Manchester Cathedral officials demand apology from Sony for depiction in Resistance: Fall of Man

The Manchester Cathedral features as a backdrop in a violent computer game by Sony - Resistance: Fall of Man - and to no surprise, this has irked the church officials who have demanded an official apology from Sony. The church alleges that Sony did not ask its permission to feature the cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man game. The church officials will ask Sony to remove the visuals of the church building from the game and to give backing to its campaign of anti-guns in the city.

Sony said it had "all permissions necessary" to develop the Playstation game, titled Resistance: Fall of Man. According to the Cathedral authorities, it has received many e-mails of support.

The church is denying the arguments by Sony and has decided to take legal action against the firm. The cathedral's David Marshall said church leaders would meet on Monday to draft a letter and discuss what other action to take.

The letter which would be sent to Sony will have four demands namely, apology for using the Manchester cathedral, withdrawal of the game, or modification of the section of the game to remove the cathedral interior, Sony to make a substantial donation from the games' profits allowing the cathedral's education department to target more effectively those aged 18 to 30, and Sony to support other groups in Manchester fighting against gun crime.

The war game Resistance: Fall of Man, is a violent computer game which has already sold one million copies. The game depicts a virtual shoot-out in the cathedral's nave in which hundreds of enemies are killed.

Sony said, '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."