News Tony Blair tells Sony off

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2007/06...lls_off_sony/1

UK Prime Minister (for now), Tony Blair, has publicly criticised Sony for using Manchester Cathedral in a violent PS3 game.

[Jamie]

Who?

[identikit]

Blair commented that Sony needs to be more sensitive and responsible and that large companies, such as Sony, should pause to think about more than just making profits.

Yes because having a real church in the game has driven sales up. All this debate has actually given loads of promotion. Bad publicity is better than no publicity.

I've seen and played countless games with shootouts in churches and (omg) mosques. There should be no big deal over this.

Edit: hahahaha Jamie.

[Paradigm Shifter]

Blair is leaving office soon anyway - whatever legitimacy he had before his announcement went right down the pan as soon as he started um-ing and ah-ing over when he was going to leave. He's leaving, and as such it really doesn't matter if he pisses off one more group of people.

Oh, yeah - typo:

"...which the Church objects too." - should be single 'o'. Second paragraph.

[plug_in_ross]

Jesus ****ing Christ, this is getting really pathetic now.

If they're that bothered, can't they release some sort of Firmware update to change the name of 'Manchester' in the game itself?




I haven't played the game, nor have I ever been on a PS3, so I'm not entirely sure how it all 'works'.

[whisperwolf]

Originally Posted by article

Given that the Church doesn't have a legal leg to stand on though, that might be hard.

Would that be according to your own law degree, your lawyers law degree? or the gamesindustry.biz article you quoted earlier? If it is even they had the sense to use the wording "It is likely there is no basis for a claim"

Anyway so far it’s looking more like a win win for both sides, Sony's gotten lots of advertising for its game, church has gotten lots of advertising for its anti-gun campaign. And in a week or so it will all be forgotten.

I have yet to work out if it is the Church of England complaining or the local Bishop and cathedral authorities

[Paradigm Shifter]

Originally Posted by plug_in_ross

Jesus ****ing Christ, this is getting really pathetic now.

Tony is really good at opening his mouth and inserting both feet.

[Buzzons]

Surly if it is so life like etc in there, sony cgi people would have had to go in and take pics etc -- would they not have noticed this stuff???

[Duste]

Needs to learn to keep his mouth shut imo. :P

[completemadness]

Jeez tony, wtf do u know about this i mean jeez

Perhaps hes just trying to make sure that his legacy wont be remembered just for breaking up the whole country (note. Scotland's Independence)

[<A88>]

Kudos for the over-reaction guys .
It's not like he made a public statement about it- it was merely a question picked during PMQs this week, and an opinion I personally support.

<A88>

[Omnituens]

BANDWAGON, HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[mmorgue]

"Sony needs to be more sensitive...."

Isn't this whole, "politically correct" stance going just a bit too far? Everyone getting so afraid of p1ssing off a group/culture/imaginary belief system..

If someone wrote a crime-thriller novel about some horrible serial killer who only "killed people in churches" and the author used real locations/landmarks as the backdrop -- would that get the same attention and spotlight? Would the PM feel the need to comment?

It's just a *video* game. It's *not* real... Why can't these weak minded people see that...?

[macroman]

Sony should change the location to the House of Commons. After all that place is full of murderous *******s.

(IMHO)

[yodasarmpit]

Tony Lloyd (Manchester, Central) (Lab): My right hon. Friend will be aware that when large organisations such as Sony find that their copyright has been breached, they are quick to use the law. Does he agree that when Sony used images of Manchester cathedral as part of a game that extolled gun violence, it was in bad taste and very insulting, not only to the Church of England, but to people across the land who think that it is inappropriate for big corporations to behave in that way?

The Prime Minister: I agree with my hon. Friend. It is important that any companies engaged in promoting such goods have some sense of responsibility and some sensitivity to the feelings of others. I think that it is an immensely difficult area—the relationship between what happens in those games and the impact on young people. I have no doubt that this debate will go on for a significant period, but I agree with him: I think that it is important that people understand that there is wider social responsibility, as well as simply responsibility for profit.

Hardly a scathing attack on Sony, more like the PM diplomatically answering a question at PMQ, he seems, to me, to have taken the middle road.


Edit: Just read <a88>'s reply, a point well made, which I'd like to echo.
It would help if some of you guys posting in the thread took the time to either watch PMQ or read the transcript to understand the statement in it's full context.

[Krikkit]

Well said Yoda, hardly the vicious assault on Sony, just a call for people to be more sensitive to other people's feelings regarding things like this. Let's face it, setting a shoot-up inside a real church in-game is quite distasteful.

[pendragon]

Originally Posted by whisperwolf

Would that be according to your own law degree, your lawyers law degree? or the gamesindustry.biz article you quoted earlier? If it is even they had the sense to use the wording "It is likely there is no basis for a claim"

Would that be according to your own law degree, your lawyers law degree? or the gamesindustry.biz article you quoted earlier? If it is even they had the sense to use the wording "It is likely there is no basis for a claim"

Anyway so far it’s looking more like a win win for both sides, Sony's gotten lots of advertising for its game, church has gotten lots of advertising for its anti-gun campaign. And in a week or so it will all be forgotten.

I have yet to work out if it is the Church of England complaining or the local Bishop and cathedral authorities

^what he said

[samkiller42]

Naughty Naughty Sony, should be ashamed of your selves
Get in there Blair!

Sam

[Veles]

Well, this is all too little too late, even if the game is pulled or theres a patch remove the link between manchester and the in game cathedral. Theres been so much press about this, that every man and his dog knows about it now. Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted (or however it goes) is the saying that springs to mind.

All parties should just give it a rest, they're all making themselves look like idiots. Whats done is done, and getting a "large donation", or the game being pulled from the shelves isn't going to change the fact that it's been done, and that changing it, won't actually change it due to the masses of press coverage.

Originally Posted by Krikkit

Well said Yoda, hardly the vicious assault on Sony, just a call for people to be more sensitive to other people's feelings regarding things like this. Let's face it, setting a shoot-up inside a real church in-game is quite distasteful.

I don't really see how it's any more distasteful than a shootup anywhere else that has ever existed, will ever exist, or exists only in fantasy. And it's certainly less distasteful than a real shootup or bombing in a church. But then, I'm not overly religious, but if I were a Christian, I'd find a church no more a symbol of god that the house I'm sitting in or the tree in my garden.

[DXR_13KE]

this is getting rather interesting...... like a circus with deformed people and animals......