14 DAY TRIAL // You might be familiar with the scandal caused by the inclusion of the Manchester Cathedral in the famous PS3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man. The virtual counterpart of the building looked exactly like the real one and the Church of England criticized the game a lot and threatened to take action against Sony. Now, the Dean of Manchester Cathedral wants the title removed from the BAFTA nominees list, as it has desecrated the place.
Even Prime Minister Tony Blair got involved in this scandal, back in June, mentioning that big companies like Sony should care more about the content of their products, since they've got a major influence on the buyers. The Guardian mentions that one of the Church's spokespersons claimed that this issue has only had the role of boosting Sony's sales, as everyone found out about the scandal. Furthermore the Church considers the fact that Resistance as a nominee is an insult and wants the game withdrawn from the competition.
It's strange to see that the Church struggled so much to inform everyone about Sony's actions and inappropriate content, but still the game sold well, even better, after things got public. The BAFTA awards take place on October 23 and I doubt that we'll see Resistance off the nominees lists, as it's one of the best-selling PS3 titles so far, with all its scandals and controversial content. Challenging religion is never a good idea for game developers, as it's one of those untouchable concepts that can make a great company lose all of its public.
I don't think that the Church of England is set on taking action against Sony and their title, but rather they want to make an example out of Resistance, since there are many more games out there, with the same religious content issue. It all comes down to the gamer's faith and beliefs, combined with his/her own perception of the situation and the fact that it's ONLY a game.