Sacred Symbols, Episode 215 | Brawling in Brazil (Patreon)

What was supposed to be a routine exchange between corporations and an economic regulatory body in Brazil has turned into the hottest news in gaming over the last week. That's because both Sony and Microsoft have launched soft salvos at each other, picking apart each other's strategies on the market and their intentions to squeeze the other guy out. Buried within both of their arguments are interesting tidbits, though, particularly in regard to how Xbox and PlayStation see both themselves and each other, and we couldn't help but delve in head-first to pick it all apart. Plus: Square Enix is either priming to sell or buy more studios (potentially both), Call of Duty's beta is inbound to Sony platforms in September, PS+'s new offerings are surprisingly solid, and more news. Then: Listener inquiries! Are we tempted to go-in on the Backbone One controller? Can a game be so good that it ruins every other game you play? Is keeping old hardware less important in an era of digital software and backwards compatibility? What lessons has Colin drawn from living to his advanced age?

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:10:46 - Merch!

0:13:01 - Why is engineering writing in all caps?

0:22:37 - A clarification about Rain-Slick Precipice

0:23:37 - Colin still hasn’t moved the Pledge

0:26:34 - The PlayStation store is shit.. and we told you first

0:37:44 - Does Colin Winnie the Pooh it around guests?

0:39:45 - What does Old Man Colin know about life?

0:41:26 - Spider-Man is out on PC

0:45:20 - Could Sony add trophy support to PC games?

0:49:07 - Sony will no longer share shipment updates for PS4

0:50:25 - Keighley’s Gamescom show will be two hours long

1:00:53 - Midnight Suns has been delayed

1:02:44 - Did Chris just shape the Twitter conversation with his freaking mind?!

1:14:11 - New characters have been revealed for HBO’s The Last of Us

1:19:37 - What is The First Descendant?

1:29:00 - Breaking Bad may receive a video game

1:34:39 - Grim Guardians: Demon Purge actually looks good

1:36:19 - Easy Come, Easy Golf has been trademarked

1:38:16 - Arc System Works wants to explore other IP

1:48:53 - A Pac-Man film is in the works

1:55:02 - Diablo IV leak drama

1:56:47 - Sonic 3 is coming in late 2024

1:56:55 - River City Girls 2 has been delayed

1:57:23 - What have we been playing? (and a discussion about game UI)

2:26:09 - Sony throws punches at Microsoft (in Brazil)

2:45:34 - Square Enix wants to continue changing up their studios

2:59:08 - Call of Duty’s open beta has been detailed

3:04:49 - PlayStation Plus’ new additions have been detailed

3:16:22 - Alone in the Dark leak?

3:21:52 - EVO 2022 gives us some fighting game announcements and news

3:24:15 - Is it okay to sell consoles that have backwards compatible successors?

3:33:26 - Are we interested in the Backbone?

3:41:12 - Have any games ever hit so hard we couldn’t enjoy others?

3:48:25 - Does the world environment discourage Sony from being fun?