Here we are for yet another slab of opinion. This week I have quite an interesting one for you.

*Recently the Church Of England have been having a tiff with Sony regarding the use of Manchester Cathedral in the Alien infested first-person-shooter Resistance: Fall Of Man on Playstation 3. The CofE are not only angry that a holy place was a backdrop for such a violent game, but it also undermines their work to banish gun crime from Manchester. They have demanded that the game is removed from store shelves. A meeting at the CofE on Monday to discuss what actions should be made against Sony resulted in the church asking for a large chunk of earnings from the game being donated to the CofE. They also want the game content adjusting to remove Manchester Cathedral and for Sony to support anti-gun groups. Is it right for the CofE to make such demands? Is the use of Manchester Cathedral really that bad? Is it even more odd that there is a problem with the cathedral being used in a game that is clearly science fiction due to the abundance of aliens? Does the game really undermine anti-gun groups? Is there an ethical issue with the CofE taking a large donation of cash from a game they deem so inappropriate?*

My take: I can see the church’s problem with Manchester Cathedral being used in the game, and although I personally don’t have an issue with it, I can see why they take issue with it, but I don’t see how this is undermining their efforts banishing gun crime from Manchester – I thought the debate over video game violence spilling into real life was long finished in the late 90s. Then, to add insult to injury, I find the concept of the CofE demanding money from such an unethical game astonishing. On what ethical grounds can you possibly make such a demand – surely it is *dirty money*?

I think this is a fascinating topic, lets see what everyone thinks. Add you comments as usual to this blog entry. 🙂