Church accuses Sony of wrongdoing

Manchester, England -- The Church of England is threatening to take legal action against Sony over a bloody game depicting the Manchester Cathedral as a battleground.

The game, "Resistance: Fall of Man," was released for Playstation 3 and has already sold more than 1 million copies, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.
Church officials said Sony's use of the building in the war game, in which the player has to kill hundreds to complete missions, is "sick" and sacrilegious.

They also said Sony did not have permission to use the cathedral and the church is seeking an apology and the immediate removal of the game from stores, the British newspaper reported. Church officials said if their requests are not met then legal action will be considered.

Sony also is under attack for choosing Manchester, which has been plagued by gun violence, as the backdrop for the game.

"It is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem," said the Bishop of Manchester, the Rev. Nigel McCulloch. "For a global manufacturer to re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have guns battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible."

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.