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Church slams cathedral gun battle game's Bafta nomination

The Church of England is pleading with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) to remove PlayStation 3 game Resistance: Fall of Man (RFOM) from its Video Games Awards because the game depicts the alleged desecration of Manchester Cathedral.

RFOM_screenshot
Sony's RFOM: a shoot-out in Manchester Cathedral

The Dean of Manchester cathedral told The Guardian newspaper there was disgust among parishioners at the fact an intense gunfight takes place in the cathedral during the game.

Another church official said the award nomination is "like rubbing salt in the wounds".

However, a representative for Bafta has publicly stated that RFOM has been nominated for the PC World Gamers' Award, the only award voted upon by members of the public.

Bafta also said the category comprises the top-selling games on each platform, according to games charts published by Chart Track.

Sony and the CoE have been locked in a bitter battle over the game's depiction of Manchester Cathedral since RFOM was released in April. In June, the Church said it was considering legal action against Sony because the firm didn't obtain the Church's permission to use the interior of Manchester cathedral in the game. It also branded Sony's decision to include the cathedral "sacrilegious".

Sony later sent a letter to the Dean of Manchester Cathedral in which it explained that it didn't intend to cause offence by using a representation of the cathedral.

In its letter, however, Sony didn't accept there was any connection between "contemporary issues in 21st century Manchester and the work of science fiction in which a fictitious 1950s Britain is under attack by aliens".

The British Academy Video Games Awards take place on October 23. RFOM is currently fourth in the UK PS3 game chart. ®

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