Sacred Symbols+, Episode 219 | The PlayStation Shovelware Conspiracy (Video) (Patreon)

The PlayStation Shovelware Conspiracy | Sacred Symbols+, Episode 219

If one single, solitary thing has been grinding my (Colin's) gears lately, it's the blatant and out-of-control shovelware problem on the PlayStation Store. It's rampant and undeniable, with a few companies publishing literally hundreds of games between them, all asset flips meant to mine Trophies. The thing is, these games are so cheap and sell so few copies that it's hard to imagine how anyone at all wins when they're blanketing the PSN. Even the developers themselves simply aren't making much money. They can't be. So why is this happening? Why is Sony allowing the PlayStation Store to be overrun with trash, while the Trophy system is further and further bastardized? If you don't care, you should: PlayStation is closer than its competitors into turning into the App Store. And once that happens, well, good luck. If this doesn't bother you, you're simply not paying attention, and you're not thinking through the wide-ranging consequences. To dive into the problem -- the developers behind these games, the people who seemingly own them, the randos who buy this crap, and more -- I invited games writer Ty Richardson to the show, who has been at the forefront of investigating this problem. There's a lot more work to be done, but let's be clear: Not even Nintendo and Microsoft are allowing these games onto their storefronts. Something is amiss. Someone is asleep at the wheel. So let's start asking some questions, shall we?