Sacred Symbols, Episode 296 | A Smooth Operator, Operating Correctly (Patreon)

There's no doubt that the console games space at large is predicated on some shaky economics, and recent layoffs are just the beginning of what will likely be a substantial purging of talent from the ranks of teams around the world. Late last year, we caught wind (via the Insomniac leaks) that Sony was planning layoffs, and would close one of its teams, too. This turned out to be true: 8% of PlayStation's workforce has been released, London Studio is no more, and multiple games have been cancelled, including a Twisted Metal project. Will these drastic moves help buttress the PlayStation brand's ever-narrowing profit margin, and allow the world-class brand to operate from a point of renewed strength? Or is the pain only beginning? Plus: Neil Druckmann may be burning out, footage of a never-released LittleBigPlanet product emerges on the net, cheaters begin ruining Helldivers 2, and more. At the end of our show, we field audience questions, as usual. Where do we fall on the recently-brewing localization fiasco surrounding games like Unicorn Overlord? How come Stellar Blade got such trouble for its fanservice while Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's blatant fanservice is celebrated? Should everyone be a little nicer to Geoff Keighley? Has Dustin's opinions on Aldi changed one listener's life forever?

Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro

0:24:24 - RIP Richard Lewis

0:31:03 - Annals of manifested wishes

0:34:39 - Laxative-gate

0:39:55 - First apartment advice

0:45:09 - Aldi is awesome

0:54:01 - Potential baby names

0:55:05 - Best Podcast award

1:00:18 - Peloton LSM crew

1:02:13 - FFVII Rebirth discs are messed up in Asia

1:06:42 - Helldivers 2 cheaters

1:12:18 - LittleBigPlanet Hub leaks

1:14:55 - Remedy regains control of Control

1:20:39 - Supermassive Games layoffs

1:21:46 - NCAA Football is offering $600 to players

1:25:09 - What Are We Playing?

2:00:39 - Sony layoffs

3:22:41 - EA layoffs

3:31:36 - Neil Druckmann says he only has a few games left in him

3:41:00 - January 2024 Game Sales

3:43:44 - March PS+ Games

3:45:03 - Localization issues

3:55:17 - Stop attacking Geoff Keighley

3:58:39 - Proportional hypocrisy

4:02:18 - Multiple playthrough trophies

4:04:24 - Bloodborne leak woes

4:07:56 - Two-path system