Sacred Symbols, Episode 291 | The Guillotine (Patreon)

Our beloved games industry is currently mired in an economic crisis of its own creation. By rapidly expanding corporate headcounts during the pandemic -- and by foolishly forecasting 2020-era gaming habits would persist into future years -- many publishers and developers have found themselves dramatically overextended. In 2022, some 8,500 people lost their jobs in gaming; that number grew appreciably to 10,500 last year. Here in 2024, though? Not even a month into the calendar, we're sitting at around 6,000 job losses. And it's going to get way worse. How did pubs and devs get this so wrong? And how come the human cost falls upon the people who were hired, but not those that did the hiring? Plus: A reliable rumor indicates Until Dawn is PS5-and-PC-bound, Death Stranding 2's re-reveal may be right around the corner, Focus Entertainment foolishly rebrands itself, and more. Then: Let's wrap things up with listener inquiries, as usual. How do we balance multiple games at once? Could the harm leaks do to studios actually be overstated? Is paywalling New Game+ a step too far? When is the appropriate time in the day to shower?

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Introduction
0:19:23 - Best wishes for Alex!

0:31:58 - Double space = existential crisis

0:33:12 - How do LSM fans find each other?

0:38:17 - Winnie the Pooh'ing is not ideal

0:42:27 - Dog named after Dustin?

0:45:12 - When should you shower?

0:51:57 - Does Mega Man get any better?

0:53:38 - Death Stranding 2's title has leaked

1:07:18 - New PS5 firmware

1:07:30 - PSN Top Downloads 2023

1:10:07 - Is "Fast Travel" boring?

1:21:44 - The Final Fantasy XIV TV show is dead.

1:26:40 - What Are We Playing?

2:03:19 - Layoffs are hitting the industry

2:38:18 - Until Dawn could be coming to PS5

2:52:00 - Focus entertainment is renaming

2:58:18 - How important is identity?

3:22:21 - What are the best retro style RPGs?

3:25:50 - Do we do post game content?

3:34:17 - How do we handle multiple games at a time?

3:40:06 - Why are game leaks bad for a company?

3:47:32 - Should reviews account for monetization?