS (not perfect either by any means) are pretty obvious. Microsoft has had a good couple of years of letting studios have the time and room to make what they want (Psychonauts 2, many other games getting delayed or taking many years to come out). Sure this could be from Cyberpunk lessons, but is showing signs of quality over quantity. Another thing that I think is happening now, but not obvious yet as no products have come to market yet, are the high amount of video game startups currently in their early years from studio veterans to help regenerate the industry as this wave of acquisitions continues. It will be interesting to see what comes from them and hopefully they will be allowed to grow in this competitive market.

Hose A Contra Razz

Maybe in the end will get the Nintendo Playstation

Giovanni D'Amico

This was a hysterical episode, and the boys were making so many great points. Whatever I kept thinking, someone would inevitably end up raising, so I was really, really thrilled to be on your wavelength. Colin always brings the heat, but the co-hosts have been firing on all cylinders too!

Kid-Organic

When Colin talks how Last Stand Media has no relationship with Sony or any other major publishers, and how the people on the shows have complete autonomy to create and say what they want, unadulterated, am I alone in being reminded of the band Fugazi?! And if you don’t know them…get to know them!

NinjaDC

Colin, it feels weird to say, but you are being way too idealistic with Sony only needing to double down on investing in their current studios. That just, won't work on its own. Playstation won't survive long enough for that to bear fruit. There are limits to how fast you can grow a studio and it still be good. Yes, Sony should double the size and output of their best studios, but that will take half a decade at the earliest. In the meantime Microsoft is willing to bleed billions to gain supremacy by buying exclusivity by the publisher. Microsoft (corp) is a company that exists to dominate industries, and use that weight to squash competition. Now, Microsoft is directing that energy towards its game division, which was always a pet project before. They want to be the Netflix of games. Sony needs to form a coalition against this. By acquiring studios, or creating partnerships. Either option, they need to acquire console exclusives fast (next 5 years) and keep games off of gamepass. If they don't get more aggressive and stop gamepass before game streaming actually works, then Sony is doomed to be bought out by Amazon, Google, or Apple when they try to buy their way into a gamepass competitor.

Kyle Fox

"I've been a member [of Netflix] for 20 years now and it just seems wrong to shut it off." Classic "that's how they getcha" moment.

Greg Hommel

What I really wish is that Sony would just stay the course. I don’t think they need to acquire anyone. I don’t think they need a subscription service or backward compatibility either. I believe the outcry for these things comes from Xbox fans screaming that Xbox is better because they have feature X, Y and Z, so Sony fans scream that they want it too just so Xbox fans don’t have anything to hold over their head. With these features, Microsoft is begging people to purchase an Xbox. Just like Sony was when they launched free games with PS+. As long as Sony keeps delivering the goods, Microsoft will be lucky to catch up. Especially if PS5 continues to outsell Xbox SX at the current rate.

Joban
>>76432338

I agree completely. How badass would it be if they started a marketing campaign basically saying "we don't need to play that game and we won't" and then kept putting out GOTY quality games one after another?

Aurang

"I remember Crash Bandicoot!" "I remember Legend of Dragoon!" 👨‍🦳 lmao Chris, that was so funny!

Greg Hommel

I cringe when Colin mentions Evolution Studios. Never has there been a studio that made that many great games in a row and got the axe. Driveclub was a misstep but it ended up absolutely great and the Motor Storm series was miles past what Dirt 5 is today, on PS3. They are sorely missed by this racing enthusiast.

jordan allen burton

I think I've nailed down why this podcast is so good, besides the obvious pedigree. On other podcasts the hosts tend to proffer their opinions on games in shitty ways, for example. Instead of saying "I just didn't like this game", they'll say "this game is garbage" or "this game sucks". While occasionally you guys do sometimes say that, you do it in a way that's funny or self deprecating. I don't get a sense of malice or vulgar disregard.

OrochiNewsTeam

Hello guys I am bit behind here. Just catching up. But like Colin, this acquisition does not effect my personal gaming preferences. It is however a huge industry changing event. I don't see Sony really having to be as worried as social media would like us believe. It's not really about winning or losing is it? There's enough for everyone to eat. All Sony really has to do is keep creating exclusive quality game titles. We had decades of Bethesda and Activision games that were great but not extraordinary. Sony always seems keen on pushing the industry creatively. If anything this acquisition lights a fire under their ass and Sony will remind us all why we like their games. I think being dominant and profitable are two different lanes. Realistically Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony can profit with less than half of the amount of money consumers give them all currently. As always, excellent pod can't wait to L catch up completely and see how this evolves.