Sony Says: “Sorry”. Church Says: “Thanks, But We Still Want Cash June 18, 2007
Read more Consoles , Games , Gizmodo UK , PS3
Sony has officially apologised to the Church of England for the use of Manchester Cathedral in its 1950’s alien sci-fi shoot-em-up, Resistance: Fall of Man. The church recently had a holy fit when a virtual version of the church was used as a backdrop for some good old-fashioned alien hunting with really big guns.
A letter from the European president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, David Reeves, said:
“It was not our intention to cause offence by using a representation of Manchester Cathedral…. if we have done so we sincerely apologise.”
The Church replied in kind:
“We acknowledge the admission by Sony that the building in the game is Manchester Cathedral. We thank Sony for the apology they have made. However, we do not move from the position that we are against violence and especially the gun violence seen in this portrayal of the Cathedral. In the meeting with Sony [planned in the coming weeks] we will discuss our outstanding demands, how this game came to be produced and where the images of the Cathedral came from.”
It also wants its original demands addressed i.e. withdraw or alter the game, and pay us lots of cash for our local education programmes. What happened to forgiveness? Big business could learn a lot about mercenary business tactics from the Church. -Martin Lynch
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
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Basically:
Sony: Soz d00d didn' mean owt like! =)
Church Of England: Omfgz!!11!! S'ok m8, butz i stillz wantys munnies 4 st00f, da ok yeh m8!!!?!
Sony: =(
Personally Im not the religious type, to me Church of England and just crying over spilk milk, not even that, tap water at most.
The church has a bloody cheek complaining about violent media! Have they ever actually opened the bible and read any of it? Cannibalism, incest, rape, wholesale genocide of men, women and children, all condoned by the god in it!! Hypocrites.
That's not really much of an apology from Sony anyway, so I don't blame the Church for not accepting it. There's a difference between saying "We're sorry that you've taken offence" and "We made a mistake."
@Retsudo: Good to see you have a firm grasp of the Bible and it's content...
Plus it's not like the church is demanding money to make themselves richer, they are asking for money to help reach out into the community. In a city like Manchester that has some pretty hardcore problems with violence I don't think it's that out of order for the Church to make a stand on this.
Weon, Manchester may indeed have some problems, but one of them is NOT hordes of invading aliens (as depicted in Resistance:FOM), so I fail to see where the church has any basis for complaint, especially as the legal grounds for their issues with this game have already been shown to be almost completely without basis.
Furthermore, I sincerely doubt that they would use the money in a transparent fashion, and we would then have to take their word that it was ALL used for "good causes" (although in this case of course, that means "good causes as defined by the CoE")
lol...gotta love the church - and here i was thinking that the 'christian way'is all about forgiveness?? Screw that! - This is the 21st Century - we want ur money!
Wait till someone makes a game with a lead character that looks like the Pope...the church will be the 1st to start a war over that one!
Reminds me of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uBAPbOWLxc
note the part about money :p
How is a church being in a game any different from a church being in a movie, like the Omen (Guildford Cathederal) for example? Its a little rich to get cross over people ending the existence of characters who don't really exist, that is after all the basis of Christianity. I know! Problem solved just tell them the game is allegorical (Like the bible!), really the aliens represent the issues that today's younger generation need to overcome. "Bang bang - take that child poverty alien" or "Quick, reload, we have to take down the 'slipping moral fabric mother ship'"
I might be a little off the mark here, but looking at the history of the building on the Manchester Cathedral website, the structure currently referred to as Manchester Cathedral had it's last addition in 1897, prior to the construction of the library annix in 1904. It was only restored after damage from then until present. Therefore the architectural design, both interior and exterior of the building is over 110 years old. Surely that means any intellectual property protection over the look of the building has lapsed by now. So if you can legally build an exact copy of the cathedral, then surely you can build a virtual copy of the cathedral and use it in what ever way you see fit? Unless of course Sony stuck a big label on it saying "This is Manchester Cathedral", then the church is probably within their rights to complain.
I might also add that the uneducated amongst us, and I have to include myself in this, would not have known it was Manchester Cathedral until the church raised their objections!
I do still believe that Sony should have sought permission first, just to keep their brownie point collection intact, and I suppose realistically the church were always going to object. As a resolution to the issue, I would like to see a company like Sony who make millions out of violent shoot'em-ups, actually be made accountable for their effect on the "youth of today" and donate money to anti-gun-crime campaigns anyway, regardless of this disagreement.
Sign the petition asking the Church of England to chill out!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/CofEChill/index.html
if u ask me the church has a damn good point - it's not their religious/pious aspect i mean either - I mean simply that if they were any other organization in the world and someone came into their businessplace and copied al the architecture then went off to use said copies to make money, then that organization is entitled under law to try to get a cut of the money.
I know most of u are anti-church/religion (lord knows I am) but u can't put it down for always acting differently and better than others, then try to deprive it of the basic legal rights you'd afford anyone else.
Property = owned,
Sony = used property for profit,
Owners = entitled to payment.
End of story.