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Man. Cathedral accepts Sony's Resistance apology, sort of
Forgiveness is the Christian way, so it's not too surprising that Manchester Cathedral officials have officially forgiven Sony for their use of the historic church in Resistance: Fall of Man. But the subtext of the public acceptance shows there is still some ill will behind the words. Despite two apologies from Sony for any offense caused, Cathedral Dean Rev. Rogers Govender could only passive-aggressively tell the BBC that "we do forgive Sony for what they have done, even though they still believe they have done nothing wrong." Govender went on to urge the game industry to follow the "long held traditions of film and television" by "having courtesy, respecting the dignity of your subject, and admitting when mistakes have been made." Such traditions of filmic church respect can be seen in this action-packed church scene from Face/Off and this bloody church shootout from The Killer. On the plus side, Govender admitted to the BBC that the controversy over the game has caused "an increase in visits from young people and tourists." It might not be the "substantial donation" they were looking for, but we're sure the Church doesn't mind the extra money.
Church forgives Sony for copying Manchester Cathedral, kinda
In what actually seems like more of a slight than a good-willed apology acceptance, the Church of England's Very Reverend Rogers Govender was quoted as saying "we do forgive Sony for what they have done, even though they still believe they have done nothing wrong." The Dean of Manchester Cathedral's comments came after Sony failed to take home a British Academy Video Game award last night for Resistance: Fall of Man, a game which adopts the cathedral's likeness as one of its settings. Referring to a supposed traditional code of ethics in the industry, Reverend Govender went on to say that "In so many ways Sony have failed to live up to these standards by disrespecting people of faith and the victims of gun crime here in Manchester." So yeah, it doesn't look like the Church will be sending Sony any Christmas cards this year, but on the upside, Manchester Cathedral is apparently doing a booming business among the younger crowd as a result of the controversy.
Church of England offended by Resistance BAFTA nomination
If the headline seems a little familiar, it's because we've been here before. First, the Church of England issued a statement regarding the "offensive" presence of Manchester Cathedral in Sony's Resistance: Fall of Man for the PS3. Sony followed up by issuing an apology, stating that they had no intention of offending, but that the content was staying. Church of England responded by saying that the apology wasn't good enough, and Sony responded to the response of the response by apologizing again. Now, following the announcement of the nominees for this year's BAFTA Video Game Awards, the Church of England is once again up in arms, this time issuing a statement pleading that the nomination for Resistance: Fall of Man be pulled, claiming that the nomination "is like rubbing salt in the wounds" of the Church. The spokesman for the Church of England claims that the nomination comes from the game's solid sales, which they believe were increased substantially by the controversy. No word yet of a response from either Sony or BAFTA. Resistance: Fall of Man was only nominated for one award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts: The PC World Gamers Award, which will be decided by a public vote, and not by a BAFTA panel.
Church of England demands donation for violent PS3 title
It's not like Sony hasn't been under fire from outlets in America and abroad before, but the latest quibble is coming from none other than the Church of England. Turns out that Sony reportedly took it upon itself to recreate the historic interior of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man without first asking permission, and now there could be hell heaven to pay. Currently, the Church has asked Sony to "apologize and contribute a large donation from the game's profits as it did not pay a commercial fee to use the cathedral as a backdrop." Additionally, Sony could face two other demands -- one that requests the withdrawal of the game altogether, and the other to modify the section of the cathedral's interior. Notably, it's been no secret that certain sects of the UK have been dealing with rashes of gun crime, and while Sony hasn't succumbed to paying up or recalling all copies of the game just yet, it did say that it would "contact the cathedral authorities to understand their concerns in more detail."
Church of England seeks to remove Resistance from shop shelves
The Church of England today has stated that if Sony do not remove Resistance: Fall of Man from the shelves then it will consider legal action. The Church is outraged at Insomniac's inclusion of the nave of Manchester Cathedral in the game. More specifically, that they "encourage people to have guns battles in the building." Why the C of E have chosen now, seven months after its original release and two months since it was made available in Europe, is a mystery. The worry seems to be that people will assume that shooting a gun within the cathedral is "acceptable" and try to emulate it in real life. Or that it will act as a catalyst to increase the already present gun-crime problem in the city. The Church of England seems to have the idea that Resistance "shows a virtual shoot-out in the cathedral's nave in which hundreds of soldiers are killed". This is only true if you consider crawling Chimera beasties as "soldiers." The cathedral section is a very small fraction of the entire game, lasting only 20 minutes, if that. It contains only alien enemies, as the rest of the game does, and includes no cutscenes or story elements which show a single human death.Sony have yet to officially respond to the Church but a spokesman told the Times newspaper that "It is entertainment, like Doctor Who or any other science fiction. It is not based on reality at all." He also states that permission was sought when necessary, throughout the entire development process. Funny that they mention Doctor Who, considering the recent episode which ended with a man transforming into a monster and chasing his victims through Southwark Cathedral before being killed. We wonder if we'll see a battle to get those DVDs removed from shelves, once they're released.[Thanks to everyone who told us about this]
