Church V Sony!

Ck · 09-06-2007, 17:32

Church of England calls Sony game sick. That should stop people from buying it.

The Church of England accused Sony of using an English cathedral as the backdrop to a violent computer game and said it should be withdrawn from shop shelves.

The church said Sony did not ask for permission to use Manchester cathedral and demanded an apology.

The popular new PlayStation 3 game, Resistance - Fall of Man, shows a virtual shootout between rival gunmen with hundreds of people killed inside the cathedral. Church officials described Sony's alleged use of the building as sick and sacrilegious.

A spokesman for the Church of England said a letter will be sent to Sony on Monday. If the church's request for an apology and withdrawal of the game is not met, the church will consider legal action.

The Very Rev. Rogers Govender, the dean of Manchester Cathedral, said "This is an important issue. For many young people these games offer a different sort of reality and seeing guns in Manchester cathedral is not the sort of connection we want to make.

"Every year we invite hundreds of teenagers to come and see the cathedral and it is a shame to have Sony undermining our work."

The bishop of Manchester, the Rt. Rev. Nigel McCulloch, said "It is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem. For a global manufacturer to recreate one of our great cathedrals with photorealistic quality and then encourage people to have gunbattles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible."

I think the church have just done more for the sale of this game than anything Sony could hope to do by advertising but why do the 'Church' have to poke their snooty little noses into everything, who died and made them God!

**Alpha** · 09-06-2007, 17:35

Oh come on!!!! it's a flaming game for fucks sake, it's not like it's bloody real life or something.

Ck · 09-06-2007, 17:36

They'll do anthing for attention Alpha. I expect most young gamers will be saying wtf is 'the church' !

**SFB** · 09-06-2007, 17:42

Well, what to say about that?

Anything to make a buck?

If computer games don't promote forms of violence I'd be very surprised. It doesn't bode well for the future IMHO.

We had real war to contend with when I was a kid, so being violent to other people wasn't necessary. Youngsters today should be sent on paintball missions with every 50th round being a live bullet, that would wake a few up and clean out the gene pool at the same time.
I can think of a few other games they could play to get their freckles in gear.

**Fenella** · 09-06-2007, 20:36

Well I think it was a disgusting thing to do. Religious places should be sacred and Sony should be ashamed of themselves for using a Cathedral in a violent game. Apparently they're going to talk to the Bishop or whoever on Monday to find out why he's upset about it. Well if they don't already know that then they have no idea about anything frankly.

**SFB** · 09-06-2007, 21:16

Perhaps the Nipponese aren't too worried about something so archaic.

Ck · 09-06-2007, 21:21

I just wonder if at the last church of E big wig meeting they got out a PS3 and a copy of the game for them all to try.

**Earl** · 09-06-2007, 21:30

Originally Posted by SFB

Perhaps the Nipponese aren't too worried about something so archaic.

They usually have Godzilla stomping on Cathedrals. The game looks great.

**Fenella** · 09-06-2007, 21:35

I'm going to boycott Sony until they apologise and withdraw the game - not that I ever buy anything like that anyway so it's not much a loss to them!

**Alpha** · 09-06-2007, 21:42

Fair enough..

a few years ago the Hitman game, which i think was on PS2 or XBox got into trouble when the Hitman started shooting in a mosque and stuff. There was uproar about that too.