Sacred Symbols, Episode 278 | Only Skepticism Will Save You (Patreon)

These are undoubtedly strange times in the PlayStation world. As if getting a new CEO next fiscal year wasn't enough of a shakeup, the brand has also lost (in an apparent firing) their long-time Head of Internal Production Connie Booth, someone who has been with Sony since the late '80s and who helped bring to market such titans as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, The Last of Us, and more. With fresh layoffs hitting in-house teams like Media Molecule and support hubs like Visual Arts -- and with an increasingly barren upcoming exclusive schedule made even worse by Factions' apparent cancellation -- is it time to panic? Signals are mixed, after all. Spider-Man 2 is PlayStation Studios' fastest-selling title ever and a banger in its own right, and PlayStation 5's console sales are meteoric with or without first and second party offerings. Naturally, we take time to talk about both the big news and the big game in great detail. Plus: Listener inquiries! How're we feeling about Alan Wake 2? What in god's name is going on with the Metal Gear Solid Collection? Should Sony attempt to replicate Nintendo's development continuity in order to extract similar results? Just what is Dustin doing with that figurine in the jar?

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:09:10 - Best wishes to the Moriartys!

0:14:02 - Sacred Symbols Missed Connections

0:25:40 - Sonic is a demon

0:28:36 - Wild

0:32:59 - What do we do for Halloween?

0:36:51 - What is Dustin doing with the jars?

0:39:23 - PS5 Slim is in the wild and requires Internet to connect the external disc drive

0:53:24 - Can we weigh in on the MGS Delta in-game footage?

1:00:52 - What do we think about the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection?

1:16:31 - Will Dragon Quest X come to the west?

1:20:24 - Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2 are coming to PS5

1:24:19 - Lords of the Fallen has surpassed one million copies sold

1:29:28 - What have we been playing?

2:23:05 - Connie Booth has left PlayStation

2:46:17 - PlayStation has suffered layoffs

2:53:11 - How do we expect Alan Wake 2 to perform?

3:00:20 - Is consistency what makes Nintendo games so great?

3:08:26 - Will Colin play co-op games with his wife (and potential future kids)?

3:10:43 - Do we have a sense of guilt when trying to get a good deal?

3:14:47 - Is it acceptable to release a game with an impossible Platinum trophy?