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Prime Minister gives his views on Resistance controversy News
PlayStation 3 News by Ellie Gibson
Boss of the UK Tony Blair has joined the debate over the Church's complaints regarding Resistance: Fall of Man, telling parliament that companies must jolly well take a bit of responsibility for the impact their products have.
During today's Prime Minister's Questions Tony Lloyd, MP for Manchester Central, began by observing, "When large organisations like Sony find their copyright has been breached, they're very quick to use the law." (Presumably he was a big Lik-Sang fan.)
Lloyd continued, "Would the Prime Minister agree with me then that when Sony used images of Manchester Cathedral as part a game which extols gun violence, this was not only in bad taste but also very, very insulting to not simply the Church of England, but people across the land who think it's inappropriate that big corporations behave in this way?"
Blair replied, "I agree with my honourable friend. I think it's important that any of the companies engaged in promoting these types of goods have some sense of responsibility and also some sensitivity to the feelings of others.
"I think this is an immensely difficult area, the relationship between what happens with these games and its impact on young people," the prime minister went on.
"I've no doubt this debate will go on for a significant period of time, but I do agree. I think it is important that people understand there is a wider social responsibility as well as an interior responsibility for profits."
News emerged at the weekend that the Church of England is demanding an apology from Sony for the depiction of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance.
Developer Insomniac has so far declined to comment, while SCEE has confirmed plans to contact Church authorities in a bid to resolve the issue.
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SeesThroughAll
13/06/07 @ 16:45
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Church pulls their political influence card...
And people STILL say only Sony is evil... |
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One thing I certainly don't believe is that there wasn't a single person involved in making the game who said to themselves 'Hang on, maybe this Manchester Cathedral level will cause a bit of a fuss'.
So whatever their reasons for doing so, it seems that this is a controversy that Insomniac decided to court. |
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squarejawhero
13/06/07 @ 16:52
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I'm still not sure why any high-profile gamers are making it into the media about this. Where's Simon Pegg when you need him?
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DanWhitehead
13/06/07 @ 16:53
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Everything is contextual.
Therein lies the problem. Flare-ups like this happen when people who don't know anything about games (Blair, Churchy Types) are handed a pre-packaged scandal by people with an agenda to push (Tabloids) and a dirty little circle of chinese whispers breaks out. It's entirely likely that all these people tutting at Sony think that the game takes place in modern day Manchester and involves you shooting ordinary people dead for a laugh. Because that's what da kidz is into, innit? |
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mysteryfaceuk
13/06/07 @ 17:00
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But I don't think you play in the cathedral in multiplayer mode, not that I've seen so far anyway.
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GamesConnoisseur
13/06/07 @ 17:05
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Involement of politics and religions are a very dangerous brew, just look at Germany where certain games are fully banned from the hands of intended adult game players!
Whilst I am more confident that we are steady headed enough in UK, what we do need is to prevent hysterics from being egged up and our liberal right to enjoy violence in game as equal to in movies or books being diminshed in any form. Sony in trouble again but think will do them much more good and raise the profile of the console and game in question! |
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SeesThroughAll
13/06/07 @ 17:12
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ph church should worry about the poor it doesn't feed with it's unlimited suply of money rather than this. man if jesus lived today he would be sooooooo mad
Kick the merchants off the temple he would. |
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"I basically don't give a shit about this story, but why is no-one challenging this constant assertion that RFOM "extols gun violence"?
Resistance no more extols gun violence than Cooking Mama encourages knife crime..." absolutely. That's the bit that annoys me the most - does a game having guns in it now constitute "extolling" gun violence. Does Dark Messiah extol setting people on fire then telekenetically throwing them onto some spikes? I seem to remember that game was set in a fantasy universe as well! But wait, it's not set in our "reality". Okay then, how about Civ 4. Does that extol using violent force to solve territorial/resource/human rights disputes? Wait a minute! |
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Der_tolle_Emil
13/06/07 @ 17:19
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Blair's statements seems very balanced and fair though. It doesn't seem like he is pointing with his finger at Sony and accusing them of driving our youth to kill for fun.
It is also an entirely different thing if a church is just used as a mere backdrop in a level than the church suddenly being the headquarters of the future Scientology clan that took over the world starting right here in Manchester. It's luckily one of the more boring bad news about videogames and will quickly die down. At least I hope it will because such things sometimes seem to last quite a while. I know enthusiasts can get pretty stubborn when it comes to such things; I remember a while ago here the government started to grant subsidies for companies that promote alternative ways to generate energy like wind turbines. Everyone was happy but environmentalists. They said those things kill birds; Seriously. A few weeks later the companies provided studies that cats kill more birds than wind turbines. Was quite ridiculous. |
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Surely the irony of this situation is not lost everyone. I have no fucking idea what the church they are banging on about looks like. Or should I say, i didn't have any idea. Now of course I know exactly what it looks like. For all I knew it was just a church in a game. Now I know its a realistic model of a place of worship. So I just wanted to say thanks to the church. Whereas before I was just enjoying a mindless piece of entertainment now I am filled with horror that this place of worship has an association with fictional aliens from an alternative history of the second world war. How the cock am I meant to pray there now? I am traumatised. Ignorance is bliss. Fuck you very much guys. Should have just kept your mouths shut.
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mysteryfaceuk
13/06/07 @ 17:23
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Politicians and the Church will always jump on the issue of violent videogames as they know a large number of the population (especially Daily Mail readers) feel strongly about it. For politicians in particular, it's seen as a way of raising their own profile and increasing their chance of election.
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mysteryfaceuk
13/06/07 @ 17:40
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I doubt if Sony really minds this now surfacing in the news. It's great publicity and it would be interesting to see whether there's any increase in PS3 sales this week as a result of it. After all, this sort of publicity did a world of good for GTA.
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why does everyone conveniently forget that these games are not for kids? its always "damaging our kids this,damaging our kids that..." when most of these games are for 18+. now i know resistance wasn't but the media seems to be on a bit of a crusade here. when an 18 film comes out, no-one worries (at least, not as many as with a mature game) about the effect it'll have on kids, so why is it always mentioned for games? they need to realise that the "games are for kids" belief is the main cause of these problems!
although im not really talking about the church thing, to that i say "meh", fair game. im a christian too. why can't people lighten the fuck up? im sure god doesnt mind that much.
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most recently on 13/06/07 @ 18:49
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mysteryfaceuk
13/06/07 @ 17:52
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In a couple of decades arguments like this won't exist because the number of people playing games will likely be about 50% of the population, especially as gamers sprout kids who get into games as well. I bet politicians don't make stupid comments like this in Japan.
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It just pisses me off they always end up focusing in on one game like this.
As far as I'm concered if this ends up being banded then about 50% of films books and other games should also be band. So much media has content that would upset one group of people or another. Though I guess games are still fairly new and only had graphics realistic enough the last 5 years. Just reminded me of all the comotion there was over Childs play when VHS was still new. And 99% of the issues come down to one thing people yelling "Protect the children" and that is easily answered but just not letting kids play these games. It's the parents that should be blamed not the companies that make the games, books or films. On an odd note I have christian friends who refuse to read the Phill Pullman, His Dark marterials book because they have an anti-chrstian message. yet those are childrens book and I believe the film based on them later this year is going to be a U rating |
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It's a bit odd.
About 10 games a month come out in which you repeatedly murder many many "terrorists" or "Nazis" and actual genuine Human Beings. Where's the Church banging on about these? Also, many people died in Iraq today by the way thanks to government foreign policy. Many people died from poverty and starvation due to 3rd world debt. Many people died over many things. Shame these things aren't bumped up the agenda more really.
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most recently on 13/06/07 @ 19:40
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If I recall correctly, Tony Blair went on holiday to America not long ago, where he stayed in Robin 'Bee-gee' Gibb's house. I think it was reported that whilst he was there, Cherie Blair was photographed walking into the house after a shopping trip with a PS3 box under her arm. I therefore wouldn't be surprised that Blair's somewhat measured response to the arsehole who put the question to him may be because he's actually been playing Resistance: Fall of Man?? We can only speculate...
Here's a possible headline of tomorrow, "Blair massacres hundreds in church!! Blames Sony for making killing fun! Declares war on Japan!" |
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About 10 games a month come out in which you repeatedly murder many many "terrorists" or "Nazis" and actual genuine Human Beings.
The only difference being they weren't in a Christian church. No worries it's okay if the Nazi's get bombed, the terrorists are usually of Muslim origin, but when it comes to a shootout in a church in an alternate timeline of Manchester, that's where the line is crossed. |
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One thing I certainly don't believe is that there wasn't a single person involved in making the game who said to themselves 'Hang on, maybe this Manchester Cathedral level will cause a bit of a fuss'.
So whatever their reasons for doing so, it seems that this is a controversy that Insomniac decided to court. I'd say that's rather a big & unfair assumption to make - churches and places of worship have featured in war imagery for a very long time due to their symbolic value as places of (former) sanctity (not to mention traditional - if not modern - centres of community, and arguably serving as reminders of both birth and death). Heck, Call of Dutys' 2nd & 3rd missions were set in and around the Church of St Mere-Egleise - that's surely not much more different from using Manchester Cathedral (would a WW2 game featuring St Pauls be similarly challenged? I doubt it). To me, the whole situation is ludicrous - a church is a public building by definition, and the context is firmly one of battling to save humanity rather than GTA-style random violence. I can't help but wonder (well, not really - I know) why no politician has the guts or backbone to stand up and actually examine the facts rather than regurgitate crap. Mind you, I guess it's a lot easier to blame private companies for societal ills like gun crime than to introspect and examine the governments failures on an educational or social level.... |
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JediMasterMalik
13/06/07 @ 19:00
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I blew up a church in Company of Heroes, will they sue Relic and THQ now?
If not, why not? |
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RobertFoster
13/06/07 @ 19:00
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"I've no doubt this debate will go on for a significant period of time..." Long after I'm no longer PM, so blah blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah blah. CAN YOU DIG IT!?
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Stormflood
13/06/07 @ 19:09
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"a game which extols gun violence"
Nice one Tony Lloyd. To the ignorant, that phrase implies that Resistance is about glorifying gun violence on our streets - particular the streets of Manchester. Of course such a game would be despicable, but the game does not 'extol gun violence'. I'd like Sony to use the word 'aliens' as many times as they possibly can when communicating with the church and MP's. And when weapons are mentioned, use the proper in-game names: hedgehog grenade for example. PAH.... |
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