Church of England Still Testy About Resistance: Fall of Man

[Andy Chalk]

Church of England Still Testy About Resistance: Fall of Man

The Resistance: Fall of Man [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/], is up in arms again over the game's BAFTA nomination.

In a statement to The Guardian, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester Cathedral, called for the removal of the game from the Sony [http://www.bafta.org/site/jsp/index.jsp]and withdraw Resistance: Fall of Man from the nominations."

"We had to resort to legal advice to get Sony to a meeting and the row ... helped sales," he added. "The game has been nominated because of how well it's done in the charts. This nomination is like rubbing salt in the wounds."

According to BAFTA representative Anne-Marie Flynn, however, the game's nomination is a matter of public opinion, and not one the Academy has any influence over. "Resistance: Fall of Man has been nominated for the PC World Gamers' Award - the only publicly-voted award in this year's ceremony," she said. "The shortlist for the Gamers' Award was effectively selected by the public, in that it comprised the top-selling games on each platform."

Church of England officials were highly critical [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/72715]of the use of Manchester Cathedral as a setting for a battle between humans and alien invaders in the game, describing the game as "sick" and "sacrilegious" and demanding an apology, removal of the Cathedral from the game and a "substantial donation" to the Church as a form of reparations. While Sony did apologize to the Church and later to the people of Manchester, the Cathedral remained in the game.


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[Easykill]

I dont see the problem.
If people(or aliens) are killing each other shouldnt they focus on that instead of where theyre doing it? A Cathedral is just as likely a place as any, more likely actually, because theyre usually well-built and made of stone.

 

[Zera]

Dont see a problem either?

 

[OrenA]

Meh, it's pretty simple really. Notice how they are demanding a "substantial donation" from Sony? If I understand the situation correctly, the waited until the game was on the market for six months before complaining, probably because they were waiting for their legal types to figure out if their case had a chance. This whole thing looks to be about money in my eyes.

 

[Thowzand]

Meh, it's pretty simple really. Notice how they are demanding a "substantial donation" from Sony? If I understand the situation correctly, the waited until the game was on the market for six months before complaining, probably because they were waiting for their legal types to figure out if their case had a chance. This whole thing looks to be about money in my eyes.

This is pretty much dead on. Once again, the Church asks for money to atone for "wrongs" brought onto it.

 

[Katana314]

On a related note, the church sued the American army for also using REAL churches as holding points when pushing through a city.

 

[Spinwhiz]

I can't believe something this moronic is even coming up. Now, if there were satanic writing put on the walls or someone defiling themselves in the church, yeah, I can see that as being a problem. As it is, none of that has happened. Does NYC sue Marvel or (pick any one of a thousand movies that take place in New York) when someone gets mugged in Central Park? Come on...they should counter sue just for wasting their time and ask for a restraining order, just to shut them up.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Setting aside the whole donation bit (which I agree was a little on the iffy side) I think the big concern for the Church is the precedent set by Sony's use of the Cathedral without prior permission or licensing agreements. If Sony was allowed to get away with it, it could very well pave the way for situations where Satanic graffiti, defilement of the church, etc., are present in a game, with no recourse for Church authorities.

Thing is, Sony did get away with it. Legally speaking, the Church didn't have a leg to stand on as far as seeking damages, so while they threatened and blustered, the apology they got was all they were ever going to get. Complaints like this are about all that's left to them; I think they've done a clumsy job of handling the situation from the get-go, but they seem determined to stay the course.

 

[rvkennedy]

Am I missing something? The cathedral belongs to the church. It's not a public space like Central Park, it's the interior of private property. Unless Establishment renders them powerless to sue. Perhaps legal scholars can enlighten us?

 

[nightfish]

Setting aside the whole donation bit (which I agree was a little on the iffy side) I think the big concern for the Church is the precedent set by Sony's use of the Cathedral without prior permission or licensing agreements. If Sony was allowed to get away with it, it could very well pave the way for situations where Satanic graffiti, defilement of the church, etc., are present in a game, with no recourse for Church authorities.

Thing is, Sony did get away with it. Legally speaking, the Church didn't have a leg to stand on as far as seeking damages, so while they threatened and blustered, the apology they got was all they were ever going to get. Complaints like this are about all that's left to them; I think they've done a clumsy job of handling the situation from the get-go, but they seem determined to stay the course.

they are also concerned about the level of violence in the game specifically inside churches.