News / Entertainment
Church demands donation from Sony because of PS3 game
The Church of England is demanding a donation and apology from Sony. The Church of England said Sony did not seek their permission before using the image of the church in a violent game.
The Play Station 3 game called "Resistance: Fall of Man" is a game about shoot-outs between humans and aliens and has sold more than one million copies. The game uses the inside of the cathedral for a battle scene.
Sony is criticized for choosing the cathedral in Manchester because the city has so much gun violence and many young people have died as a result. Every year the church holds a candlelight memorial for all who have been killed by gun violence.
Leaders of the church accuse Sony of "desecration" of the church because of the game's use of "a place of worship."
The dean of the church, Reverend Rogers Govender, said that Sony’s game created something the church did not want to be involved with and described the use of the church by Sony as "beyond belief."
Church officials want the game to stop being sold or they want the section that shows the church taken out of the game. They have described Sony’s decision to put the church in the game as "sick and sacrilegious" and want an apology for using the image of the church without permission.
Govender said the church is seeking a donation from Sony to the church’s work with young people.
"For a global manufacturer to recreate one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible. Here in Manchester we do all we can to support communities through our parish clergy; we know the reality of gun crime and the devastating effects it can have on the lives -- it is not a trivial matter," said the Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCulloch.
Sony has confirmed that the Manchester Cathedral’s image was used in the game and stated that Sony is taking the complaint seriously.
"We are now in contact with the Cathedral authorities and will be dealing with them directly," a Sony spokesman said.
