The Wardman Wire

I’ve had this comment on a previous article from speedypete who edits http://www.freevideogamestuff.com/. I’ve made my response a post because there are several points. Pete’s comments are in italics:

Yes…I’m the guy who wrote the blog entitled “Church of England Extorts Sony?” The one that you thought “missed the point”.

First of all - thanks for the response, Pete. I’m always glad to get a reaction. This is my response to your “retort”. Nothing personal intended - I’m responding to your points.

You say your article was based on two sources. Quoting from your comment:

First of all you need to work on your reading comprehension. The information on the issues at hand were paraphrased from two different articles:

#1 BBC News online Saturday, 9 June 2007, 17:32 GMT 18:32 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6736809.stm

#2 GameSpot UK Posted Jun 11, 2007 12:46 pm GMT By Emma Boyes
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/news/story.php?sid=6172294&part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6172294

To review what I said in my article:

First

There a lot of comments from people who don’t know English law.

then

Coverage that Misses the Point: Church of England Extorts Sony? at Free Game video stuff.

The Article at Free Video Game Stuff

My comments are interleaved.

Check this sh*t out…The Church of England is considering legal action against entertainment firm Sony for featuring Manchester Cathedral in a violent PlayStation video game. A shootout scene in popular PlayStation 3 title Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac Games) that takes place inside Manchester Cathedral has been branded ‘desecration’ by church officials

No real problems, but it misses the point that this is “Manchester Cathedral” not “The Church of England”. Kind of like saying “Manchester Town Hall raises National Income Tax”. It feels like I’ve made this point about 10 times now. To be fair, most general commentators have made this mistake.

Pete quotes a section from Emma Boyes, above, then adds (split into paragraphs for comment by me):

Here’s my take on this matter. SONY F*#KED UP!! I don’t know which department is the culprit…Legal, Production, Publishing (SCEA)? There is no doubt that if Sony got permission in writing that there would be no issue. That is a matter for their legal department, and Production to handle. How do I know?…I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for over 17 years. The first rule of thumb is always cover your ass!

Totally agree.

I have to say that I definitely don’t condone the Church of England blaming their gun control problems on the video game industry. I think this is bull sh*t… the same bull sh*t that the Christian Right (in the US), or as I call them the Christian Reich, loves to beat their bible about! Passing the buck seems to be the M.O. of the Christian Church.

This missed the point that there’s nothing in the articles quoted (or any others I have read) to suggest that they do blame any gun problem exclusively on video games. There have been enough cases, however, to suggest there is something of a link.

Actions by Manchester Cathedral leading to conclusions about the whole Christian Church (all 2 billion of them) is an interesting chain of deduction.

Noooo…their gun control problems have nothing to do with the break down of the nuclear family, or just the plain old sh*tty parenting going on in this highly industrial blue collar city.

I think everyone would agree with you. No one suggested the gun control problems didn’t have anything to do with family breakdown and so on. Cathedrals usually address these issues too.

I think the whole thing is an attempt by the Church of England to extort money from a giant company that f*#ked up and didn’t get permission in writing. That away to forgive (C of E) you hypocritical bastards!

Extort? Wrong word - extort means “to wrest or wring (money, information, etc.) from a person by violence, intimidation, or abuse of authority; obtain by force, torture, threat, or the like; to take illegally by reason of one’s office.” (link). This misses the point that it is Sony that have probably ignored the law. More like:

An attempt by Manchester Cathedral to persuade a giant company that “f*#ked up and didn’t get permission in writing” to act according to the law.

Speedy Pete’s Comment

OK now to address SpeedyPete’s comments:

The bottom line point in these two articles was that C of E is threatening to sue Sony because they used the image of the interior of the Manchester Cathedral in one of their games without getting permission from the C of E. Obviously if they (Sony and Insomniac Games the designer and publisher) had gotten the proper clearance from the C of E there would be no issue.

Yep - if they had asked for the proper clearance. Somehow, I don’t see a Christian Cathedral running projects to deal with local gun crime problems giving permission for a “Shoot-em-up” game set in their own building! If Sony considered the need to ask permission, perhaps they decided to “forget about it” in the hope that it would not be raised again (my speculation).

My first point, my dear man, is that some one messed up at Sony, by not making sure of the legalities of using the image of the interior of Manchester Cathedral in their game. There is an entire department at this giant corporation (Sony) whose sole responsibility is to get the proper clearance in situations like these. Whether in the UK, Tokyo or Atlantis, the laws are addressed by this department and it is responsible for all details.

No disagreement there! That was almost the first point in my first report on the issue.

My second point was that the Church wants retribution for the discrimination of their glorious cathedral (and they will gladly sue to get money and publicity for their cause). I think that this is classic hypocrisy on the church’s part, being that they teach forgiveness and good will for all mankind. What a crock of haggis!

Not quite so. I don’t think they are purely out to promote their Cathedral. I think you’ll find that the issue has blown up EXACTLY because the Cathedral is addressing gun and gang crime in Manchester. They know what the problem is because they are working with it. Sure, it’s not a patch on the gun problems other places have, but that’s no reason to accept it. In the 3 days before the story broke, 3 people were shot in Manchester (2nd paragraph in link).

I think you’ll also find that any money received - whether fees or “compensation” - will go straight to the work relating to gun crime, and not be spent on hymn books (or whatever).

I’d agree there may be an element of “Mothers against Violence” (local anti-gun crime campaign group) wanting to start a debate about violence in video games. We live in a democracy, so they can do that.

My third point is the Church and Mothers Against Violence blame the rise of gun violence in Manchester on violent video games. I am from the USA, and this same phenomena of the Church, the Government and some ignorant group of political lobbyists, banding together to blame their violence problems on the entertainment industry. What they need to do is take a good look at the problem of poor parenting and the breakdown of the nuclear family.

There’s nothing in the articles you quote (or any others I have read) to suggest that they do blame any gun problem exclusively on video games. There have been enough cases, however, to suggest there is something of a link.

And finally…You’re a DORK (Mr. Bean). My blog is a mix of comedy and fact. Now judging from your demeanor you have no sense of humor. It must have been removed at birth. My suggestion is to hit a popular local pub…Have a couple of pints and try to talk to a nice female. You may get lucky and have some fun and grow back your sense of humor. Oh…and you should move out of your Mum’s house…your gettin’ to old to be livin’ with her. By the way, love the blog ;

As I said, I’m always glad to get a reaction. But all I said was I thought you missed the legal point. Why the rant I can’t be bothered to respond to brickbats. I will make the point that from day one my reports on this issue have been mainly factual and analytical.

Btw - can you teach me how to make a boiled egg ?

Oh and “humor” in this country has a “u” in it <;-)

Love the blog too.