Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast
310 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 3.3K ratingsSacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast is the internet's premiere weekly PlayStation show dedicated to coverage of PS5, PS4, PSVR2, and Sony's deep gaming legacy stretching back to the mid-'90s. Join 20+ year gaming industry veteran and PlayStation brand expert Colin Moriarty -- along with his co-hosts comedian Chris Ray Gun and producer Dustin Furman -- as they go through the news of the week, highlight the best recent games, and interact with their incredibly loyal audience, all without taking anything too seriously. New episodes post each and every Monday. To get early access to each episode, join thousands and thousands of your fellow listeners by supporting the show on Patreon at patreon.com/laststandmedia
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Episodes
#154: All's Not Quiet
June 14, 2021 16:00 - 4 hoursIt's E3! While PlayStation has gone largely incognito -- frustrating our ability to pore over new first and second party announcements -- there's still a whole lot to talk about when it comes to its third party partners. Heck, our run-time proves it! Let's chat about a new Final Fantasy game, the official reveal of Guardians of the Galaxy, the reemergence of Elden Ring, the confirmation of a new Battlefield, and more. Let's also digest a very strange Death Stranding PS5 trailer that seems to ...
#153: Generational Divide
June 07, 2021 05:00 - 3 hoursIt appears PlayStation no longer believes in generations, a quick reversal from its insistence only last year that PS4 and PS5 would be separated by games, and what one console can do that the other cannot. Yet, we now know that PS5's three biggest upcoming exclusives (Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7) are all coming to PS4, too. Not one or two of them. All three. In fact, we don't know about a single PlayStation first party PS5 exclusive after Ratchet & Clank...
#152: A Storm Is Coming
May 31, 2021 05:00 - 3 hoursWe've known for quite some time now that Horizon: Zero's Dawn's long-awaited sequel was en route. We've even had a title (Forbidden West) and target platforms (PS4 and PS5) since it was first revealed in 2020. But now? Well, now we have 14 minutes of gameplay to talk about, along with a very, very conspicuous absence of a release date, or even year. So, let's jump back into Aloy's futuristic (yet crumbling) world and measure our excitement for and expectations of Guerrilla's new project. Let'...
#151: Agreeing to Disagree
May 24, 2021 05:00 - 3 hoursThe last week in our beloved gaming industry has been interesting, and of course we're going to delve into all the news that's fit to print (well, say) here on Sacred Symbols. Many, many people wrote in to ask us about IGN, Israel and Palestine, and the general drama surrounding all of that -- and we oblige, complete with timestamps so you can skip the politics at your leisure -- but the core of this week's episode has much more to do with PlayStation itself. Returnal isn't selling well, but ...
#150: Epic Money
May 17, 2021 05:00 - 3 hoursWho knew Epic Games' lawsuit with Apple would be rife with so many interesting tidbits about our beloved PlayStation? Here's one piece of news: The House of Fortnite apparently offered Sony a staggering $200 million to port between four and six of its exclusives to its PC store. Sony -- at the time owners of 1.4% of Epic -- doubled-down by refusing the deal and nearly doubling its investment into the company instead. This is a strange story, so let's explore it! We'll also get into the week's...
#149: Returnal of the Mack
May 10, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursWe've waited long enough: Housemarque's newest PlayStation game has arrived. Indeed, they always seem to be there in a second party capacity at launch, whether it's with Super Stardust for PS3 and Vita, or Resogun for PS4. Yet, their newest offering -- Returnal -- is a stark departure for a team previously known only for its arcadey fare, and so the question is: Do we like it? Well, we've got a whole lot to say (good and bad) in our exploration of the endless loop. Then: News! Sony has acquir...
#148: The Model of Perfect Health
May 03, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursPlayStation is booming. Recent financial results from Sony prove it, countervailing the prevailing wisdom about the brand's shortcomings. The reality is stark: PlayStation 5 is the fastest-selling home console of all-time so far, even under severe supply constraints. Meanwhile, more games have now been sold for PlayStation 4 than any gaming hardware, ever, and PlayStation made nearly twice as much in revenue as rival Xbox over the last fiscal year. They're very much in the black, with billion...
#147: Phoenix Down
April 26, 2021 05:00 - 3 hoursLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#146: Recharted
April 19, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursWe know it seems like everything is on fire recently, but does that feeling match reality? On the back of explosive reporting concerning Naughty Dog, Bend Studio, and an unacknowledged (by Sony) second team in San Diego, PlayStation fans are left questioning just what's going on with a company that seems more interested in smash hits, remakes, and extracting blood from a stone than trying something new. An Uncharted remake? A remake of The Last of Us?! Eh. Let's talk about if recharting old t...
#145: Green Monster
April 12, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursSony's arch-rival Microsoft is beginning to make key moves that directly encroach on PlayStation's turf. Nailing down MLB: The Show 21 -- a game Sony itself develops -- as a day-one Game Pass offering is the ultimate insult. Worse yet, the swings are coming in hot from two directions: Their corporate enemy that wants to body you and a long-time licensing partner that appears to have zero problems throwing them to the sharks. One can't ignore PlayStation 5's strong sales... and yet... somethin...
#144: At Death's Door
April 05, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursThe words are hard to type, but they must be typed nonetheless: Sony is pulling the plug on PlayStation Vita. Beginning in late August, you won't be able to buy any games anymore (though you'll still be able to download what you own). The same goes for PlayStation 3, though its ignominious date comes even sooner, in early July. Thus, we are left with more questions than answers, and a lot of emotion, too. And so we spend a lot of time talking about the PlayStation Store shutdowns for these pl...
#143: Pirates of the PSN
March 29, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursRecent (still unsubstantiated) rumors indicate Sony may be considering a full shutdown of its digital stores for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and -- perhaps most tragically -- PlayStation Vita. While we don't yet know what Sony's plans are (if any!), such a possibility raises a lot of interesting philosophical and practical questions, particularly this one: Who's watching out for the digital-only games that may be lost to history? Today, let's delve deep into the PSN, the digital ecos...
#142: Phantom Bust
March 22, 2021 05:00 - 3 hoursInteresting news emerged in recent days: Sony is funding the creation of a new second party studio in Canada, and it'll be working on a brand new IP for PlayStation. But it's who's leading the team -- Jade Raymond -- that has people excited. But should that excitement be replaced with skepticism? Raymond hasn't released a game in years, and it's uncommon (as in, it virtually never happens) that an industry gets excited over a game producer, as opposed to someone who contributes more creativel...
#141: Oblivion
March 15, 2021 05:00 - 2 hoursThe deed is done: Microsoft has officially purchased Bethesda. What's that mean for PlayStation gamers? Well, it doesn't seem good, at least if you care about many of that label's products coming to PlayStation 5 outside of Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo. But between the lines are still myriad topics ripe for discussion, like Phil Spencer's years-long lack of categorical, definitive statements, Microsoft's seeming inability to manage the studios they already own, and what PlayStation may look ...
#140: The Cost of Immersion
March 08, 2021 06:00 - 3 hoursThere's little doubt Sony is near (or perhaps even at) the front of the race for mass-consumer virtual reality, and it's done a pretty nice job of putting its money where its mouth is. But with PSVR2 tacitly acknowledged and PSVR itself more than four years old, things are starting to slow down a little bit. Or are they? Out of left field, Sony has announced six new PlayStation VR games -- not PSVR2, PSVR -- all of which are due out by the end of 2021. These half-dozen titles create a tantali...
#139: Salvo
March 01, 2021 06:00 - 3 hoursThe PlayStation world is in absolute overdrive right now, at least on the news front (not so much on the games front). Such is typically the case when a new State of Play stream occurs. The new one gave us some interesting items to consider -- fresh looks at Returnal and Deathloop, for instance -- but learning about Final Fantasy VII Remake's PlayStation 5-exclusive DLC definitely takes the cake. Yet, we have to ask: Are States of Play all-too-transparent marketing gimmicks dressed up as fan ...
#138: A Vicious Cycle
February 22, 2021 06:00 - 2 hoursWho knew that we'd talk about Six Days in Fallujah for two weeks in a row some 12 years after the original iteration of the contentious game was cancelled. Yet, it's all our sphere wants to talk about, as the FPS revival of Six Days is drawing the ire of predictable industry-types. The question, though, is simple: When does criticism of a game stop being about the game itself, and start being about the critic? This is a deep subject, so naturally, we dive right in. Plus: The DualSense class a...
#137: Combat Evolved
February 15, 2021 09:00 - 2 hoursAfter a slow start to 2021, news has finally arrived via a rather compelling trio of items germane to our show. For starters, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart finally has a release date on PlayStation 5, while HBO's planned The Last of Us series casts both its Joel and Ellie. We chat about both in great detail. But perhaps the most intriguing piece of news comes in the form of Six Days in Fallujah. Yes, -that- Six Days in Fallujah, the third-person tactical shooter that was virtually finished in 2...
#136: Absolute Scarcity
February 08, 2021 09:00 - 2 hoursSony is thriving. The Japanese mega-company released its quarterly financial results showing a healthy, growing, and forward-thinking organization that's doing a lot right. Especially when it comes to PlayStation. Yet, buried in their financials and accompanying phone calls and interviews is some bad news: PS5 is being sold at a loss, for starters, and worse yet, it doesn't appear Sony is confident that they'll be able to fix the console's supply constraints any time soon. In other words, the...
#135: Stock and Bond
February 01, 2021 09:00 - 3 hoursAll anyone wants to talk about is the recent GameStop stock market fiasco. Well, fine! We'll do just that. Let's chat about capitalism, "the market," class, and much more, sifting down into the actual nitty-gritty: How did a dying brick-and-mortar video game store find itself at the center of one of the most memorable global financial stories in recent history? But there's other news, too, of course, specifically out of Denmark, where IO Interactive is doubling its headcount as it gears up fo...
#134: Stubborn Ghosts
January 25, 2021 09:00 - 1 hourIf we're being totally honest, Capcom's recent Resident Evil Village event was largely a waste of time, considering we could have just watched gameplay and gotten a release date without the false promise of an "event." But it was awesome to more thoroughly see the newest entry in the company's long-running survival horror franchise, and we simply cannot wait to play it. Yet, with RE8 now coming to PS4 in addition to PS5, it begs the question: When will publishers and developers more readily s...
#133: A New Hope
January 18, 2021 09:00 - 2 hoursWhen Electronic Arts signed a 10-year exclusive development and publishing deal with Disney for the Star Wars license, it had the potential to be something huge for the lucrative (but oft-under siege) companies. Eight years later, though, it's clear both sides (and EA in particular) have largely squandered the deal, with a couple of Battlefronts, a Rogue Squadron revival, and an admittedly very promising single-player game to show for it. Yet, in the bleakness comes unexpected news, for the m...
#133 - A New Hope
January 18, 2021 09:00When Electronic Arts signed a 10-year exclusive development and publishing deal with Disney for the Star Wars license, it had the potential to be something huge for the lucrative (but oft-under siege) companies. Eight years later, though, it's clear both sides (and EA in particular) have largely squandered the deal, with a couple of Battlefronts, a Rogue Squadron revival, and an admittedly very promising single-player game to show for it. Yet, in the bleakness comes unexpected news, for the m...
#132: Divining the Details
January 11, 2021 09:00 - 1 hourFor some peculiar reason, Sony simply refuses to officially announce how many PlayStation 5 consoles have been sold, which leaves us only one choice: We've gotta speculate. Really, we can actually do a little bit better than that -- reliable inside sources note PS5 is a meteoric success -- but we're left to wonder why Sony won't say anything itself. Say something, why don't you?! Plus: Cyberpunk 2077 draws its first class-action lawsuit, People Can Fly's Outriders has been delayed, Tenchu may...
#131: Our Most Anticipated Games of 2021
January 03, 2021 09:00 - 1 hourThank the maker: 2020 is behind us! Now, 2021 sprawls before us with 12 promising months of gaming goodness on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, and even Vita! (Okay, probably not the Vita.) To celebrate the exciting and unknown, we thought we'd do a special show dedicated entirely to the 2021 catalog of games coming to PlayStation that we simply can't wait to get our hands on. We present to you 13 of our own selections, and you -- our beautiful audience -- gave us plenty of your ...
#130: Our Favorite PlayStation Moments of 2020
December 28, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursFor every last one of us, 2020 was an absolutely insane year. And, yes: We're all very, very worn down by it all and happy to wave it goodbye. But this unusual 365 day period also gave us a lot to be pleased with, particularly when it comes to the PlayStation brand we all know and love, a brand that we may owe an extra tip-of-the-cap to in an era dominated by a need for distraction. PS5 was properly revealed and released this year, and lots of awesome games, too, including PlayStation 4's won...
#129: Cardinal Misdirection
December 21, 2020 09:00 - 1 hourCyberpunk 2077 isn't what it was promised to be. At least, that's the experience of countless gamers the world-over, as they grasp with playing CD Projekt's long-awaited RPG on, say, a PlayStation 4. The resulting fallout has engulfed our industry, and rightfully so, because what happened here was bound to occur eventually. In a fandom dominated by loud, boisterous voices excited for every last product and willing to devour anything the powers-that-be give them, we do here on this show what w...
#128: An Old Friend
December 14, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursGeoff Keighley's Game Awards went off without a hitch, and -- as usual -- the show came along with a boatload of announcements, release date reveals, and other such newsworthy items. But buried within the event is an interesting truth: Sony only showed up with one game, from the second party, which we already knew about. In doing so, it lined-up PlayStation 5's next exclusive of consequence, giving it a date. Housemarque's Returnal will be expected to carry the load until the likes of Ratchet...
#127: Bye-oWare
December 07, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursWe were about to wrap-up recording this week's show when some unexpected news broke: Long-time BioWare creative leads Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah have both left the EA-owned dev, and one can't help but wonder if they were pushed out the door. After all, modern BioWare is a far cry from the glory days of yore. We make sure to discuss these notable exits, though they come as a sort of ironic twist, since we had already planned to talk about some high-profile departures from Bend Studio and Jap...
#126: Arbitrage
November 30, 2020 09:00 - 1 hourThere are a lot of understandably frustrated PlayStation fans out there right now. After all, PS5s are truly and persistently hard to come by, a situation unassisted by COVID, component shortages, a wobbly economy, and other macroeconomic factors. But -- much like the market for virtually any desirable object -- a vacuum has been created, facilitated by bot-assisted scalpers serving monied and desperate clienteles alike. Let's chat about this unfortunate situation with an open mind, and consi...
#125: Oh, Crap(com)
November 23, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursCapcom has been the victim of a massive external hack, and the group responsible is apparently holding the company for digital ransom. Yet, the beloved Japanese publisher and developer has reportedly refused to yield, and as such, a treasure trove of ill-begotten information has been dumped on the 'net, most of it irrelevant to our show. But amongst the details are a few trinkets we simply cannot ignore, including what appears to be the business' entire AAA release schedule through 2024. Let'...
#124: The Dawn of a New Age
November 16, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursWe've covered the lead-up to PlayStation 5 on this podcast from every conceivable angle. In reality, there wasn't much of importance left to say, aside from idle speculation and over-analysis. Yet, the time has indeed come: PS5 is finally here, and now that we've gotten our hands on our consoles and spent time with some games, it's safe to assume we're not gonna run out of things to talk about on this show for years to come. The first 90 (!) minutes of this show are dedicated to our impressio...
#123: Took You Long Enough
November 09, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursThere was a time not too long ago when League of Legends was one of the most-played games in the industry, and even today, around a decade after launch, Riot's core offering remains popular. And now, for the very first time, a game taking place in that universe is coming to PlayStation in the form of an RPG called Ruined King, and it's launching sooner than you might think. Question is, what took Riot so long to release a complementary console adventure, and is it too little, too late? What's...
#122: Cyberpunk'd
November 02, 2020 09:00 - 2 hoursBarely two months after promising not to delay Cyberpunk 2077 yet again, famous Polish dev CD Projekt has done just that, though for a mere three weeks. This pushes their open world RPG (arguably the single most-anticipated title of 2020, though certainly one of them) precariously close to Christmas, and some candid words from one of the studio's execs indicates they're not entirely sure they'll ship in December, either. Is something wrong with Cyberpunk 2077? Let's discuss. Then: Bugsnax bec...
#121: Gearing Up
October 26, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursWhen Kojima careened from Konami's cocoon (that's called alliteration!), he was left to his own devices for the first time in basically his entire career. The result was his unusual Sony-funded project Death Stranding, an interesting (if divisive) game that left us curious what he may pursue next. We don't yet know a specific answer, but thanks to a salvo of job listings out of Kojima Productions' Tokyo office, we know he and his team are revving up. And we're intrigued. So let's chat about i...
#120: The Kenzo Conspiracy
October 19, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursWe've all been dying to see PlayStation 5's UI, so it's awesome that -- finally! -- Sony has given us a little taste. In a roughly 12-minute video, we grabbed a prolonged glimpse at the basic user experience on PS5, and it looks great. Snappy. Utilitarian. Perhaps even a little crowded and busy. Yet, there was also an overt Killzone Easter Egg put before us that seems to indicate more than meets the eye. Or does it? We discuss. Plus: Miles Morales has gone gold, PS4's new firmware update is b...
#119: Seeking Power
October 12, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursA recent video out of Japan finally gave us our first look at PlayStation 5's innards, a nice change of pace from a mysteriously silent Sony as we approach Zero Hour. The teardown gave us a glimpse at the console's technical configurations and setups, though it also revealed the machine to be a bit of a beast, size-wise. Either way, for those in pursuit of power, the newest PlayStation should be a tantalizing product. Also: Sony revealed a surprise reconstruction of the Trophy landscape, Jim ...
#118: Face-Off
October 05, 2020 08:00 - 3 hoursPlayStation 4's smash-hit exclusive Spider-Man game was played by more than 15 million people, and when they jump into the PS5 port, they're going to receive something literally not one of them asked for: A brand-new Peter Parker. Sometimes, the intersection of art and business can be messy and confusing like that. We discuss. Plus: Is the most recent report of crunch at CD Projekt yet another reoccurrence of a troubling trend, or just more ado about nothing? Is JK Rowling's 'transphobia' con...
#117: Nuclear Winter
September 28, 2020 16:32 - 2 hoursThings have been looking great for PlayStation 5, but a seismic event threatens to restructure the entire landscape of console gaming. With Microsoft's purchase of ZeniMax Media (and therefore Bethesda, all of its studios, and all of its IP), Xbox suddenly controls the fate not only of talented teams like id Software, Machinegames, Tango Gameworks, and others, but some of gaming's most iconic franchises, too, like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom. It's a huge deal, and it could leave Sony...
#116: This Means War
September 19, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursWe've waited so long for concrete details concerning PlayStation 5's release date and price that it all feels a bit like a fever dream. But the spell has broken: The results, as Maury would say, are in. PlayStation 5 has a price and a release date; it all fits exactly where it should. But there are some complications, to be sure. For instance, did you know Miles Morales is also a PS4 game? Thanks to an afterthought paragraph in a PlayStation Blog post -- or this podcast! -- now you do! But th...
#115: Uprising
September 14, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursFor months, we've been noting the shocking level of silence emanating out of both Sony and Microsoft. Eventually, something had to give, and it has: Xbox Series X has a release date, a price, a launch library, and even a cheaper companion, the long-rumored Xbox Series S. These two machines are interesting in that they're truly different from one another. They play the same games, but they don't have nearly the same power, and it's an approach that allows Microsoft to attack Sony from below. S...
#114: Don't Go Back
September 07, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursWe're something like two months and change removed from PlayStation 5's presumed release window, but if you were expecting Sony itself to say anything about it, keep on hoping and dreaming. One of the upcoming console's deepest mysteries remains just how far in PlayStation history its backwards compatibility will allow us to delve; yet if a seemingly-innocuous FAQ from Ubisoft is any indication, you shouldn't expect to put your PSone, PS2, and PS3 discs into the machine. Does it really matter...
#113: Sunset Suicide
August 31, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursIt was just weeks ago that we were chatting about persistent rumors concerning WB Interactive, and the potential sale of its studios, projects, and licenses to outside interests. But suddenly, we're talking about the publisher in a different light, because not one -- but two! -- of its games have been revealed, in all their DC glory. Suicide Squad looks a bit like Sunset Overdrive, while Gotham Knights reminds us of the Arkham games of yore. With both, there's much to discuss. Plus: Sony has ...
#112: Tantos For Two
August 24, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursYou didn't expect it. You may not even want it. But you're going to get it: A free, multiplayer-centric update to Ghost of Tsushima called Legends is coming this fall, an update that allows you to play the game with up to four players, with missions, endless waves of enemies, and even raids. Does such an addition to Sucker Punch's most recent game make any sense? Or should we be skeptical? We discuss. Plus: Call of Duty is Cold War-bound, PS5's Deathloop has been delayed while Demon's Souls R...
#111: Corporate Imperialism
August 17, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursYou may not have heard of The Embracer Group... but they've heard of you. Okay, maybe it's not that serious, but Embracer -- the holding company that owns THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, Koch Media, and others -- has been steadily acquiring dev talent for years. And now? Well, now they have a first party family of studios bigger than PlayStation's and Xbox's combined. It's not all AAA talent, of course, but such empire-building suggests that the future of publishing is in owning the entities that ma...
#110: Gatekeeping
August 10, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursNext month, the long-in-development Avengers game comes to PlayStation 4 (it'll come to PS5 when the console launches, too), and there's a special sort of catch for Sony gamers: When Spider-Man arrives in Crystal Dynamics' long-awaited multiplayer adventure in 2021, he'll only be available within the ecosystem. That is to say, Xbox and PC players won't have access to arguably the biggest character in the entire experience. Is such a move a vestige of generations past? Or are the Big Three abo...
#109: Popularity Contest
August 03, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursWe may not have any idea when PlayStation 5 is coming out, what it'll cost, or even if many of us will be able to get our hands on one at launch. But what we do know -- thanks to a recent consumer survey conducted in the UK -- is that Sony's upcoming console is far, far more eagerly-anticipated than Microsoft's Xbox Series X. Does this spell good (or even great) news for PS5, or are any celebrations out of Tokyo premature? Let's sift through the details and figure it out. Then: Ghost of Tsush...
#108: Peak Performance
July 27, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursWe already know PlayStation 5 was primed to provide a technological quantum leap to AAA projects, but what it'll be capable of in its first round of games is fairly surprising. Sony-owned Insomniac has revealed that its launch game -- the kinetic Spider-Man: Miles Morales -- can run at 60 frames-per-second in 4K resolution, which is virtually unheard of on current-gen consoles. But nothing is free, so at what technical cost are such results achieved? Let's chat about it. Plus: Ubisoft escalat...
#107: Impropriety
July 20, 2020 08:00 - 2 hoursIt was a really big week for Ubisoft. They revealed (the admittedly leaked) Far Cry 6, stamped a couple of release dates on Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and gave us some more details on the upcoming battle royale Hyper Scape, too. But the company has also been persistently dogged by accusations of sexual impropriety and other illicit activities at its highest levels of management, and the purge of its ranks continues unabated. With the ignominious fall of both its Chief C...
#106: Epic Moves
July 13, 2020 08:00 - 3 hoursUntil Fortnite, the primary fuel that made Epic Games run was Unreal Engine, its ubiquitous and flexible framework on which hundreds of notable, successful, and popular titles have run for more than two decades. But these days, Epic's many initiatives have the North Carolina-based company accelerating at light speed, and now, Sony owns a sliver of 'em. We discuss what this modest acquisition means, and why owning just a little bit of Epic can go a very long way. Then: A tension is growing in ...