PlayStation's dueling State of Play presentations -- one for western audiences and the other for its native Japanese territory -- hasn't quelled the ever-increasing animus for the brand in some corners. Though widely considered a weak showing (we rank it somewhere between a C and F, depending on which one of us you ask), there were still some great games worth discussing, and we'll do just that. New announcements included shark-eating sequel Maneater 2, an eastern take on New York City with Konami's Rhapsody in Scarlet, old-school bona fides in SlashZero, and the uniquely liminal World Phasebound Control Authority. Plus, release dates flowed for the likes of Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Until Dawn 2, and Metro 2039, all excellent-looking titles. But underneath the surface, the same issues remain. Is Sony disconnected from the reality on the ground, or are we too busy misinterpreting the noise while dodging the signal? We discuss at length. Other news this week includes some Grand Theft Auto VI updates, the exit of Housemarque's co-founder, faux rumors of Square Enix going private, and more. Then, we wrap things up (as we always do) with listener inquiries. Do we believe the scuttlebutt out of Gamescom that Sony's development and publishing partners are upset with them? What do we think of the new website Video Games Critic? Does developer Bit Reactor furloughing staff indicate a future trend for sustainable game dev? Is Sacred Symbols the absolutely perfect podcast for the manic depressive?

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Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.
0:00:00 - Intro
0:16:34 - Pre-Sacred ritual
0:28:26 - Chris Ray Goon
0:31:09 - Bathroom paper towels
0:33:04 - Podcast etiquette
0:40:44 - Wendy's encounter
0:52:21 - Money flow follow-up
0:54:57 - State of Play
1:46:37 - Netflix's GTAVI breaks records
1:49:41 - Sony's comments on "digital ownership"
2:03:08 - Housemarque co-founder leaves
2:07:52 - Square Enix denies going private
2:10:38 - Sony Music buys 24% stake in Gung Ho Entertainment
2:13:06 - Sony brings live TV to PlayStation
2:15:48 - Iron Man game leaked
2:18:38 - What We’re Playing (Alan Wake 2, Mortal Shell 2, Halloween: The Game, Onimusha: Way of the Sword)
2:29:30 - PlayStation getting cold feet?
2:38:54 - Naughty Dog’s new reality
2:50:52 - Video Games Critic
2:59:12 - Physical games replacement
3:07:32 - Mega Man’s future
3:13:26 - Star Wars: Zero Company furlough

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