CHURCH leaders are urging Sony to donate part of the profits from a controversial computer game to charities fighting gun crime in Manchester.
The electronics giant set the violent Playstation 3 game inside Manchester Cathedral. The Dean of Manchester, the Very Rev Rogers Govender, wants the company to donate some of the profits from Resistance: The Fall Of Man to Manchester, to charity.
He said using the 800-year-old cathedral as a backdrop to a bloody battle scene threatened to undermine much of the work the cathedral does to combat gun crime.
He said: "Every year we invite hundreds of teenagers to come and see the cathedral so that they might appreciate an alternative to the violence that they experience in their daily lives. It is a shame to have a game like this undermining such important work.
"It is well known that Manchester has serious gun-crime problems and, for many young people, these games offer a different sort of reality.
"Seeing guns in Manchester Cathedral is not the sort of connection we want them or anyone to make.
"For a global manufacturer to re-create 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."
He demanded the immediate withdrawal of the game and wants no re-issue of it until the section involving the cathedral is removed.
The Dean is also demanding an apology from Sony and a 'substantial donation' to the Church of England Education Department for work with those aged 18-30 and other agencies `in resisting the culture of gun crime and other forms of violence in our society'.
And he warned Sony: "We are currently seeking the advice of our lawyers."
Pressure has been growing on the computer giant to remove the £40 game from sale.
The Church of England says the firm had no permission to use the images and that it was `the most inappropriate' setting for a violent shooting game.
Sony claimed that it had 'all permissions necessary' to use the images in the game - and refused to withdraw it from sale.
The company said it would be in contact with the Church of England to discuss the matter privately.
Manchester Cathedral spokesman David Marshall said the company could face a backlash in Japan and its share price could be hit as many Japanese people had been 'upset' at the situation.
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In the game, you kill aliens in a pre-wwII fantasy setting. In something like 28 Days Later, zombie humans are in a church in the present day, and the zombie priest chases the main character. Which is worse?
typical hypocritical church. 'ban the game, or give us a share in the profit' what do they want thirty pieces of silver?
Are they trying to say there's a link between violent video games and gun crime? That's nonsense, we all have freewill and cannot blame our misdemeanors on outside factors.
To be honest, I am disgusted at the church's money grasping attitude. Are they saying the game is OK now as long as they get a slice of the profits ? The church needs better PR than this to pursuade people to return. It's no wonder hardly anyone goes anymore. Be thankful for your jobs in the church because within 50 years, there won't be many left due to their hypocritical stance on virtually everything.
I've written a long piece looking at the legal issues on our blog. It's at impact.freethcartwright.com/2007/06/church_of_engla.html
The church are asking for a donation to charity, not for the money to be put into their own coffers.
Thec church is entitled to do this, and Sony should comply for not seeking the cathedral's permission beforehand.
Why should Sony pay this church anything? They con more money out of desperate people than anyone. Oh, and they should pay tax too. Religion is a scam.
Pandora: the church needs all the readies it can get its hands on at the moment. Both the C of E and RC church are paying out large sums to people assaulted by priests, vicars etc. Come on Sony, dig deep - its for a very good cause.
Not as worthwhile as Sony's global revenue, granted Mr Bean, but in terms of using images without permission, making a donation to charity is perfectly fair in my opinion.
Sony would doubtless work themselves into a lather if anyone decided to use their logo without permission.
Put some of your millions to a good cause, Sony.
I live in Manchester and have seen many TV programmes filmed here.
I pay Manchester council tax that pay for the roads that they use to film on and around.
Therefore, I would like a percentage of profits from programmes like Cold Feet, Coronation Street, Shameless etc. It is only right.
With all the money at their disposal, Sony would have been far better using a different setting for the part of their game that has offended so many. They should give a decent percentage to the charities fighting gun crime in our city and should be happy to do so.
Well I for one think Sony were very brave - offering to secure the wrath of millions of muslims by using the inside of a mosque as one of their backdrops for a game of carnage - at last a company bold enough to be repected for upholding the principle of free speech, freedom of expression, deserving to be admired for its stand .......... what? it was a cathedral? ..........oh that's all right then, never mind.....
Why use a real location for the game anyway? Are Sonys game designers this lacking in imagination or is it a cynical ploy to attract publicity to make the game a hit?
The Hypocrisy of the church beggars belief.
By the power vested in me by my self righteous faith system based on beleifs constructed 2000 years ago in a society were opium was legal and widely used, I demand money for the loose reference to our church in a science fiction game!
No evidence that computer games encourage violence?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1923719.ece
You would think that these church people would have something better to be doing than moaning about a computer game.I know its a shooting game but it wont cause mass shootings around manchester will it
mike s, that doesn't hold water. the guy in that story was clearly demented in the first place. it was only a matter of time before he attacked someone whether he played games or not. i notice there's no mention of any specific game - a little vague, hmm?