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Sacred Symbols, Episode 161: Grandeur (Video) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-07-30 16:20:37
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2026-06
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0:26:06

0:53:19

1:26:08 

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Grandeur | Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast Episode 161

This generation is well underway, and it's official: Sony's PlayStation 5 is 'winning' by a lot. At 10 million units sold and counting, PS5 is the fastest-selling home console ever and a testament to a clearly well-oiled corporation that launched hardware in a supply-constrained, virus-infected environment. We discuss what this huge figure (and accompanying software data) means, and whether Sony should start getting comfortable as the Big Dog yet again. Plus: A new PS5 firmware update is about to fix many of our most glaring UI issues, Mortal Kombat is now the best-selling fighting franchise of all-time, ex-PlayStation CEO Shawn Layden is still very worried about the cost of making games, new PS+ games are on the horizon, and much more. Then: Has a game's controls been so bad that you've refused to play it? Is the Valve Deck about to change everything? Are we underestimating the appeal of XDefiant? Will Colin ever update his LinkedIn profile? Get some Sacred Symbols merch! https://LastStandMedia.shop A new episode of Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast launches each Friday morning. To receive instant, ad-free access, as well as other perks, please support the show on Patreon at http://patreon.com/LastStandMedia You can also subscribe to the audio version of the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and other podcast providers, or use this link: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GKTOA7ZhIfrxIxSR0rg25 Listen to Colin's retro and nostalgia podcast, KnockBack (also available on podcast services): http://bit.ly/KnockBackPod #PlayStation5 #LastStandMedia #SacredSymbols 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:13 - Corrections and comments 0:07:32 - Should 6 year olds be clapping n00b cheeks? 0:11:44 - Let’s talk a little more about the situation at Activision Blizzard. 0:26:06 - The Abandoned app is now available to pre-load. 0:38:02 - What are the folks at That’s No Moon working on? 0:42:24 - Back 4 Blood’s betas are coming soon. 0:44:52 - “John Madden is not dead but he will die.” - Colin Moriarty 0:53:19 - What have we been playing? 1:05:38 - PS5 has sold more than 10 million units to date. 1:14:51 - Sony has released some updated sales numbers for software. 1:28:21 - A new PS5 firmware update is in closed beta. 1:36:44 - Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been delayed. 1:39:33 - Mortal Kombat 11 has sold more than 12 million copies. 1:43:44 - Shawn Layden has a new job and still thinks games are too expensive. 2:01:01 - Sony has revealed August’s PS+ games. 2:05:11 - EA is already dominating the sports game market, and wants to grow even more. 2:07:57 - Splitgate has been delayed due to its insane popularity. 2:14:34 - Dragon Age is getting the live action show treatment. 2:20:47 - News Wrap-Up 2:22:21 - Are people coming around to the idea of voting with their wallets? 2:37:26 - Is XDefiant actually that bad of an idea? 2:40:47 - Are we underestimating the appeal of the Steam Deck? 2:48:08 - Will the in-game games in Dreams be worthwhile? 2:55:18 - Have bad controls ever ruined a game experience for us? 3:00:02 - Colin won’t update his LinkedIn profile.

Comments

PackOSmokez

I had to do a double take to realize that was Colin, not Graham Chapman

BlindRiot

To hear this crew make excuses for Sonys expanded storage solution is pretty surreal. It sincerely felt as if I was listening to any current influencer led endeavor. The fact that even a drive that Sony finds to be compliant may not work is inexcusable, get your tech together PlayStation! Oh, and don’t spill that water boys… Listen again to that segment, I know it was strange for me to hear it as well. I’ll pull some quotes if you really need them.

Jose Mendoza

As I’m going through the worst time in my life with covid. 7th straight day with a fever of 103+ I want to say thank you so much for giving me something to keep my mind off for a few hours.

Zachary Abell

Colin, Shawn’s point on budgets is exactly why we’re getting cross-gen games! Those games are too expensive to sell even as well as Miles Morales on a single platform, let alone Ratchet/Returnal numbers. We’d either have to accept “smaller” games (less blockbusters) or accept that Sony needs to squeeze more revenue out of them. Because then.. those teams disappear for 4+ years after their game is out too. This logic is the same reason games are coming to PC.. They’re too expensive for a single platform, at least for it’s lifetime. Working on a script to dive into this now, as my first YouTube video ever. Great listen though and thanks for the content!

P Neal

Gentlemen I think you truly forget playing ps4 games on ps5 is better than ps4 pro. I brought a ps5 sol improvement alone.

Matthew Cooper

I think it's great that we will soon be able to use the SSD slot on the PS5. I'll put one in my PS5 eventually; I'll wait for Digital Foundry to put out a video explaining it and recommending which drive is best. But I don't see it as necessary yet, because it's only needed for PS5 games. PS4 games run great off a USB SSD with no loss of speed compared to internal storage. Many games I'll play and delete, but there are games I always keep downloaded so I can go back to them whenever. It would be nice to have more PS5 game compatible storage.

Anonymous

I don’t know how you can look at Death stranding, Days Gone, Rift Apart and Returnal, their respective sales, how two of those properties aren’t getting sequels, the context of total user bases of the PS4 and PS5 in relation to those particular games, and your conclusion is that game prices need to be higher in order to attain sustainability. It’s almost as if there’s a soft cap in users to the console market and free-to-play makes selling the idea of premium gaming, as well as experimentation, even more difficult. One might say that gaming needs to be democratized to reach wider audiences. At its core, the difference between PlayStation selling games on PC all of a sudden and Game Pass is minute. These are acknowledgements that the industry needs to grow, generally speaking, but also to keep up with rising costs. Game Pass may not be sustainable now at 20-30m users, but it’s a service in its infancy with the goal of attracting hundreds of millions of gamers. We’re knocking Microsoft for potentially disrupting the current economics of gaming which is inherently doomed if it doesn’t evolve, for trying to lead a path towards mitigating that outcome. Also, as an aside, Microsoft could acquire another major publisher and they still wouldn’t be encroaching on becoming a monopoly. A lot of the criticism, I sense, comes from a place of PlayStation not being able to match Microsoft’s spending. I’m on board with critiquing Chinese money coming into Western gaming or being baffled by Embracer’s unexplainable growth, but it truly seems like consolidation is a problem when it’s in Xbox’s camp and it feels like hyperbole more so than genuine concern. For every studio acquired, several more pop up in its wake. The Focus Home rumor, by the way, was something Karak mentioned but was never corroborated elsewhere and is likely being conflated with a Game Pass deal than an acquisition which has supposedly not gone anywhere as of a year ago.

Derek Alcott

It's great to hear the two games that Dustin is playing are the two games I'm interested in.

looper

Ah, King Colin the Conqueror leading the PS5 crusade with Duke Dustin of Gondor (?) and Count Chris of...something because I can't see the insignia on his uniform. Love the thumbnail LOL :D

Julian Zhu

Netflix chose the wrong BioWare IP for a show IMO. While I liked DA:Origin, the series has been really stale since. Mass Effect just feels ripe and perfect for a television show (much like Halo!) and you'd think the success of and love for shows like the Expanse would make them interested. Then again, maybe S2 of Altered Carbon scarred Netflix off of big budget scifi for a little bit, or, who knows , maybe Henry Cavill really is pushing for a mass effect film and it's off limits. Nevertheless, Dragon Age on Netflix is lukewarm for me. For the Annanpurna section, Colin, you missed the best part of the show, the announcement of an expansion of Outer Wilds. If you guys have never played, highly recommend -- one of the most beautiful and imaginative gaming experiences I've had in years, easily. Can't wait for more. Also -- who are all these people already needing more storage for the PS5? We've had like 3 games released... but seriously. Am I weird for not having every game in my library installed at once? Maybe I am spoiled by my internet speed. Great show as always guys!

BM

Small correction. Asmongold didn't quit wow, just caved into demand and picked the game up. He had like 300k ppl watching on the first day.

Madshibs

Colin! Months ago you mentioned Finn Mckenty of PunkRockMBA was going to be on SS+ and I was so excited because I’m a fan of both of your work. The last I heard of it was that things had to shuffled around and his appearance on the show was going to be delayed. Well, it’s been a long time and I’m curious if you still plan on having on the podcast someday. I’d sure love to hear you both discuss video games, music, business, media, etc. Stay cool and party on

NickBLeaveIt

So who's gonna tell them that August's Games with Gold is bafflingly good (Darksiders III, Yooka Laylee, Lost Planet 3, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves)?

Michal Dudic

Love the show. Here's a small editing suggestion for your consideration. I would appreciate it if the names of the games you talk about in the 'What we've been playing' section were shown or listed in some way. You usually mention the title od the game in the beginning, then you talk about it and it sounds cool but we have to scrub back to find the title. Just my 2c.

Kaleb

If its not Kojima then Hasan is the kid who farts in class and doesn't understand why he gets bullied.

The Lizard King

I disagree with Chris in the topic of the Blue Box mystery. I love all the different people involved with games trying to figure out what is going on. I think it’s pretty fun and exciting. Also, any form of MGS of Silent Hills were to be announced, it would be worth it for a lot of people.

Raul Hernandez

Hi CCD, just wanted to comment on the Activision/Blizzard discussion. California coming over to sue Activision is not a activist move on California’s part. I am from California and working on different companies here, the harassment and abuse agreements that you have to sign before working for a major company is very detailed. The fact that Activision/Blizzard didn’t do anything about is probably why California stepped in. That is not activist move rather a move to set on the working environments of video games companies. I recently started working for a major healthcare company here in Southern California and I had to sign a bunch of paperwork work and watch a bunch of crap videos about harassment and other various corporate things. This seems like a major failure of Activision and it seems specifically of Blizzard and the HR department.

LastStandMedia
>>64787544

I don't think $500 is enough of a jump for most people, sans games. I just don't want people to feel bad if they don't have one yet, because there's nothing killer on it.

LastStandMedia
>>64789276

I'm not worried about Microsoft becoming a literal monopoly. I'm worried about further consolidation. It benefits no one but Microsoft. It's the argument I make against people wanting Sony to acquire the likes of Square Enix and Bandai Namco. We should want entities to remain independent, and only sensible partnerships made.

LastStandMedia
>>64802739

I agree that Mass Effect is the riper property. There's no reason why that may not be happening, too.

LastStandMedia
>>64831915

I worked for a megacorp in California and founded a company in California, and I don't remember signing anything of the sort, though I also just signed things without looking. I was simply curious if California was activist or not as a philosophy.

Piston Pants

That's no moon originally wanted to with the name those aren't pillows studio, but were hit with a cease and desist order from the makers of planes, trains, and automobiles.

BlindRiot

Will Colin be buying the next Sumo Digital game? Now that we know that he doesn’t vote with his wallet. I assume he will, which is perfectly fine. Speaking as someone who’s voted with his wallet since I’ve needed one and heard Colin proclaim for years to vote as such it is disappointing that of all the Stands that I respect him for, I can no longer count this among them.

Brian k lane

Certainly not trying to argue, but you're logic on scalpers, just doesn't seem to be based by logic, or data. Just going to ebay you see 5000+ PS5 consoles for sale at an egregious price with many of the pictures having far more than one console posted. Ebay being one of many resale sites on the internet. It's still certainly hard finding ps5's new on a reputable site, so the market for overpricing them is still alive and well. If a scalper had the money to blow buying a bunch of consoles he most likely isn't in a rush to make 2x what he paid. The worst case scenario for the scalper is he makes his money back in a year, or two selling them at market value plus the extra money made from any console he sold at a profit. I don't get your logic in regards to scalping not being a long game.. the constraint on technology has been pretty consistent, so why would you have a problem waiting for someone to break and buy your PS5 for 900-1200$ when you paid half of that. There's just a feeling of dissonance when you're talking about certain topics. Anyways I typically agree with you more than I disagree.. The show is great and im happy to see your ever growing success. :D Also this isn't intended to discount Sony's success. They win no matter who buys from them. I just didn't love how you completely discounted the guys question. Have a great weekend

PapaFlow

One reason I'd hypothesize Demon Soul sales may have not done as well is actually sort of the opposite of what Dustin was saying. Historically you buy a console and you are limited to a handful of games. This time around anyone who purchased a ps5 but normally wouldn't maybe be into a souls type game had access to their entire backlog to play in addition to the entire ps4 library for purchase. I'd wager people, and especially more casual people did not feel the need to go out of their way to buy new PS5 games when they were getting satiated with other things. Thanks for the episode guys, great as always

Josh Lucas

I think the storage issue is lost on you Colin since you don’t really play multiplayer games. If you want Warzone and Cold War with everything it’s literally over 300 GB with just those two games. Most people who play multiplayer games like having quite a few games to jump around to with friends. If you’re only playing a few single player games at a time, then yeah the storage the PS5 came with is enough. With multiplayer games it just isn’t. I do have an extended hard drive for PS4 titles but it has a lot of weird issues.

David P

I really appreciated your answer to the question of why game studios are located in expensive areas, even though I'm not the one who asked about that. I'm about to graduate in like... less than 5 days, and while I currently live in Ohio and have no problem leaving to work elsewhere, I did wonder why studios of various sizes would be located somewhere like San Francisco when others like Epic Games seem to do alright in North Carolina. Personally the idea of an imaginary studio in Montana where cost of living is much cheaper appeals to me, but what you said just makes far too much sense for this volatile industry. I suppose it would take one of the first parties opening up more than one studio in such a place, but even then...?

Anonymous

Saw that fish. Goddamn it Colin.

Tony Rivera

So let me get this straight.. Abandoned is an app on PS5, and it takes up 2gb of my already shrinking storage capacity on my system, AND when I start it, all I get is “Check back soon.” This better be fucking worth it because it is effectively the largest “non-gaming” app on my system, larger than some actual games like The Pedestrian and The Persistence. If it’s not the resurrection of PT’s Silent Hill, I’m gonna be pissed. Lol

LastStandMedia
>>64837883

I just looked: I've never purchased (or played?) a Sumo Digital game, ever. I think you're assessing what I said a little bit unfairly. What I said was that I most relish making the choices that ensure others don't have to make a choice, and that eating around the edges as individuals is far less useful than just removing the choice, which I did. That's more 'speaking with my wallet' than most people will ever get the chance to do, no disrespect. We sell thousands of dollars of merch a month, and it's all fairly made in America. That costs me substantial profit. That's me speaking with my wallet. Don't confuse you speaking with your wallet for you speaking with mine.

LastStandMedia
>>64842186

Why would a scalper continue to buy consoles that he or she isn't selling? If they're sitting on the market, why are the sales continuing to 10 million in eight months when they aren't buying more to sell? You can't slice this argument to make any sense, Brian!

LastStandMedia
>>64847237

That could be. Demon's Souls doesn't speak to me at all, but I suspect I'll get to it later in PS5's life. Smells like a free game in a year or two. Thanks for listening!

LastStandMedia
>>64854311

Right, but aren't those file sizes becoming smaller on the new machine? Every game I've played where I've seen the GB count for both has the packet smaller on PS5.

LastStandMedia
>>64856867

The thing is, anything is possible. But it's all relative. Raven is in Wisconsin! There's a studio for you to work at in many different locales... but Raven will never attract the kind of talent they could if they were in LA, and that's the tradeoff they made. I would love to have a studio in Montana, but you'd need gravitas for that to happen. And, if I may be blunt, you'd also need a reason for everyone to be together to begin with. I've shipped two games with a person who I've never even met in real life, so I don't think it's necessary to even have that old frame of reference anymore. Good luck!

BlindRiot

Can somebody call the Grounds crew? Someone’s moved the goal posts.

Anonymous

I think the crew is missing the point on scalpers. I don’t think people are thinking scalpers are buying consoles and holding them for 10 years. Scalpers are inflating the price to buy consoles. 500 dollars is a lot of money for a non essential item. If you increase that price by 50 percent or so you will further price people out of the market. So scalpers want to sell their ps5s but the cost of entry may be higher than people are willing to pay. I have been a PS fan since PS1 and the original Tomb Raider but I am still waiting until I can find one at retail cost.

LastStandMedia
>>64955002

The black market only has that level of determinism on the overall price of an object if it's the only outlet. But it's not: You can get a PS5 from a store, you just need to fine one. There's no doubt there's a scalping market for it, but there's also no doubt that they are flipping their stock as quickly as they can.

Anonymous

I agree they are flipping them as fast as they can and that is the bottleneck. Soccer moms and casual gamers aren’t going to be looking on Twitter for the next drop of console or going to resellers to get it. They are more likely to go to their closest big box retailer and see if they are in stock. If they are not they just won’t buy it. This may be why the attach rate is lower than expected for huge releases like Ratchet. Just another perspective. Thanks for the consistency great podcasts!

bix hutch

Games with Gold has been made obsolete with Gamepass. Gamepass is honestly so good it overwhelms me with the sheer number of games I want to play. I have 5TB in expanded memory on my Xbox. I play so many classics that I missed over the years I barely play new releases.

Anonymous

The atrocious take that Tekken and Street Fighter are better than MK made me throw up in my mouth. That is a huge violation on you three. What rock do you guys live under.

Kaz Redclaw

I appreciate Dustin's Strongbad shirt. :) I did not know about That's No Moon... That's very interesting. I looked through the staff and noticed that there are a massive number of people who previously worked on Days Gone, some Order 1886 people as well, Naughty Dog and Santa Monica alums present as well, but only 2 people who had worked on Insomniac games. That was surprising, since I generally associate any names with "Moon" in the title with Insomniac. I actually have an external 8tb drive for PS4 games on my PS5, so my PS5 SSD is fairly lightly used. The external drive isn't particularly full either, but it's nice to just not need to worry about it. I'm glad they're finally getting that code out and working though, but I'll likely wait until the 2tb drives are ready at that speed, and reasonably priced.

Real Radec

As a huge Mortal Kombat fan I'm excited that the series is more alive than ever.....maybe Sony should look into that fighting game studio and get NRS to make PS All Stars 2

Scot CRUICKSHANK

that thumbnail, fantastic! Someone deserves a pat on the back!

LastStandMedia
>>65021151

Yeah, a lot of Sony-centric talent. But they're spoken for, I think, so I wonder what they'll be making.

The Lizard King

May not be a product but I will not watch anything with Amber Heard in again and I also cannot bring myself to watch anything with Kevin Spacey although he has made some of my favourite movies. This is very hypocritical because I’m sure there are many things I am a fan of that involve people who have done things just as awful.

Frank Urban

Don't take this the wrong way as I've been a Patreon subscriber for awhile now and love the pod. But for a podcast that has 3 people. We rarely hear Chris or Dustin. 🤷‍♂️

LastStandMedia
>>65214846

Really? I'd be interested to know how long each person speaks. I definitely talk the most, but I'm the host... and I created and direct the show. =) But I'll take your feedback into advisement. =)

LastStandMedia
>>65091793

I'm surprised Amber Heard has 'survived' her encounter with Depp, likely because Depp himself is so (seemingly unfairly) unpopular, too.