Gaming
Scenes from PlayStation 3 game Resistance: Fall of Man have caused outrage with the Church of England after it was revealed the game shows Manchester Cathedral as the location for a violent shoot-out.
The PS3 title, which has sold over one million copies since its launch, sees a gun-battle at the catherdral's nave in which hundreds of enemies are killed.
The Church claims that Sony did not obtain permission to use the interior of the catherdral within the game.
The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, said featuring the cathedral in the game was "highly irresponsible", adding: "For a global manufacturer to re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have guns battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible."
The Dean of Manchester Cathedral, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, added the game was "undermining" the church. He said: "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.
"This is an important issue. For many young people these games offer a different sort of reality and seeing guns in Manchester Cathedral is not the sort of connection we want to make."
In a statement, Sony responded to the claims by saying: "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the Bishop of Manchester and the cathedral authorities... and we naturally take the concerns very seriously.
"Resistance: Fall of Man is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality. We believe we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game."
But the firm added it would be contacting the cathedral authorities on Monday "to understand their concerns in more detail".
The PS3 title, which has sold over one million copies since its launch, sees a gun-battle at the catherdral's nave in which hundreds of enemies are killed.
The Church claims that Sony did not obtain permission to use the interior of the catherdral within the game.
The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, said featuring the cathedral in the game was "highly irresponsible", adding: "For a global manufacturer to re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have guns battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible."
The Dean of Manchester Cathedral, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, added the game was "undermining" the church. He said: "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.
"This is an important issue. For many young people these games offer a different sort of reality and seeing guns in Manchester Cathedral is not the sort of connection we want to make."
In a statement, Sony responded to the claims by saying: "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the Bishop of Manchester and the cathedral authorities... and we naturally take the concerns very seriously.
"Resistance: Fall of Man is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality. We believe we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game."
But the firm added it would be contacting the cathedral authorities on Monday "to understand their concerns in more detail".
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