Sony, Church of England Clash Over Resistance

God's men aren't happy about the inclusion of Manchester Cathedral in the game.

Resistance: Fall of Man is a re-imagining of post-World War I Europe, a time when, as the game has it, humankind is under attack by alien invaders.

A small section of Sony's PlayStation 3 launch title is set inside Manchester Cathedral, something the Church of England isn't at all happy about.

On Saturday the Church went on the offensive, telling the Associated Press that the game was "sick" and that Sony should apologize and withdraw the game or face possible legal action.

The Very Rev Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester Cathedral told The Times he had a seen a clip of the scene set in the cathedral. "We are shocked to see a place of worship, prayer, learning and heritage being presented to the youth of today as a location where guns can be fired," he said.

Sony was quick to respond. Spokesman David Wilson told The Times that Resistance: Fall of Man is "game-created footage, it is not video or photography. It is entertainment, like Doctor Who or any other science fiction. It is not based on reality at all".

Whether the footage is realistic or not is a "red-herring", David Marshall, director of communications for Manchester Cathedral, told Kikizo. He said the Church was objecting to the notion of guns being brought into a virtual version of the cathedral.

Manchester is a city that has been haunted by gun crime, with three people shot there in as many days recently.

Marshall said that he had not played the game himself. Rather a press-cutting agency had alerted the Church after picking up a reference to the cathedral in a game review on a website. Marshall said that he had since seen clips of the scenes set inside the cathedral on YouTube.

Marshall reiterated the Church of England's allegation that Sony had no permission to use the cathedral in the game.

That's not what Sony says. In a statement released on Monday, the company said it had "sought and received all permissions necessary" to recreate the cathedral.

At least part of the issue seems to rest on whether the cathedral can be thought of as a public space or not. Ted Price, head of Resistance developer Insomniac Games, told The Times that an environment artist had visited the church for research.

Sony could not be reached for further comment on this story. Canon Paul Denby of Manchester Cathedral told The Times: "I think they are going to be in for a surprise because we are not going to let this one go."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo