Sacred Symbols, Episode 420 | Taste the Thinnest of Oxygen (Patreon)

A new report from a trusted gaming industry analyst projects PlayStation 6 to launch in 2028 and sell only four million units in its first calendar year on the market. When you consider that even PS3 managed to sell three and a half million units in a mere four months, well, it might be a tough row to hoe. And when you take into account that this analysis assumes PS6 will sell for between $600 and $800, Sony may be in for a rude awakening indeed. We discuss. Then again, other analysis paints a far rosier picture, at least as far as Grand Theft Auto VI pre-sales are concerned, where Sony will be raking it in by the many hundreds of millions in royalties alone. Other news this week includes EA's reversal on its controversial College Football 27 microtransactions, the dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops I and II's PSN release, the delay of the upcoming first party fight stick FlexStrike, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is PlayStation in dire need of a spokesperson? Does Crunchyroll's new approach with its subscription portend a dicey future for PSN? Have we ever lent a physical game to a friend (or someone else) and never received it back? Could Episode 420 mean throwing all caution to the wind?

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

51:17 - PlayStation at San Diego Comic-Con

57:15 - Analyst forecasts a soft PS6 launch

1:12:07 - GTA VI to make billions in its first week

1:20:47 - EA backtracks on controversial monetization

1:33:35 - Black Ops 1 and 2 dominate PSN

1:44:07 - Sony finally elaborates heavily on Ranger Rumble

1:53:14 - Sony’s FlexStrike fight stick hits “unexpected production delays”

2:00:10 - Was Sony once exploring an animated Horizon series?

2:05:43 - Koei Tecmo rapidly expands headcount

2:17:22 - Halo: Campaign Evolved goes gold

2:22:50 - The Blood of Dawnwalker goes gold

2:24:47 - New Game Catalog additions for July

2:34:13 - Mouse: PI and Black Flag sales soar

2:42:21 - What We're Playing (GTA V, GTA Online, Librarian, GTA SA)

3:09:54 - Is the console doom and gloom overstated?

3:19:52 - Are we buying the PS6 at launch?

3:27:16 - Should PlayStation invest in a face?

3:34:21 - Did a friend ever steal one of your games?

3:40:18 - Crunchyroll gets paywalled behind higher tiers

3:49:47 - Is it time for Sony to give the PlayStation TV another shot?