#251 | The Heat Is On

As it comes to grips with the new realities of an ever-consolidating market, Sony has opted to increase its aggressiveness by purchasing Firewalk Studios. Like Haven and Nixxes before it, buying Firewalk is an unusually premature move for a company that typically likes to conduct extensive second party dances before putting a ring on it. But its arch-rival and third party publishers alike have made it clear that the old rules of buying teams no longer apply, and that courtships can no longer span the production of multiple titles. Will this increasing embrace of size benefit PlayStation or hinder it? Only time will tell, but we've obviously much to discuss. Other big news this week includes PlayStation 5's staggering sales figures, the exit of more high-level talent from Media Molecule, and much more, and we round things out -- as always -- with listener inquiries. Is enemy scaling really necessary? Could Ubisoft be readying a low-key banger with XDefiant? Do players rerally 'graduate' from Nintendo to PlayStation? Is Colin developing a hankering for gardening? Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/symbols and get on your way to being your best self Get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D and 5 travel packs for free at https://www.athleticgreens.com/sacred Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices