Apparently the Church Of Engand is threatening legal action against Sony, as Manchester Cathedral’s nave appears in Resistance: Fall Of Man ‘without permission’.
Manchester’s clergy seem to be getting particularly hot under the dog collar about this one because of the city’s ‘gun crime’ reputation, claiming the game is undermining their work.
Read more about it here
This annoys me not because they’re taking a pop at the church (which sets itself up for it sometimes, although I do wonder what that reporter said to get that kind of reaction) but because of this assumed ‘gun crime’ reputation. Manchester does not have any such reputation. Or at least it didn’t until now.. this will be quoted all over the world thanks to some bored reporter on a slow news day.
Comment by Tony — Jun 9, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
What a stupid story. Resistance is a fictionalised account of a war between humans and hybrid / aliens set in the 50s. By the time of the story, Manchester is already a ruins. How does it possibly affect the Church of England that some game chooses to set part of one level in a ruined medieval cathedral? More to the point what legal grounds if any do they have to object? It’s not like the game is set in the real cathedral, or even filmed there. This is all rather extraordinary and rather silly. Further more, just about every European WWII game and movie has featured a church at some point, some obviously filmed in real churches. The movie “The Eagle Has Landed” even has a battle in a real English church. So the whole story seems legally dubious, rather hypocritical and quite silly given the context.
Comment by DrXym — Jun 9, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
why are they going after Sony? They didnt make the game, Insomniac made it. seems to be that since Sony lost the suit with the Rumble, every company/insitution has to have a crack at a payout
Comment by Jay — Jun 9, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
How do they know it takes place in “there” church? Didn’t think a Priest would be playing a FPS. ^_^
Comment by Chad — Jun 9, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
What a load of nonsense. A bit like religion really…
Comment by Mark Gillespie — Jun 9, 2007 @ 4:35 pm
Seems like a church attempt at getting some publicity for itself by mouthing off about something young people are interested in. Perhaps if the game had featured people being stoned to death, rather than shot, as the bible frequently prescribes, they would have been happier.
Comment by Tolstoy — Jun 9, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
Well, I think the Church of England has no case. That is an alternative reality so it stands to reason the actual church cannot be sullied but the use of the alternative reality church. Now if we start received burst “tachyon transmission†from alternative universes and they can prove that their reality is similar to the reality of that game. In that case maybe that Alternative church can sue, but only if we can confirm they all wear sinister alternative reality goatees.
Comment by Monkey — Jun 9, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
Religion is the sucks
Comment by Ben Furneaux — Jun 9, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
@Jay, I think Insomniac is owned by Sony?
@Ben Furneaux, I believe the expression is “teh sux” ;p.
~Grauw
Comment by Laurens Holst — Jun 9, 2007 @ 6:57 pm
@Laurens
No Insomniac is not owned by Sony they are a independant game company that chooses to work only on Playstation hardware.
“Founded in 1994, Insomniac Games is an independent game developer based in beautiful downtown Burbank”
http://www.insomniacgames.com/about.php
Comment by VirtualGamer — Jun 9, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
Considering the amount of war and death caused by religion over the centuries, there seems to be a fair bit of pot and kettle name calling going on here.
Or is killing in the name of god justifiable to these people?
Comment by Novak — Jun 9, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
CoE need to get off their high horse and grow up. The game is not reality, it features a whole host of UK places.
Do they really have nothing better to do with their time than complain about a fictional game? People’s kids are being abducted and this is what they’re concerned about. Disgraceful.
And they wonder why people aren’t interested in religion…
Comment by Paul — Jun 9, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
Just as well the Pope didn’t get caught out in the conversion game then aye?
Comment by LordOfRuin — Jun 9, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Ridiculous - it took them an awful long time to become outraged, didn’t it? Six months since its original US release?
Non-story of the year?
Comment by Stu — Jun 9, 2007 @ 10:48 pm
1: Stop selling the game in Manchester.
2: Slap a “Banned in England!!!” sticker on all the copies sold on the rest of the planet.
3: PROFIT.
Comment by androvsky — Jun 10, 2007 @ 12:48 am
someone hate sony, since the brilliant GDC and Gamer`s Day presentations, almost everyone wants to put a demand against it so Sony go bankrut. please leave Sony alone. why do you hate it so much? it Sony took their girlfriend? took their houses? they have the Blu Ray disc demand, Security demand, Rumble feature demand, now this one, Whats next? a Demand against Warhawk for their planes are from a TOP SECRET proyect, or, the SIXAXYS is from other company, or the PLAYSTATION 3/SPIDERMAN 3 are using the same type of letters?
Comment by krelian — Jun 10, 2007 @ 3:55 am
Another frivolous lawsuit, what else is new?
Comment by DirtyDee — Jun 10, 2007 @ 6:46 am
SUCH RUBBISH !
Every form of media and entertainment and art gets to have their artistic freedom except video games. Movies and TV include actual photos of places and set up the most violent scenes. Do the studios get sued, no. Games are going to end up being set in fictional places with no resemblance to anything and that is just rubbish.
Comment by MASHER — Jun 10, 2007 @ 6:54 am
ps: I love my PS3 and Sony did a wonderful job with the quality. I can’t wait for R6 and Ninja Gaiden to come out.
Its just a sorry sight to see Sony attacked weekly from all sides when they are just trying to deliver a great gaming experience. Go Sony!
Comment by MASHER — Jun 10, 2007 @ 6:58 am
Hopefully, one day our civilization will have grown up and finally shed religion into the dustbin of superstitions.
Comment by john — Jun 10, 2007 @ 7:30 am
Ahahaha… the good thing is, the Church is publising R:FOM - they played the fight scene inside the church on the news last night.
The whole case is total bollocks and no doubt will fail. Its a fictional computer simulation.
Comment by Tom Eccles — Jun 10, 2007 @ 10:08 am
hah i saw this on the main news on tv earlier lool
Comment by James — Jun 10, 2007 @ 10:42 am
The hypocrisy of the Church of England beggers belief!
Maybe we in the gaming community should get together and sue the church for all the REAL wars they have been the root cause of and which have caused the REAL deaths of countless millions.
Comment by Cerberus — Jun 10, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
if anyone actually pays attention to this story then it will become one of those ‘infamous’ video games like manhunt and gta.
sounds lie a silly issue that wouldnt stand up in court. if insomniac get past this problem, then they can expect even better sales like gta and manhunt received after their ‘bad’ publiity.
Comment by andy — Jun 10, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
What a load of bull. Saw the headline on the news early this morning. A game ‘based’ in Manchester Cathedral. lol, bullsh*t!
Comment by Obli — Jun 10, 2007 @ 9:10 pm
R:FOM is fiction. Just like god, then.
The CoE are a bunch of fools.
Comment by Joel — Jun 10, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
News just in: Sales of RFOM up by 500%
Comment by Ricky — Jun 11, 2007 @ 12:37 am
so now the church wants a donation, lol.
they are the physical incarnation of so called virtue gone corrupt and greedy.
in religion you find the worst hypocrites of them all, pretending to be so high on their horse when we all know the bloody and hatefull history of christianity. the history of murders, pedophilias and all kinds off sick shit
at least they could have played nice sport but now thats its all blown up
i expect you to give them nothing
Comment by baddaboo — Jun 11, 2007 @ 6:26 am
I’m a Christian and regardless of what people think of that I’m in agreement with everyone else (about the game complaint anyway!) It’s stupid and petty and completely immature by everyone complaining. It’s just completely ridiculous, I hope it does turn positive and that Sony can come out the other side with RFOM2!
Comment by JFIV5 — Jun 11, 2007 @ 9:59 am
The worst thing about this is the surreptitious manner in which the whole games=gun crime bull**** has received media coverage. It truly beggars belief that people can be so unbelievably dumb to belive that Resistance is “undermining” the CoE’s anti-gun crime propaganda. They are obviously ignorant of the facts and as such should be ignored.
The media is just as bad. I was very disappointed with the way the BBC handled this. Completely lacking in objectiveness and intelligence. Very, very poor…
Comment by Slacky — Jun 11, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
I have to agree with the majority here, this organised religeon crap has caused more problems than it’s solved.
worship a god brought about through a book written centuries ago by a load of bored people.
Do me a favour! Get real…
Comment by Xeauron — Jun 11, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
Too bad about this unfounded attack on Sony in Europe. Here’s hoping that the church over there pulls their ’stuff’ together and realizes what they’re doing is asinine.
If anything, Sony should get w/the Resistance developers and come up with more than a few new maps that specifically mimic the cathedral in question…maybe even with some politically-charged graffiti…
Comment by Matt — Jun 11, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
O_o
Is there a priest playing Resistance?
How much is M$ paying them for this?
People in religion go against the teachings they teach so why bother with a single game.
Crimes against humanity, crimes against children commited without punishment, GOD doesn`t need men, men need GOD as an excuse, so why bother over a game?
It`s Sir Reeves fault, he shouldn`t have talked about the game selling so well.
GOD BLESS US ALL 4 BEING GAMERS
GOD BLESS SONY
Comment by GabranthPT — Jun 11, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
I have policed Mancester, and I can tell you for a fact this was all here before sony and micosoft were around. So my reply to the church of England get a grip and try and make money somewhere else, just because the people who care about your opions are getting old and passing away, dont come here with you stupid claims and talk to the real people about why they commit crime.
Comment by Jason — Jun 11, 2007 @ 8:11 pm
If the CoE is really serious about reducing gun crime, they should offer people to trade in their real guns for a PS3 and a copy of resistence … thats what the police in Mexico are doing. http://www.gamespot.com/pages/news/story.php?sid=6168193&part=rss&subj=6168193
Comment by Ken — Jun 11, 2007 @ 9:04 pm
This isn’t funny, on my way home today I was accosted by two hoodies with Augers!
Comment by iain — Jun 11, 2007 @ 10:13 pm
The war is againsr hybrids…..
Maybe the church believe in hybrids :D.
YES SONY!!
NO CHURCH !!!
Comment by Eduardo — Jun 11, 2007 @ 10:15 pm
If anyone wants to complain, here’s the contact address for Manchester Cathedral:
manchesterdbf@manchester.anglican.org
I suggest you remember, this is a church. Be polite but firm. Here’s mine:
“I just read of your attack on a video game… Let me emphasize the word “GAME”. I have to say this is the most ridiculous waste of time I’ve ever seen.
You have no more control over what programmers put into a game than you would over what a novelist uses as a scene in a book. To imply that video game players are incapable of telling the difference between fantasy and reality, particularly when that fantasy involves defending the planet from wicked aliens, is quite beyond the pale.
The game “Resistance: Fall of Man” has absolutely nothing to do with disrespecting the church in general or Manchester Cathedral in particular. It does nothing to encourage people to bring guns to church, which is the main implication of your complaint. All in all all your complaint is doing is making the church look even more clueless to the youth of the world and make them less inclined to take part in church services.
I encourage you to drop the matter before it ends up making you look even more silly than it does now. Issue a nice apology along the lines of “We’re sorry we implied that gamers can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality when in fact it was our own perception that was clouded.” and let the matter drop.”
Comment by Jordan Lund — Jun 11, 2007 @ 10:52 pm
YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING…
The story line takes place in 1940-50s with an alternate history. Does the church even know what the game is about? They take ONE section of the game and demand the game being removed from shelves while demanding a donation!
I think this can be sumed up in one word:
RETARDED.
Comment by Nynja — Jun 12, 2007 @ 1:10 am
man…this is just another in a long line of overly sensitive people who could care less about games. Las Vegas, Mexico and NY have all recently tried to sue companies based on game locales (Rainbow 6, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and GTA4 respectively). i mean, movies take place in these locations all the time that show violence, demonic spirits, zombies, terrorists, but games are a threat? c’mon. talk about a crock. lol.
and who was the choir boy or priest that actually played Resistance? lol. i think the catholic church has enough issues on its plate to not worry about a video game that came out 8 MONTHS AGO!
Comment by SDkngsht — Jun 12, 2007 @ 1:13 am
Hah! It’s public right to take pictures for example from famous/public/not so public buildings and use them anyway you wan’t. Man people can forget anything. Even photograph of somebody elses sculpture for example, is regarded as your art (offcourse, the only way it should be).
Comment by Heikki — Jun 12, 2007 @ 1:13 am
Hmm, how about this…the PS3 is just an overpriced piece of crap. $600…seriously, the only thing I would drop that much money on is a computer that can do other things than play games, like let you communicate with other individuals out side of the video game world. Also, the only two games even worth getting on PS2 were RE and GTA, both of which are coming to the 360 as well as the PS3. What system sellers does the PS3 have? Certainly nothing that a normal person would pay $600 to play. “PS3 pwns Xbox 360″ is what each one of you will whine to me. But I have to ask this of you. Where is your argument? Why would someone put down $600 when you can pay $400 and have just as good of an experience. If one of you says the graphics are better on PS3 I will go to your house and beat your head in because thats a load of BS. My friend, who will be mentioned later on, has a PS3. We took my 360 and plugged it into my Westinghouse 27″ LCD TV, and his PS3 into his Westinghouse 26″ LCD TV. Both are the same resolution (1080i). We put COD3 in both and fired them up. The universal opinion between the fifteen of us was that 360 looked better. Then we tried Rainbow 6 Vegas, same vote. My high school class consists of around 200 people. A good 30 of them have Xbox 360’s. And you wanna know how many people have PS3’s? One person does, and there trading it in for a 360 when Halo 3 comes out. Makes you wonder dosn’t it? Oh, and theres a little something called XBOX LIVE. “But it costs $50 a year.” Hey loser…how much money do you spend on your WOW account a year? What you get from Xbox Live is worth the money over that crap-tastic online service Sony provides. Its time you hardcore Sony fanboys suck it up and admit your wrong. Face it, the Playstation is going down the crapper and your going with it. I’de abandon ship now and go with the more sensible option.
Comment by Rawley — Jun 12, 2007 @ 3:07 am
they must have been low on donations last week. would god sue? WWJD??
Comment by silentknight — Jun 12, 2007 @ 5:04 am
LOL @ Rawley. Hello are you there? come back to earth dude, but while you’re up there tell the COE to come down too.
Comment by GhOsTeDgE — Jun 12, 2007 @ 8:07 am
Hey Rawley,
Now listen go off and play with your xbox 360 like a good lad and i,m sure this xmas your mommy & daddy will buy you some more games for it and make sure they extend the warranty for it also.
There’s a good lad.
Comment by Mark J — Jun 12, 2007 @ 8:29 am
Good to see the Church of England’s so on the ball with this. It’s taken them less than…errr…several months to notice. Maybe someone should set up R:FOM location tours and give the CoE a cut of the proceeds. Or if they’re that desperate for cash, maybe CoE should sell the game in the cathedral shop? Or have an “as featured in the best selling computer game R:FOM” poster outside the cathedral to get more younger people in?
PS Rawley, “only two games…worth getting on PS2″? Maybe you should attend more math classes so you can count further…
Comment by Julio C — Jun 12, 2007 @ 9:27 am
No one has a PS3 here anyway so what does it matter but I do think places of religion should be respected and permission should have been obtained first
Comment by vince — Jun 12, 2007 @ 9:40 am
First of all, I respect everyone’s opinions on this page and their comments. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, comments and freedom of speech. I think that is sacred.
However, in defence of religion (Christianity in particular - not CoE itself), I must object to this ’scene’ in this, other games and indeed any film that demotes and portrays religion in a violent or any other way that deviates from its original message. Why isn’t a church ever portrayed in a positive light or used for what it’s purpose actually is, in ANY game you care to mention? I don’t know how Resistance ends but why can’t the human victory be held in a church? Or the mourning of those who gave their lives to save humanity be held there? Or the signing of the truce with the Chimera (or would that be too peaceful an ending to such a game?) be held there? Or indeed just one of those cut-scenes containing a soldier praying for victory there? Why is it that guns and murder and violence (whether real, fictional or virtual) has to be committed at a place of worship?
I understand it’s fictional or virtual but that doesn’t mean it should be done. Forget the CoE. I’m more concerned about this as an offensive scene (note I’m not condemning the whole game or the industry itself, because I’m an avid fan) that really did not need to be there. Would it have caused any controversy if the church locale was changed for an abandoned warehouse or hospital instead and just kept religion completely out of it? That would’ve kept the CoE out and no gamer would’ve cared where the scene is based anyway, right?
I live in the United Kingdom and I’ve been a traveller in my job for over 15 years, and have travelled to places like Manchester many, many times. And NEVER have I seen or been the victim of any crime there or elsewhere. That doesn’t mean it does not exist. That doesn’t mean it does not happen. That does not mean that it isn’t prevalent in certain parts of, possibly, all major cities. But that also does not mean that ALL of Manchester is like that (or anywhere else in the UK or the world). The church’s comments should not be taken out of context, also, because they probably work with those of poor backgrounds, those who come from criminal backgrounds and deprived areas and those who’ve had a challenging youth and upbringing. Again, very common themes that everyone can appreciate but still quite rare, generally speaking. So the CoE is not really saying anything harmful, are they? Do not judge them for trying to defend something that they firmly believe in and experience every day – one must look with better eyes and be more understanding. Their actions may well be a last resort, in order to defend their faith any way they can.
I’ve personally experienced a situation whereby my reputation was at stake and the stigma that my ex-employer wished to place on me would’ve been stapled on every subsequent job application I made and I couldn’t accept that, especially when I thought that I was being wronged for no fault of my own, nor provocation. So I had to defend myself and not accept their actions. The CoE is not doing anything different from that and I would expect everyone else to do the same, should their freedoms be curtailed, their rights threatened or indeed outright lies be spread about them. This is no different from any such personal scenarios.
Unfortunately, by the very fact that some comments on here say things like “religion sucks”, “it’s fiction, like God” etc. Indicates to me that the people who make the comments have no real understanding of what faith is. More like their views are ’sampled’ (listen to Pet Shops Boys “DJ Culture†track to understand what I’m saying) from what they’ve read, seen and heard about religion in the media and other sources or had a bad encounter. They’ve not really attempted in the slightest to understand its true message - as a way of life and a code of practice. It is known very well that Western civilisation has clearly used religion as an excuse to commit some dreadful things in the past and present (and, unfortunately and undoubtedly, the future as well) but that STILL doesn’t encompass everyone who believes in God! Do not judge me by what someone else did hundreds of years ago in the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition or the more recent Iraq War etc. etc.
It’s a dangerous state of affairs when everyone is not just content with being an atheist (or however you wish to describe yourself, I’m not labelling anyone) but does not tolerate those who still believe in God. That’s the most dangerous time I can think of, because I and many like me, would then be persecuted simply for our ‘beliefs’! Wouldn’t that smack of the same thing that the Roman Empire did to early Christians? Anyway, I don’t want to be on a “high horse†about this – just saying that we should be tolerant of everyone, even those who still believe that there is a God in Heaven and his only Son died for our sins. There should be room for everyone. That’s all.
It’s true that there are subliminal messages in all kinds of media that go directly against Christianity and what it stands for (this is proven, because it’s also described in The Bible itself - see Revelations), so as someone who practices a religion (but also loves playing games - still can’t afford the PS3 though!), I find myself in an internal conflict with my beliefs and want to play such games. Has anyone considered such feelings of someone like me?
If you do not believe in God, religion, Christianity or any other form of faith in a higher being, that’s fine with me. My religion advises me to be tolerant of all views, and I am. But not when those views frivolously attack something that’s close to my heart and in such an unprovoked manner.
To keep the CoE ‘protest’ and ‘objections’ in perspective and to understand their true reasons (the comment in this page that says “how much did M$ pay CoE?†did make me laugh), I would like to give Insomniac (and who ever publishes the sequel to Resistance) a challenge: Make a violent scene in the sequel based in a Muslim Mosque in Bradford, or have the finale where the ‘nest’ of the Chimera is actually smack in the middle of a Jewish Synagogue in Golder’s Green in North London and let’s see what happens on the very day of the release of the sequel…
Comment by Zed Zee — Jun 12, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
ZedZee:
What a long-winded rant… in which you demonstrate how little you know about video games.
I’ve played plenty of games in which churches are places of sanctity (usually the place where you save your game).
There’s a mosque level in the online fps shooter “Counterstrike” too.
I imagine Manchester Cathedral was chosen for no other reason than it makes a pretty yet ironic backdrop to the in-game action… much like the scores of non-religious couples who get married every week in C of E churches.
Why don’t you do a little research before getting on your high horse?
Comment by Mothra — Jun 12, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
Reading all of the above comments, there seem to be some remarkable patterns to the critics and supporters of this game:
Supporters:
These seem to be almost entirely people who have already played this game, played through the extremely short level in which you battle aliens in a Manchester Cathedral from an alternate reality.
They seem to be able to distinguish between real life and fiction, classing the game Resistance: Fall of Man as the latter. they also seem to place this particular scene in the game within the same context as countless other video games, films and television programs that use church buildings as a backdrop to whatever action they wish to portray.
Critics:
There are those that are clearly anti-Sony; usually the same crowd that for whatever reason have chosen a non-Sony games console on which to play their video games.
There are also those that have not played this particular game and, finally, those who have never played any video game in the last 15 years.
I have not heard one single rational argument or fact from the critics.
It all looks like a grubby attempt at extortion.: Why did the Church of England splash this all over the press (including a list of demands) first before approaching Sony? It was clearly a blatant attempt to shame Sony in public, thereby putting pressure on them to find the easiest way out… which is usually to settle out of court.
Is this what the Church of England now represents? Are they now an organisation that conjures up fake injuries and waits for the cash to come rolling in?
How pathetic.
Comment by Mothra — Jun 12, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
One interesting point though:
In the very short clip of the game shown on the BBC website.. the only time you see someone firing a gun, they are firing at their squad mate.. rather than at the alien enemies.
I wonder why that might be?
Comment by Mothra — Jun 12, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
So am i the only one who struggles with the concept of the earth being created in seven days ! I mean, where exactly do you start. Well, I suspect you’d need to go to college for a while and learn all about Chemistry and ’stuff’ but hang on, college doesn’t exist yet so you’ve got to make up small starters for ten….. maybe Hydrogen is a good place to start, perhaps Oxygen and Nitrogen also. Right, I’m sure there are other stuff we need but H, O and N sounds good. Right, lets slap that stuff together and see what happens…. Nuts, nothing happened because I don’t know what H, O and N is….. drat.
Idea, space has small stuff in it, and some of it is small and slightly different. Right, lets call this stuff H, O & N. okey dokey, lets slap it together….. whoohooo, H and O seems to fit and yeah baby, I’ve not got HO2. Right on baby, now then, If i use that warm yellow thing up in the sky and jumble this stuff all up together, I mean, that yellow ball has loads of that dust looking stuff up there, maybe and just maybe, in a shit load of thousands of years maybe we’ll have enough of this stuff to make a big ball. Hell yeah, and who knows, the warmth from that sun and the seemingly random H, O and N and some othe stuff like x and y ( help me out someone!! ) maybe something miraculous will form.
hmmmm, seems to me that rambling is way more likely than the seven day bollox !
Comment by Neil — Jun 12, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
typpo, “I’ve now got” and not “I’ve not got”, doh !
Comment by Neil — Jun 12, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
Well, you have to remember that the church deals with myth and superstition as a matter of being. They obviously can’t tell reality from unreality, so it isn’t surprising they’re getting upset by fantasy.
I for one read Sony’s comment as ‘Resistance is an alternative 1950’s fantasy story … just as the christian church is a 2000 year old fantasy story, neither are real, how can you tell us what we can or cannot do’.
But I suspect that reading is just wishful thinking!
Comment by mpz — Jun 12, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
The church should worry more about their sexual predator problem and less about video games.
Comment by Tim — Jun 12, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
If Sony tells the church to go F itself, I promise to buy a PS3 and the resistance fall of man game.
last i checked any publicly visible building can be depicted in any media as part of the scenery, legally.
I guess this is their new crusade for money, instead of razing countries and stealing their money, they sue now.
Comment by andrzej — Jun 12, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
Where did that Xbox retard come from?
LOL!!
And whoever said nobody has PS3s here (In the UK I presume) is sorely mistaken…
MOTHERA: I take my hat off to you mate, a point well made indeed!
Comment by Xeauron — Jun 12, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
COE needs money for more games.
SONY`s own fault for making such good games.
BTW i`m gonna sue SONY for making MOTORSTORM AN AMAZING GAME, it has taken all of my freetime, I can`t do nothing else.
Give us the update or else we really are gonna be in a bad mood.
Comment by GabranthPT — Jun 12, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
better to have people shoot things on TV instead of real life I say!
Comment by nmc75 — Jun 12, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
I like how that xbox retard uses a game that was ported to the ps3, and not built ground up on it’s architecture.
He’ll eat his words when MGS4 and such come out.
Comment by DannYH — Jun 12, 2007 @ 10:44 pm
What a greedy bunch of pigs. Ever since Sony lost the rumble suit, all these loser organisations and companies are trying to sue them as well. Ugh!
Comment by Dew — Jun 13, 2007 @ 5:12 am
Thanks for your comments, Mothra. I confess that I have not played (probably) as many games as you have, or indeed others on this page. I’m not arguing with that but I am an avid fan of the the industry as a whole.
I would hardly think that one fleeting mention of a non-Christian place of worship and churches being used for “game saves” as being a wonderful portrayal of balance or actual purpose.
How can a non-believer empathise with religion or those who believe in it, in the first place, in order to subsequently respect it?
Comments such as “sexual predator” and “go * themselves” prove my point exactly about ignorance, non-respect for something that one does not believe in, intolerance and COMPLETE misunderstanding of what Christianity really is about.
Put it simply, I promise not to “rant”, those who don’t believe in religion or court controversy should respect those who do and not use such locations and images in their films/games, unless they’re shown for what they REALLY are for.
I find it offensive and I’m sure others who feels like me do and it seems like an attack on something that’s understood very little by many people, yet is always the target from those who promote ignorance, bullying and evil in general.
Scenes of personal violation, cruelty and bullying and so on are, quite rightly, not tolerated in games; this is just another form of violation - not against an individual, but against one’s beliefs and freedom to believe in something that should be RESPECTED.
Can Sony please write a game whereby a terrorist cell is hiding in a Muslim Mosque/have a weapons stash there and an elite army squad has to go in and ‘flush them out’? I would REALLY love to see how Sony will explain themselves then…
Comment by Zed Zee — Jun 13, 2007 @ 11:13 am
Suing Sony over a game that they did not make is absolutly absurd, Insomniac created Resistance: Fall of Man. So I would like to congratulate the Church for jumping the gun and losing face with the community.
It is my beliefe that there could be better things done to prevent violent acts in or around Church settings than to publicly accuse a fictional media product for having guns in a church. So I expect the church to sue every single depictable act ever done through out history in or around a Church, Oh wait most the depictable acts are done by criminals with no money so you can’t really sue them for cash since they got none.
Maybe they should call up Jack Thompson he has plenty of experience in trying to save face after publicly humiliating himself. And Games aren’t the only form of media depicting violent acts in churches, ever read a book or watched a movie? and books don’t have a rating system to stop kids from acting out the gun fights.
Comment by Ashenshugura — Jun 13, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
This is just about money. PERIOD
Is the usual story. Movies use real locations, portrai violence, etc. and it seems to be absolutely fine.
When it comes to videogames it seems people believe they are the evil of this century.
Why don’t they focus on more important issues instead of blaming games of all the evin in the world. No one wants to take PERSONAL responsibility about their lives and they just want to blame something else for their misfortunes.
It is time people grow up and stop acting like idiots. Or maybe worry about serious issues.
Comment by Phantom — Jun 13, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
I am a Christian, but I cannot fathom what the CoE has done this day.
I have played Resistance FoM many times, and the scene that is so depicted is not exactly how its depicted.
Its been blown out of proportions… the city of Manchester has been been purty much destroyed all civilians are either dead or being turned into something… different.
The church in question is not in whole its partly destroyed like the rest of Manchester, but is used by the Americans seeking refuge. Unfortunately it was not as safe as they originally thought.
My largest concern over this entire thing is Insomniac made this game.. not sony, they are independent developers.
So this to me, is a cash cow situation since they did not go after the developers of the game.
By doing this the church is even further more distancing it self from the youth, and further creating delusion in the minds of others over religion.
I do not consider what they have demonstrated today to be in the best interests of the Lord and his followers.
Thats all im going to say.
_
Chris
Comment by Chris — Jun 13, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
Ashenshugura : I’ve heard the “Sony had nothing to do with it” argument a few times now, you must understand that Sony published the game, so as a target for any potential lawsuit, they are actually more fitting than Insomniac (the fact they’ve got deeper pockets and are a much bigger brand can’t hurt either) Note, I think they’re just fishing for a bit of publicity and that it will backfire as people will consider this to be petty.
Zed Zee : I think you’ve said too many things things that don’t stand up to much scrutiny:
1. “Scenes of personal violation, cruelty and bullying and so on are, quite rightly, not tolerated in games”; How about the almost barbaric Manhunt? The bullying in Bully (or School Daze) or the torture scene in Metal Gear Solid? (though granted, in the last example it’s you getting tortured).
2. “Can Sony please write a game whereby a terrorist cell is hiding in a Muslim Mosque/have a weapons stash there and an elite army squad has to go in and ‘flush them out’?”. Are you joking here? So what you’re saying is that because many Muslims have a tendency to be intolerant, it’s ok for Christians to also be intolerant? Get a grip my friend.
It seems to me that no-one complains when Christian religions sell off their “Sacred” buildings to property developers to make into flats, but when someone tries to make their game a bit more authentic by including virtual representations of such buildings, they’ve gone too far. Would it be ok to set a game in a church that’s been converted into yuppie flats? There’s a moral dilemma for you (hint, yes of course it’s ok). Please remember that those of us who aren’t religious are tired of having our activities constrained by arch-myth-believers (to my mind, religions have always been little more than a great way of controlling the masses.)
p.s. For the old timers out there, the first game I remember which brought guns into churches was Robocop 3. I can’t remember any furore over that!
Comment by Ray — Jun 13, 2007 @ 10:46 pm
do not pay them!!! this is about freedom of speech!
i have played PLENTY of games that have churches in them. the fact that this church is real or not does not change the fact that the game itself is NOT real
the really sad part of this story is that youre up against religion. this could be a hard nut to crack.
i wish you luck
Comment by baddabo.0 — Jun 14, 2007 @ 2:05 am
@ZedZee
my post was moderated, but dont get me wrong.. i dont hate what the church or christianity stands for. i just hate what it has become
Peace, Love and Unity are all things we should keep close to our hearts.
You see, long time ago, when people where less enlightened and a lot more violent, the leaders of men had to tell people that there was some kind of mysterious man in the sky, looking and wathing you every hour of the day. Just so that you would behave.
there is nothing wrong with that in itself, if people behave its all jolly good e?
but the power that came along was unforseen, and in the hands of greedy men, responsible for millions(?) of lives.
Nowadays we got cameras, fingerprints, DNA
and better communication than ever before. people think twice before doing something stupid
Religion is good in so many ways, but is prone to manipulation and brainwashing.
a thousand years ago we might have needed it but in our day and age, it is slowing our progress as mankind
Comment by baddabo.0 — Jun 14, 2007 @ 2:44 am
Haven’t read all the posts but my first thought when watching the news item initially was ‘get a life, it’s a game!’.
On the flip side I’ve bought the game [even though I haven't got a PS3 yet] as it’s one of the three titles I most definately want.
Isn’t that what this will do? Sell more copies of the game? I think so. Big up the church, their silly argument should do more for marketing the game than other advertising will
Comment by jaycmoore — Jun 14, 2007 @ 10:51 am
No such thing as bad publicity!
Comment by LordOfRuin — Jun 14, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Ughhh…. Why must ignorant priest like these give Christians bad names….
Anyway, the good thing is that the church has no base for a legal battle and sueing sony will be digging themselves a grave. Also demanding for it to be pulled off shelves wont happen… They think that since the are a “Church” (more like a buisness) they can do this stuff and people will follow.
Comment by ShadowedSoul — Jun 14, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
Sony has an open and shut case in my opinion, a Church design is a Church design, I am pretty sure the design had no intention of depicting the Church of England, and I would doubt that its exactly the same. I just see this as another knock to get rid of gaming. I see this as nothing more than a Jack Thompson move, which is really a shame, because last time I checked people were able to have a preference of something, and if gaming is that preference then all means let the person enjoy that preference.
Comment by PSPMAN07 — Jun 15, 2007 @ 2:42 am
This is not an issue of morality or religion. This is an issue of weather or not virtual resemblance is considered copyright infringement.
Since the church obviously would not have copywrited its actual layout, I would say that there has been no wrong committed here, as no brands or trademarks were infringed upon.
As a lawyer specializing in copywrite and trademark infringement I see this as a blatant travesty no matter the motivation behind it.
Comment by Blake G — Jun 15, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
Anyone who has actually read the bible knows how disgustingly violent it is. Hebrew armies are encouraged to comitt genocide, non believers are to be stoned to death, the founder of mono theism is happy to kill his own son. For the representatives of this belief to complain about violence in a video game is nothing short of hilarious.
Comment by phil — Jun 16, 2007 @ 12:38 am
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