The controversy over the appearance of Manchester Cathedral in Sony’s blockbuster sci-fi shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man, has garnered the attention of the Prime Minister of the UK — none other than Tony Blair.
Another Tony, Tony Lloyd, representing Manchester Central, said in a session of Parliament, "When large organizations like Sony find their copyright has been breached, they’re very quick to use the law." Ouch. That’s one below the belt there, Tony.
He then put the pressure on the Prime Minister by asking, ""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 responded, "I agree with my honorable 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."
Insomniac, the developers of the game, probably isn’t losing any sleep over this issue as Sony’s European branch is taking all the flack for the incident.
At the moment, Manchester Cathedral authorities are demanding an apology from Sony and, <cough> a voluntary cash contribution to the church to atone for its sins. In the business world, this would probably be called a copyright fee.
[via gameindustry]
