Sacred Symbols, Episode 279 | You Wore Our Expectations Like an Armored Suit (Patreon)

Layoffs at Bungie are just the latest in a line of labor issues for PlayStation and its studios in recent months, but as usual, there's great dissonance afoot. Consider this: PS5 is selling briskly, Spider-Man 2 is a critical and commercial smash-hit, and high demand for Sony's product persists as we enter the generation's fourth year. So how can the day-to-day news be so bad when the end result is so positive? Between employee tribulation, an exiting CEO, a fired legendary producer, and more, just what's going on behind-the-scenes, anyway? Are Sony's hard-earned years of goodwill evaporating? Other news this week includes word of a fresh PlayStation 5/Modern Warfare III bundle (and peculiarity about the game's Trophies), rumors of an expansion for God of War: Ragnarok, vague updates on SEGA's mega-expensive so-called 'Super Game,' and more. Listener inquiries end our show, as always. Is 2023 an unusually good industry year specifically because of COVID delays? Would Sony ever put PlayStation Stars on PS5? What does the future hold for Capcom's behemoth Resident Evil franchise? Will Chris get a vanity license plate that reads SACRDBOY?

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:44 - Simple and Clean

0:27:17 - Happy Birthday, Lance

0:28:53 - How do we feel about vanity plates?

0:31:36 - Have we watched the Boogie documentary?

0:49:56 - What games will make the GOTY cut?

0:55:51 - The PS5 slim will be bundled with Modern Warfare III

1:01:06 - Modern Warfare III’s trophies are out of order

1:04:35 - HBO’s The Last of Us will start filming season 2 in 204

1:19:49 - Will GoW: Ragnarok DLC be announced at The Game Awards?

1:25:27 - Sega talks about their super game some more

1:30:18 -  What is Capcom’s mystery game?

1:33:00 - Remedy is preparing for the future

1:39:55 - Atari has purchased Digital Eclipse

1:42:04 - Arizona Sunshine 2 has been dated

1:42:53 - What have we been playing?
2:09:58 - Layoffs have hit Bungie

2:58:43 - PlayStation Plus games have been revealed for the month

3:00:29 - Sony will acquire iSIZE

3:01:57 - How is Kingdoms of Amalur an example of mismanaged money?

3:07:25 - Is 2023 the post-pandemic bloodbath for games?

3:12:29 - Will we pick up Star Ocean the Second Star R?

3:15:19 - Are we considering the Pulse Explore?

3:18:44 - Why don’t more people use PlayStation Stars?

3:23:00 - What’s next for Resident Evil?