Sacred Symbols, Episode 289 | It's Just Murder; Least You Know I Care (Patreon)

The most infamous character in The Last of Us franchise is undoubtedly Abby, and with her casting in the HBO rendition of the famous Naughty Dog series now set (along with a couple of other key roles), we're starting to get more clarity about just what her on-screen vendetta with Ellie will look like come 2025. Are we about to relive 2020 all over again, or will fans be pleased? And then there's Xbox, a conspicuous subject that seems to keep coming up on Sacred Symbols for one simple reason: Smoke indicates fire. Fresh on the back of denouncements about GamePass on PlayStation comes compelling industry rumors of multiple first party Xbox games en route to the PlayStation ecosystem, potentially in the form of Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush. Does this move represent the opening frames of a coup de grace? Other news this week includes Helldivers 2 PC details, a DualSense model with a better battery, disastrous Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League previews, rampant corporate layoffs, the confusing reemergence of Gravity Rush and Patapon, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is gaming experiencing a dangerous economic bubble? Could Horizon's rumored MMO skip PlayStation 5? Have we been too hard on Spider-Man 2? Can Chris raise the spirits of a listener merely by changing his usual podcast outro ever-so-slightly?

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Introduction

0:16:39 - Sacred 300 in NYC!

0:23:11 - How do we enjoy gaming after heartbreak?

0:27:49 - Chris, Use your power for good!

0:29:37 - How do New Yorkers decide who to root for?

0:34:40 - When will we retire from content?

0:49:33 - GEICO loves Sacred

0:56:50 - Stop harassing MJ's face model

1:03:58 - PlayStation had 123 million active users in December 2023

1:05:55 - New PS5 DualSense?

1:13:02 - Helldivers 2 PC requirements revealed

1:23:06 - Silent Hill 2 and MGS Delta is coming in 2024

1:31:16 - Patapon and Gravity Rush appears!

1:38:13 - Hogwarts Legacy sells 22 million copies

1:47:08 - Suicide Squad isn't looking so hot

2:06:36 - Major layoffs across the industry

2:20:36 - Roblox gets trophies

2:21:03 - What Are We Playing?

2:25:40 - The Last of Us S2 HBO casting announcements

2:50:28 - Are Xbox games coming to PlayStation?

3:25:53 - New PS+ games are here

3:33:21 - Is the games industry in a bubble that could pop?

3:47:21 - With stores removing physical media, is this the beginning of the end of physical games?

3:53:36 - Could the Horizon MMO not come to PlayStation?

3:59:00 - Do we have unrealistic expectations for new IP?

4:08:12 - Does LSM hate Spider-Man 2?