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Nevermind, These Are Horrid Times | Sacred Symbols, Episode 418

It seems that no matter where one looks in the gaming industry, there's bad news on the horizon. Such is certainly the case with Sony, as the Japanese company announced two pieces of bad news concurrent to one another: That beginning in 2028, PlayStation hardware will no longer receive disc-based releases, and that by next summer, you will no longer be able to buy digital PS3 and Vita games. All things considered, the latter is a more understandable decision (after all, Sony tried to do this back in 2021 before pulling back), but the former situation has set the PlayStation fanbase alight in a way we've not seen since perhaps 2011, if not 2006, both extremely ominous years in the brand's history. We discuss both topics in great detail, incorporate a ton of your inquiries, and try to make sense of what's happening from every conceivable angle. There's other news this week, too, including Sony's stance on hardware subsidies, PlayStation's continuing commitment to the games-as-a-service sector, new roster additions for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is Exodus' scrapping of its in-game character creator a sign of things to come? Why are some publishers and developers so secretive with sales figures? What potential ideas could emulate the interplay between EVE Online and Dust-514? Did Dustin answer the Dustin-signal that Colin sent into the atmospheric ether? A new episode of Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast launches each Friday morning. To receive instant access, as well as other perks, please support the show on https://www.patreon.com/LastStandMedia This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at https://www.betterhelp.com/symbols Download Cash App Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/ty57yree #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Follow the hosts! Colin: https://x.com/longislandviper ‪@ChrisRayGun‬ https://x.com/ChrisRGun @DustinCanFly‬ https://x.com/DustinCanFly 0:00 - Intro 20:52 - Welcome Lily 27:40 - Loud neighbors 42:49 - Colin's plan of succession 45:51 - The return of the King 50:01 - Starting in 2028, PlayStation consoles will no longer receive new games on disc 1:21:03 - Sony’s strategy 1:43:32 - Why is Sony removing this option? 1:56:28: The passive income of disc production 2:01:27 - What’s this mean for pricing? 2:06:58 - Improving the storefront 2:12:48 - Should the ownership paradigm shift? 2:22:27 - Codes at stores again? 2:29:36 - Multiple storefronts, buying outside of PSN 2:33:45 - Does “pro-consumerism” even work? 2:35:42 - Have the people spoken? 2:37:25 - The never-ending rural problem 2:40:38 - Lillymo 2:46:10 - PS3 and Vita’s digital storefronts will go offline forever in one year 3:19:31 - Sony won’t subsidize its hardware beyond a certain point 3:23:07 - PS5 has its worst May on the US market since the late PSone era 3:28:22 – Sony says it has to (and will) keep investing in games-as-a-service 3:35:37 – Sony pulls Studio Canal films from the PSN backend 3:39:02 – Shaun Layden says Sony is making a mistake by stopping its PC support 3:46:49 – Blade, Loki, and Deadpool revealed for Marvel Tokon 3:50:15 – Capcom moves Onimusha’s date up 3:51:24 – July’s PS+ Essential games 3:53:38 - Persona is getting a live action TV series 3:55:32 – What We're Playing (Luna Abyss, GTA V, GTA: San Andreas) 4:11:23 – When will consumers vote with their wallet? 4:17:49 – Exodus will no longer feature a full character creator 4:22:42 – Why are companies so reluctant to share sales data? 4:26:02 – Does end game DLC generate more revenue? 4:31:13 – Why won't the PS6 be delayed? 4:34:18 – What franchises could benefit from a Dust-like shared world?

Comments

Andy

I fucking love you

Cameron

Only 14 hours early

Trevor

A THURSDAY RELEASE THANK YOU DADDY LOCKYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

JoshM

Our true PlayStation heroes

Katyusha Mauro

Money well spent, thank you guys 🙌

Austin DuBose

jimmy eat world reference? hell yeah

NerfedNinja

Look to my coming, at first light, on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East.

Jordan Falduto

dad i cant see too good - is that DUSTY FURMAN in that thumbnail?!

rokuterra

On the topic of spiders: I casually see and kill multiple wolf spiders a week here in Texas. Especially at my job which is on the edge of town. I didn't realize not everyone had them.

Your Boi Nicky V

Thanks for getting this our early boiiiis. Between this and the way Sony's 1st party has dropped off, I'm going PC next gen.

Tom Griffin

Before getting into the arguments of whether this is a good decision or not. What's become clear as day is that Sony are not equipped to be the stewards of console gaming, nor are they capable of answering the questions that an industry leader would be required to answer on topics like this with the view of bringing their audience with them. Instead, they seam to be better at turning their own hardcore against their own brand.

four24twenty

PS-Store-Station 6. Last of Us Re-Re-Re Mastered forever $80. Pay has no limits.

Mario Diosdado

Got excited the moment I saw Dustin on the thumbnail

Pyo

Man this will be interesting, the biggest fuck up for PlayStation since PS3

Chris Morton

I look forward to seeing everyone crying about physical games refreshing retailers to get their PS6 in a few years.

matthew

People buying physical in 2026 are the most hardcore fans that will buy a new PlayStation on launch at any price. Good idea pissing them off before releasing an insanely priced console. They're obviously doing this now hoping it'll die down by ps6 time I really don't think it will though. Not to mention I don't think the numbers are as low as people think they are if you compare a first party game that comes out at the same time physically and digitally. Or like a Capcom game.

Germanos

My co-host and I finished recording our episode about this 8 hours ago. Our approach was centered around dealing with grief. I know it might sound hardcore to some, but I genuinely felt like I lost someone dear to me with physical games going away. So, on the show, we went through all the stages of grief together—from denial, anger, and depression, right up to acceptance, where we both stopped. It took us an hour and a half, but now I'm feeling better. No PS6 for me. I've got over 230 games waiting on my shelf to play. With a completion rate of around 30 games a year, it will take me more than 7 years to get through them—so I'm good. We lost.

Germanos

I guess the AA newsletter came after you guys recorded, because in the most recent one it shows that for Ghost of Yotei... only 35% of copies sold were physical. So even the "hardcore PlayStation" fanbase is abandoning discs in an great rate.

Cutty Flam

Or y'all need to stop treating this companies like they are making games for your enjoyment. They aren't it's a business.

Surge!

Yeah, I don't know. You can have someone dead to rights if they're disrupting tenets, and it will still take a long while before anything of substance can be done. In the short term, I would suggest "bumping" into the guy in the parking lot around a time you know he might routinely be there and just strike up a conversation. Not having to talk to them INSIDE the building might relieve some tension. Sucks, I been there.