Sony apologizes over Manchester Cathedral gunfight scene

Sony's PR department has got to be one of the oddest places in the world to work: what other job requires doing damage control over accusations of running a racist marketing campaign and apologizing to the Church of England about violent video games in the same breath? Well, the latter is the current situation report from the whole "Resistance: Fall of Man level being set in Manchester Cathedral" brouhaha. Apparently, the company and the Church are going to sit down and discuss the Church's demands -- how much the company will be donating, and whether there will be a recall of the game -- with the background of Sony sincerely apologizing to anyone that was offended by the depiction. In light of this controversy, the embarrassment from asking a Church "can we make a video game where we shoot aliens inside this Cathedral?" would have been far less damaging than all this negative publicity: next time Sony, just ask permission!

[Via Joystiq]

[Jypson @ Jun 16th 2007 8:31PM]

How many times are you guys planning on reporting this story? Let it go already.

[Zelatio @ Jun 16th 2007 8:45PM]

Uhm...This is the second story about this and the last one was about a week ago I believe. The first was the story and now the is the follow-up. It's called reporting. Comments like yours are the ones that make the Read Comments section full of useless BS.

[Pablo @ Jun 16th 2007 8:33PM]

there is no such thing as 'bad publicity'. if i had a ps3, i'd go out and buy the game just to see what all the contraversy is about. the church is just looking for a handout.

[carlo @ Jun 16th 2007 8:51PM]

You wouldn't be saying that if you lived there and witnessed the problems first-hand.

[DAZA @ Jun 17th 2007 12:04AM]

Churches are generally quite wealthy, I doubt they're just looking for hand-out.

[mastawu @ Jun 17th 2007 1:33AM]

to DAZA// They just hate or jealous of Sony.

[darkstar @ Jun 17th 2007 8:14AM]

to DAZA... how do u think they got wealthy in the first place?? ;-)
i dont wanna say anything bad about the churches. but around here, they're no different than business men. its all for-profit not non-profit here

[marky1 @ Jun 21st 2007 12:09PM]

well when i saw this on the bbc news, they said that the money will not go to the church, but will go to anti gun things to stop the gun culture in manchester, so its not as if the church is being 'that' greedy

[Nick @ Jun 17th 2007 10:24AM]

"Churches are generally quite wealthy, I doubt they're just looking for hand-out."

If they're not looking for hand-outs then why do they send that donation basket around anytime there is any kind of service?

[lyl545646 @ Jun 16th 2007 8:33PM]

Church One
Sony Nada

[Aaron @ Jun 16th 2007 8:48PM]

Hey, last time you said Sony claims they DID ask permission. Which is it?

Either way, Sony, I think, has the better argument. From the article:

"Sony said it did not accept "that there is any connection between contemporary issues in 21st century Manchester and the work of science fiction in which a fictitious 1950s Britain is under attack by aliens.""

I don't accept it either. I think someone's just looking for a fat "donation".

[GTMoogle @ Jun 16th 2007 8:49PM]

Sounds to me like lots of free advertising along the lines of "Check out how realistic this game is, it's got real world locations you can shoot aliens in!"

[Muncheon @ Jun 16th 2007 8:56PM]

That is a brilliant picture!

[enzo @ Jun 16th 2007 9:57PM]

I'm probably not the only one who looked at that picture and wanted to see some screenshots of this game that looks like it has ridiculously amazing graphics... Then a chuckle when I clicked on the link and saw the original picture.

[paul34 @ Jun 16th 2007 10:55PM]

Indeed, the resolution and shader quality of RL 1.0 (real life) is amazing!

[Andrew H. @ Jun 16th 2007 9:17PM]

sounds to me the church just has a bad case of the jealousy bug, seeing as how Billy Graham's Bible Blaster didn't fare as well as Resistance Fall of Man

[Brian @ Jun 16th 2007 9:23PM]

I'm disappointed in Sony for apologizing. They had no reason to.

[MacGuru @ Jun 16th 2007 11:40PM]

Sony should have never apologized. Do you see the city of Le Havre asking EA for an apology since a portion of their WWII games takes place there? I say this to the Church of England: Get a life and a Pope :)

[SigmaProjects.org @ Jun 16th 2007 10:36PM]

Agreed, the church is just looking to mooch money off this one. Seriously, who is offended by this?

[Big @ Jun 16th 2007 10:36PM]

GUNS IN CHURCH is going to be the next big thing.

I'm waiting for a game developer with the balls to digitally create a war between HEAVEN - EARTH and HELL in the same design as COMMAND & CONQUER.

come to think of it...

If I have command and conquer 3...

and a level editor...

[Gregory Kimball @ Jun 16th 2007 10:38PM]

Given that:

1. The Church of England cannot discern the difference between a level in a video game and one of its own cathedrals

2. Being able to discern the difference between video games and real life is a measure of sanity

One must conclude that:

3. The Church of England is insane

Additionally, given that:

4. One of the fundamental elements of Christianity is forgiveness

5. Sony has apologized for the use of Manchester cathedral in Resistance

6. The Church is still demanding significant financial compensation despite the apology

One can conclude that:

7. The Church of England is not following fundamental Christian principles

[JT_X @ Jun 16th 2007 11:15PM]

Sometimes a simple apology doesn't undo the damage.

[Bryce @ Jun 16th 2007 11:50PM]

Absolutely right, Sony should not have apologized. Little inside story if you needed more points on how the church is insane....they think a dead person actually came back to life. That doesn't gel with the reality I live in. But the whole "controversy" is their way to make some additional cash other than what their government doles out. Look at the DAMAGE...now they get Sony to give them money. total BS.

[Nick @ Jun 17th 2007 10:34AM]

@JT_X


Please explain what damage was done.. even the linked article just simply states that "manchester has had a history of gang related violence"... okay? so thats their problem? Manchester has had violence... thats great and so has the rest of the world... and how do they equate humans fighting Extra Terrestrials to be "gang violence" its not like the game is GTA or anything like that. No damage was done they are simply being the slimy church that they are and trying to extort money from a company like they do to individuals on a daily basis.

[Darwin @ Jun 16th 2007 10:40PM]

Let's see... 'bad publicity' for Manchester means news about problems in Manchester, means people clicking on links to finding out about said problems, means awareness, means more potential to get something done to fix said problems.

I'd say Pablo is on the right track, even if he can't spell controversy.

[derek @ Jun 16th 2007 11:37PM]

@ JT_X

Umm, damage? What damage?

[RJR @ Jun 16th 2007 11:44PM]

I like to post irrelevant messages and add a link to my blog as my signature! No... wait. I don't. Because it's retarded!

[Dan Lowe @ Jun 16th 2007 11:57PM]

First of all, as one poster mentioned (about the original story), if there were legitimate legal grounds for these demands, Insomniac Games--the developer--should have come under fire as much as Sony. That said, the publisher will always be the one who eventually takes the blunt of a controversy, and this can only hurt them and the video game industry in the eyes of non-'gamers' if it isn't handled properly. And Lord knows (ha), Sony knows how to mishandle PS3-related issues.

This isn't a case of copyright/patent infringement, but a symbolic desecration of a holy monument to those who recognize it as such--the same type of desecration we see recreated in film, television, and literature time and time again (which, I suspect, nothing is said about). There are two reasons there is even an issue being made about this: there is the most money to be had (video games > everything else but porn), and it comes from a place that has been made out to be the most vulnerable. The reason why there’s as much to-do about violence/sex/potential-moral-detriment in video games is because every time a Jack Thompson adds his argument to the tubful that stand perpetually raised against ‘video games,’ the industry remains an impersonal entity with nameless identities and faceless fans, and collectively takes its slap on the wrist so not to risk losing their ability to buy and sell games at Wal-Mart.

This is yet another chance for one of the big guns of the video game industry to stand up for itself as a form of media that's here to stay. Though, as we've seen in the past, video game figureheads are more than willing to take their punches, say their sorries, and go back to making entertainment without putting up the least bit of a fight as to whether or not their medium should be respected.

And that's why Roger Ebert remains right: video games aren't art. More like graffiti, their artists flee at the first sign of flashing lights.

[Phillip Black @ Jun 17th 2007 12:04AM]

What a load of crap! "You hurt my feelings! Now donate." What's the point of donating if it does not mean anything. And they forgot to point out that you where saving earth not destroying it.

[Andy @ Jun 17th 2007 12:22AM]

Derek: Exactly.

What fucking damage? The Churches are so fucking greedy.

On a bright note though, it seems we found out which one of these mafia churches has the REAL God. The God so powerful that made Sony an offer they could not refuse.

[Andy @ Jun 17th 2007 12:25AM]

... and we also found that God is a mafia boss, and pretty much a dick (like we didn't know it before).

[Patrick @ Jun 17th 2007 12:37AM]

ALL I KNOW IS THAT I KILLED ALL THEM DAMN ALIENS, I DID MANCHESTER A FAVOR.

[derek @ Jun 17th 2007 12:24PM]

hahahahahahahhaha right on!

[bob @ Jun 17th 2007 12:46AM]

the fact is .... they copied the cathedral when they had NO RIGHT TO .
the church is not asking for money , they are asking for it to be donated to another organisation that deals with gun crime in manchester .
damn these athiest fanatics are just as bad as the religious ones.

[Vinay @ Jun 17th 2007 2:44AM]

Bullshit.

[Zeus the God @ Jun 17th 2007 7:51AM]

Very true.

[Andy @ Jun 17th 2007 11:02AM]

You don't even know how to spell "atheist" and pretend to know about atheism. But the thing is atheism doesn't define anybody better than "unastrologer" does.

So anyway, I or others never said we were atheists (maybe I am), but the fact that *that* god, the christian god in nearly all his flavors ('cause you KNOW it has to be a man) is a dick, is pretty much uncontestable.

[Kyle @ Jun 17th 2007 1:09AM]

I like the picture Engadget has with this story :)

But the story itself is about pure bureaucratic nonsense

[Big @ Jun 17th 2007 2:15AM]

This is almost as bad as that QUAKE mod where Jesus goes up against the player's nailgun.

[John Doe @ Jun 17th 2007 5:21AM]

I doubt God herself ;-) gives a flying shit about this. The only people to care are a bunch of religious nutjobs who have a stick jammed way to far up their collective asses. Instead of focusing on bullshit like this how about they concern themselves with other more pressing issues like spousal abuse, rape, child abuse, etc. On the bright side its nice to know screwed up priorities aren't solely an American trait.

[Nick @ Jun 17th 2007 10:41AM]

unfortunately the church going group cant really give much attention to child abuse or rape because if they did they wouldn't have any church officials left to hold service.

[Xavez @ Jun 17th 2007 5:41AM]

Bad publicity = publicity as well. I really don't think this will do much harm to Sony. On the contrary :).

[Mark @ Jun 17th 2007 7:15AM]

Everytime I see an article about this story, idiots rise up on their soapbox and play hell about The Church of England.

Recreating a scene of violence, regardless of what that scene is, in a place of worship is going to cause concern for followers of that religion. That's common sense and I'm surprised that hasn't entered the thick skulls of some people. In addition, it seems that Sony haven't gone through all the necessary steps to gain permission from the Church, hence they were wrong to have this scene created in the first place. These two key facts puts Sony in the wrong, and whining about the Church taking action, which it's legally allowed to, just makes you look like a retard.

As for choosing Manchester Cathedral, that's just bad taste considering the serious problems they had with gun crime. It's probably a simple mistake, so I won't go into that.

With regards to the Church's demands, that's a whole different story. Recalling the game seems insane, yet understandable depending on which way you look at it. I don't it'll happen though. As for a donation, it is a bit cheeky, but asking for a donation that helps education towards gun crime is a lot better than sueing Sony for damages.

[Zeus the God @ Jun 17th 2007 7:54AM]

Well said. Many people in here are, indeed, too thick to understand desecration of worshiping grounds is going to cause trouble... Especially if you don't have permission.

[bob @ Jun 17th 2007 9:58AM]

exactly right . I guess whenever anybody mentions religion , the majority of people on any forum will start to hurl insults at it with some kind of false superiority . The facts dont stand a chance , if it contains a church, mosque , any kind of religious place it is automatically wrong.
Its a strange kind of athiest facism against anyone who chooses not to beleive what they believe , and infact could be called athiest fundamentalism . the only difference is that nobody seems to recognise it for what it is.
the ironic thing is that these athiest fundamentalists are so similar to the religious fundamentalists that you can easily group them together as the exact same kind of people but with a different set of core values.

[Andy @ Jun 17th 2007 11:17AM]

Yeah, Bob, you really need to read up about free and critical thinking. Atheism is only a tiny part of our views. It has pretty much the same influence in our lives as a-fairyism and a-unicornism. Only that fairyists and unicornists don't come defending the indefensible every time someone "insults" their beliefs, nor want to teach such nonsense to children in schools, nor want to claim special rights like tax breaks.

Back to the original subject, the church is hypocritical. If you wanna demand money, fucking demand it! Don't pretend it's a "DONATION". That's behaving like a mob clan, and that's not new for any big churches.

[zeroKnots @ Jun 18th 2007 2:25AM]

to Mark @ Jun 17th 2007 7:15AM

oh, good, sir un-cheeky is going to give us an instruction in good taste.

My sister cares for 'retards', and that you see no problem using them as your perfectly acceptable insult just shows how much your wonderful church has done for you.

BTW, 'everyday' is an adjective.

[Mark @ Jun 18th 2007 5:02AM]

Bring in the troll! Bring in the troll!

I stand by my use of the word 'retard' in the moment. If you've never heard the word used as a sign of calling someone a complete idiot, then you've been living in a cave for far too long.

In addition, you assume that I'm a member of the Church of England. Your assumption is incorrect, so once again another argument proves a poster's idiocy.

With regards to your final point, thank you Captain Obvious for pointing that out. I do use more than one site for reading the news, so using 'everyday' would have been incorrect.

[Mark @ Jun 18th 2007 5:04AM]

Comment, not moment.

Well done to myself for failing to proof read :)

[Kei @ Jun 17th 2007 9:41AM]

As I said, I think it's funny how we should ask permission to use a Church in a shooting game, where other games blow up Mosques all the time. *sighs at hypocritical world*

A Muslim complains, he's denying free speech.
A Christian complains, it's fair.