Sony says sorry after cathedral uproar
Resistance: Fall of Man is set in an alternate 1950s world
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Friday, 15, Jun 2007 08:28
Sony has apologised to the Church of England for including Manchester Cathedral in a violent computer game.
Resistance: Fall of Man, a game for Sony's PlayStation 3 console, featured the interior of the cathedral as one of the locations for the game's principle entertainment - shooting aliens in an alternative post-second-world-war scenario.
After furious protests from Manchester Cathedral Sony has now apologised, saying it never intended to "cause offence".
"If we have done so, we sincerely apologise," Sony said, before rejecting the Church's argument that the inclusion of the building was particularly inappropriate given Manchester's current gun crime problems.
"We do not accept that there is any 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 believe a comprehensive viewing of the work will make its content and context clear," it added.
Responding to today's development, the Dean of Manchester Cathedral thanked Sony for its apology but insisted the Church stood by its original condemnation of the game.
"We do not move from the position that we are against violence and especially the gun violence seen in this portrayal of the cathedral," the Very Reverend Rogers Govender said.