Destructoid Checkpoint: It's Sony's turn, I guess

If there is one thing I have learned about the console space, it is that Microsoft and Sony are actually best friends. Every time one of them does something good and manages a win, the other will contrast it by dropping an absolute clanger and making them look even better.

With Microsoft scoring a big win last week with a reduction in the cost of Game Pass, it was Sony’s time to step on the proverbial rake.

People hate DRM, so let’s invest in DRM

Okay, so I make fun of the denizens of the internet a lot because they never let the truth get in the way of having something to mald about on social media, but I do firmly believe that, as a populace, we cannot hate DRM enough, especially always online DRM. That is why it was actually good to see the surge of disdain when news began to break about Sony’s “30-Day DRM timer.”

Some players noticed an odd DRM check-in was occurring, a 30-day license timer, and the rumor spread like wildfire that if you didn’t play your game every 30 days, you’d lose access to it until you logged on again, or potentially even forever. It was, frankly, funny, because sometimes companies just try not to announce things that they know will be met with pushback, and when they don’t control the message, they can’t be made when the messages, quite literally, go out of control. 

The way it will actually work has now been cleared up by Sony. When you purchase a digital game from the PSN, your console will receive a temporary license that lasts for 30 days. You will then receive your full license as long as you connect to Sony’s servers during that 30-day window. Once you do that, you can then play your game whenever you want, online or offline.

Now, I know the argument is that if people are buy the games on the PSN that they obviously have an internet connection, so connecting again within 30-days shouldn’t be an issue, and there is validity to that point, but it’s still asking 99% of legitimate customers to take extra steps just because a miniscule portion gets up to things like credit card fraud or jailbreaks their console. 

There is more than one type of projection in the movie business

Many gamers were aghast this week as an old quote from movie director Peter Berg surfaced, where he stated that playing video games about war was, and I quote, “Pathetic. Pathetic. Keyboard courage. Can't stand it. The only people that I give a Call of Duty get-out-of-jail-free card to is the military. They're out there serving and they're bored and they want to entertain themselves? Okay, maybe. Kids? Uh-uh.” 

Mr. Berg seemed to forget that people play games for the same reason people watch films, which is to engage with artistry and be entertained, not to pretend that they are actually doing anything legitimately dangerous.

This is now very funny as Peter Berg is directing a Call of Duty movie. Gamers tend to despise it when people look down on gaming, so this will be a funny quote to bring up during any potential press tours for the movie. Berg has a long history of directing movies, starting in 1998 and directing 13 since then. One of them, Friday Night Lights, was a certified banger and led to a pretty okay TV show. 

The simple truth is that the Berg is the perfect person to direct a Call of Duty movie. Ironically, you have to treat Call of Duty seriously to make it into a movie, and his experience with films like The Kingdom, Lone Survivor, Patriots Day, and Deepwater Horizon shows that he can do serious, impactful things while paying almost zero attention to historical fact for the sake of entertainment. 

People are allowed to not like games, and they are allowed to think people who play them are not manly, even though they might be theater kids who learned to box instead of the cops, soldiers, or deep sea drillers that they seem to lionize, just not quite enough to tell truthful and accurate stories of the work they do. 

The simple truth is that there is no price to pay for the quote, and Berg should certainly be free to direct a Call of Duty movie. The real issue is that he has made five movies with Mark Wahlberg, and there really should be some kind of price to pay for that.

What’s happening, Destructoid?

Scott Duwe finds himself struggling to enjoy the new Marvel Rivals mode. - “I was pretty excited to play the new MCU Avengers-themed mode in Marvel Rivals to celebrate the movie’s 14th anniversary, but after just a couple of games, I’m completely done with it. NetEase Games advertised the new Path to Doomsday: The Avengers mode in Marvel Rivals as an asymmetric PvP experience honoring the 2012 Avengers movie, and I suppose they weren’t lying. But as far as any other redeeming qualities, it has missed the bar completely.”

Andrej Barovic is curious and brave enough to venture into the Backrooms - “Whenever a horror game or creepypasta is set to be adapted into a movie, I immediately take a reserved stance. Past performance is the best indicator of future success, or so the saying goes, and given the less-than-amazing track record of these kinds of adaptations, I’m just purely unable to look at them with any hope in my heart.”

Luci Kelemen has been dancing through pages decorated with the prose of Jordan Harper, and has been enjoying the journey. - “Seriously, you’ll have such a great time. Rich, violent prose, tightly strung action, movie script-like speed and efficiency, from raw short stories to refined novels with non-stop hold-onto-your-seat vibes. Grimy crimes and even uglier souls, with a “holy expletive”-level sentence every paragraph or two—he’d, of course, never shy away from the profanity.”

And that’s it for this week.