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Never straying too far from the realms of contentious discussion and often-fervent disagreement regarding the level of violence in its content, the world of videogames has this week come under fire from perhaps the most revered critic of all: God.
While that’s not strictly true insofar as no official statements have been forthcoming at this juncture, the Church of England has revealed that it is currently considering the possibility of launching legal action against Sony Computer Entertainment regarding one of its latest next-generation videogame releases.
The PlayStation 3 game in question, a first-person sci-fi shooter called Resistance: Fall of Man includes an attack sequence that takes place within the walls of Manchester Cathedral. The Church of England is subsequently accusing Sony of failing to obtain the correct permission necessary for it to depict the cathedral in its videogame, while Sony is maintaining that it thought it had acquired all such permissions.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has acknowledged the complaint put forth by the Bishop of Manchester and the cathedral authorities, pointing out that it takes such matters "very seriously," and would be contacting those authorities in order to better "understand their concerns in more detail." However, while appearing sensitive to the subject, Sony also points out that Resistance: Fall of Man "is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality."
However, regardless of Sony’s protestations of innocence and fictional reality, the Church insists that it did not give permission for Manchester Cathedral to be included in the game and is awaiting an official apology from Sony, and has even suggested that it will instigate legal proceedings if Resistance: Fall of Man is not pulled from retail shelves in order to have Manchester Cathedral removed from its content.
"For a global manufacturer to re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have guns battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible," exclaimed the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch in a BBC News report. "It is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem."
Described by Sony as a sci-fi action title that unfolds across "an alternate and mythical version of Europe in the 1950s," Resistance: Fall of Man charts the three-day course of mankind’s last stand against an invading alien race known as the Chimera. Company spokesperson David Wilson, speaking with The Times newspaper reinforced Sony’s perspective on the matter, offering that: "[Resistance: Fall of Man] is entertainment, like Doctor Who or any other science fiction. It is not based on reality at all."
However, the impact of a violent attack that takes place inside the cathedral’s walls and leaves hundreds of alien enemies sprawled dead has, perhaps naturally, incited some passionate reaction, with words such as "virtual desecration" and "sacrilegious" being banded about in protest.
"We are shocked to see a place of worship, prayer, learning and heritage being presented to the youth of today as a location where guns can be fired," complained the Very Reverend Rogers Govender. "Every year we invite hundreds of teenagers to come and see the cathedral so that they might appreciate an alternative to the violence that they experience in their daily lives. It is a shame to have a game like this undermining such important work."
RayJun 12th, 2007 - 17:06:06
Please. Where was the outrage over the use of a church as a fight scene in Max Payne, Call of Duty, as well as countless other videogames, I'm sure.
For that matter, does no one remember the Crusades?
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