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Behold 'Sacred Digital Guidelines' by the Church of England
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 6th 2007 at 7:00PM }
This morning we reported that Sony had "unreservedly" apologized for the whole Resistance: Fall of Man kerfuffle for the second time. Well, the Church of England has rejected the apology -- again. This morning in our post we glanced over the "sacred digital guidelines" the Church was proposing because we had no idea what that was all about, but The Times has the details. The "Sacred Digital Guidelines" the Church is proposing entail:- Respect our sacred spaces as places of prayer, worship, peace, learning and heritage.
- Do not assume that sacred space interiors are copyright free.
- Get permission from the faith leaders who are responsible for the building interiors you want to clone.
- Support the work of those engaged in resisting the culture of gun crime and those involved in promoting the work of conflict resolution.
[Via GamePolitics]
Church of England thanks Sony for apology, it's not enough
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 16th 2007 at 8:30PM }
And here we go into week two of the Church of England vs. Sony over the use of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man. The Church of England has responded to Sony's apology letter saying that they "thank Sony for the apology" however they are not budging from their previous issues with the game and the portrayal or use of the cathedral in it.The Church of England in their statement says, "In the meeting with Sony we will discuss our outstanding demands, how this game came to be produced and where the images of the Cathedral came from." Those outstanding demands? Oh, removing the game from store shelves for the use of guns (to protect the planet from Aliens in an alternate time line) within the church and a "substantial donation."
Please find the full text of Sony's apology letter after the break including the Church of England's full response
[Via GamePolitics]
Sony says sorry to Church of England
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 15th 2007 at 9:25PM }
Sony has apologized to the Church of England about any offense that may been caused regarding the use of Manchester Cathedral in the game Resistance: Fall of Man. Sony says, ""It was not our intention to cause offense by using a representation of Manchester Cathedral in chapter eight of the work ... If we have done so, we sincerely apologize."Sony confirmed the letter is legit and says that they also offered to meet with the Church to discuss their grievances. The Very Rev. Rogers Govender said they'll accept the offer to meet, but says they've still got issues. Yeah, like where's their money? The Church of England went into this for a payday. Originally the Church started off saying they were shocked that a "place of learning, prayer and heritage [was] being presented to the youth market as a location where guns can be fired," but in the end, it just comes down to money.
Sony's letter did make one point very clear. There is no 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." We'll see what happens after Sony meets with the Church. Ethically, the final outcome should be announced publicly considering the Church made such a public stink in the first place.
Update: We did contact Sony to receive the full contents of the letter abridged by the AP. They informed us they are not making the letter public. Sony also said, "We believe that our letter adequately sets out our position and we look forward to showing the Cathedral authorities the game in its full context."
Update 2: The Sony letter as reprinted by the Church of England found after the break
Church of England asks Japanese to join campaign
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 14th 2007 at 9:00AM }
The Associated Press reports the Church of England is now asking the people of Japan to join their campaign against Sony and the game Resistance: Fall of Man, which has one scene of fighting aliens in an artistic rendition of Manchester Cathedral during an alternate time line. Ready to watch the AP drop the ball just like CNN? Here we go, the AP reports, "The new PlayStation 3 game, 'Resistance: Fall of Man,' involves a virtual shootout between rival gunmen with hundreds of people killed inside the cathedral. Church officials have described Sony's alleged use of the building as 'sick' and sacrilegious." OK kids, what's wrong with that paragraph? Looks like somebody didn't even bother to Google the game.
The Church of England says they have received a "silent response on the issue" from Sony since contacting them on Monday and deem it "not acceptable behavior." Sony says it's in talks, which the Church denies, and even Prime Minister Tony Blair chimed in yesterday with his thoughts on the issue. The Church of England stands by their claim that "for a global manufacturer to recreate the interior of any religious building such as a mosque, synagogue, or in this case, a cathedral, with photo realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun battles in the building is beyond belief and in our view highly irresponsible." The Church, speaking through the Very Rev. Rogers Govender, said they want an apology ... and a "substantial donation" to the Church's education department. Money makes everything better.
[Via GamePolitics]
Tony Blair comments on Church of England's Sony issue
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 13th 2007 at 6:55PM }
Make some popcorn and grab some drinks because Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has now publicly commented on the Church of England's issue with Resistance: Fall of Man. During the Prime Minister's questions (which is fantastic television viewing BTW) the MP for Manchester Central asked, "Would the Prime Minister agree with me then that when Sony used images of Manchester Cathedral as part a game which extols gun violence, this was not only in bad taste but also very, very insulting to not simply the Church of England, but people across the land who think it's inappropriate that big corporations behave in this way?"Mr. Blair's response? Quite "meh" in tone and execution. Blair said, "I agree with my honourable friend. I think it's important that any of the companies engaged in promoting these types of goods have some sense of responsibility and also some sensitivity to the feelings of others ... I think it is important that people understand there is a wider social responsibility as well as an interior responsibility for profits." So, that means what exactly?
We wish we could get a better idea oh how this kerfuffle is really going down in England. Any Brits want to comment? So far, what we know is that Sony is handling the situation through their Europe branch quietly. Meanwhile, developer of Resistance, Insomniac Games, is keeping their mouth shut and not saying anything either. This whole situation is becoming very Alice in Wonderland. Alice might say, "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?"
Update: Changed Blair from PM of England to PM of United Kingdom. Please pardon our oversight citizens of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Eastern Bavaria.
Insomniac staying out of Church vs. Sony scandal
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 12th 2007 at 9:25PM }
Insomniac is making themselves quite a bit of controversy six months after the game's release (well, three for England). Not bad for a company that made its name on cutesy violent epics like Spyro and Ratchet and Clank. How will this all end? Who knows, but the drama moving a couple PS3 units can do nothing but help Sony at this point, especially if the NPD numbers come in as badly as predicted. Go on controversy, help sell consoles!
Church of England seeks to remove Resistance from shop shelves
by Jem Alexander { Jun 9th 2007 at 6:40PM }
The Church of England today has stated that if Sony do not remove Resistance: Fall of Man from the shelves then it will consider legal action. The Church is outraged at Insomniac's inclusion of the nave of Manchester Cathedral in the game. More specifically, that they "encourage people to have guns battles in the building." Why the C of E have chosen now, seven months after its original release and two months since it was made available in Europe, is a mystery.
The worry seems to be that people will assume that shooting a gun within the cathedral is "acceptable" and try to emulate it in real life. Or that it will act as a catalyst to increase the already present gun-crime problem in the city. The Church of England seems to have the idea that Resistance "shows a virtual shoot-out in the cathedral's nave in which hundreds of soldiers are killed". This is only true if you consider crawling Chimera beasties as "soldiers." The cathedral section is a very small fraction of the entire game, lasting only 20 minutes, if that. It contains only alien enemies, as the rest of the game does, and includes no cutscenes or story elements which show a single human death.
Sony have yet to officially respond to the Church but a spokesman told the Times newspaper that "It is entertainment, like Doctor Who or any other science fiction. It is not based on reality at all." He also states that permission was sought when necessary, throughout the entire development process. Funny that they mention Doctor Who, considering the recent episode which ended with a man transforming into a monster and chasing his victims through Southwark Cathedral before being killed. We wonder if we'll see a battle to get those DVDs removed from shelves, once they're released.
[Thanks to everyone who told us about this]
Church of England threatens Sony with lawsuit
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 9th 2007 at 10:23AM }
The church that Henry VIII created is thinking about suing Sony for featuring Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man. The Church of England is offended, six months after the game's release, that there is a shoot-out in the cathedral's nave (fancy way of saying "in the middle" of the church). Sony says they got permissions where it was required for the game. The Church says Sony didn't ask permission and they want an apology and the removal of the game from store shelves ... or they're gonna sue Sony, sucka!
The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch says it was "highly irresponsible" for Sony to feature the cathedral in the game because Manchester is known to have a gun problem. But, he does say that they did "re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality." So, all in all, it's almost a back-handed compliment. Then the Very Revd Rogers Govender says, "We are shocked to see a place of learning, prayer and heritage being presented to the youth market as a location where guns can be fired." Oh mercy.
Sony told The Times newspaper that Resistance uses "game-created footage, it is not video or photography." And they go on to say that it is entertainment and not based in reality, they "sought permission where necessary." Well, this oughta help sell a few copies of the game and a couple PS3s. Maybe it'll even get a few people to check out the church. Good show Church of England, good show.
[Thanks to all who sent this in]
