Zed zee (and to every other gamer here who is pulling the "but it's sacred" line) - list your top ten games. I guarantee you, unless you play some really rubbish games, you'll have a game on your list that is offensive somewhere to someone, probably religiously.

I still don't see how this is bad - the game wasn't insulting Christianity or Manchester. If you've ever played Medal of Honor or Deus Ex or pretty much any strategy game, chances are you've violated someone's idea of "sanctity" and your arguments are null.

And I stand by my original point - if this were a movie or a book, it'd be fine. But this is just people making a fuss over a medium they are not in touch with and not being willing to listen to those that are.

Martin, St Andrews, Scotland

To Nancy , London, UK. The correct analogy should actually be PROTECTING the child from invading aliens, as that is what is occuring in the game.

Ian, Liverpool,

Ever see the movie Independence Day? WEll, if you haven't, i'll spoil it; the White House gets blown up. Guess what? It was a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes and no one, i repeat no one thought of it as malicious, so get over it.

Kyle, Wantagh, New York

Whereas I respect the concept of things that may be sacred to a certain group of people, I think that determining out of hand that certain spaces are off limits for artistic expression is an inappropriate road to lead down.

To begin with, churches and temples have no monopoly on what is "sacred". Parks, museums, random stretches of road... any number of places can be sacred to any number of people, and the fact that it is considered so by an organized religion should not be the determining factor. Video games, seem like an easy target, but what about books? Art? Should everyone ask permisison before using buildings?

I believe that this is especially true for places that are landmark buildings and are inextricable from the identity of the city itself. A building is a building, and it is only sacred to those who decide it is so. That's the problem with being a landmark, and a place open to the public. If you do not like the ga, do not buy it, and convince others to do the same

Justice Angelicus, New York, NY

Everyone here (and elsewhere in various blogs), including Sony, don't really understand the MAIN point.

Never mind it's set in an 'alternative reality', never mind that Sony never intended to offend anyone, never mind that the CoE is worried about using the content of a church without their permission. This is all nonsense and a smoke screen that hides the main problem.

I'm play games and I'm also a Christian. I find that any use of a church or other place of worship for anything other than what it's intended for, to be a desecration and downright unjust.

Why can't those who don't believe in God, RESPECT those that do?! It's up to you not to have faith, but please stop attacking those who do. Just like gays and lesbians have their rights and beliefs, why can't those who are traditional also be respected?

Just because a game is set in an alternative reality does NOT mean that the church stands for something else there...It is and ever shall have the same meaning no matter what.

Zed Zee, Zed Zee Land,

Sony have provided me with a great deal of happiness throughout my life, and the Church of England haven't. I would like the C of E to make a large donation to Sony, and then possibly turn over all their cathedrals for a more entertaining use, like laser tag.

Felix, Nottingham,

Cathedra Lawyers. And how much will that cost: The poor church goers will have to dig deep for this one. All this on top of the new roof appeal.
Still that new Volvo will look very nice in the driveways of the clergy, won’t it
Now were is that holiday brochure?

Mike, Munich,

Neither Sony nor anyone else has the right to abuse a sacred place of worship virtually or otherwise. So it may not be sacred to you, it is sacred to Christians. Don't get it?

Imagine I released a video game where the goal was to commit some hideous violence against your child. Don't like it? Oh, sorry. But I'm still selling it, making a lot of money and encouraging millions of gamers to think of your child as a target. Got it now?

Nancy , London, UK

Surely, with all due respect to Manchester Cathedral, there is something strange when we question the setting of games, yes games, that someone under 16 or 18 should not be allowed to play, yes play, rather than their content. The content is the issue. No-one can uninvent untra violent games nor, I guess, remove the undoubted pleasure that some people derive from them. But please tell me why when I take my kids to a computer games shop I must have a constant battle (one that I win by the way) to avoid buying games of grotesque violence. Any self respecting 12 year old will be automatically drawn to a games for 16 years or over, and likewise the 15 year old to games only suitable for adults. Let those games be sold in specialist licenced shops, just like pornography, rather than in my local Toys-R-Us. Let the violence junkies have their fixes but please help parents in protecting their children from pornographic violence.

Jason White, Paris,

As a gamer, what frustrates me most about this whole situation is the failure of both the Church and the media to see beyond the simplistic 'violent gun game' tag and look at the actual story and content of the game itself.

Resistance explores an alternate history where major events of the 20th Century such as World War II, the Great Depression and the Rise of Communism never occurred, and an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity was founded through international unity. It is this utopia that makes Earth a prime target for an aggressive alien race, the Chimera, against whom the player fights during the game. The events played out in the game focus around the final defence of Britain, shortly after the fall of Europe.

When taken within its correct context, as all appreciations of fantasy material should be, the battle at Manchester's Cathedral is neither an attack on the Church nor the community. It seems to me that this is mostly a case of poor interpretation of modern media..

Dan, Cambridgeshire,

I confess I have no idea whether there are any legal image rights involved - I can't imagine so. It would have been interesting to know how they found out it was Manchester Cathedral - presumably the manufacturers must have let on.

It's a shame that we will now also have to destroy all of the Midsomer Murders/Miss Marple type shows which inevitably feature a murder in a church.

It's tempting to say more about the Church's constant obsession with receiving undeserved respect, but my overriding feeling at the moment is that they should just get a life.

Chris Jackson, London,

Resistance : Fall of man is actually made by a company called Insomniac. The fact that it was one of the first games to be available for the PS3 has given Sony the unenviable press reagrding the so called virtual desicration of Manchester Cathedral. Given that these games are generally available for a varity of games platforms, how long before Nintendo and the others are being asked to make suitable recompense ??

Paul, Manchester, U.K

"2. Do not assume that sacred space interiors are copyright free."

Why not? They are.

John Thomas Goodey, Cuxton-upon-Medway, UK

To those who do not know what this game is truly ABOUT, 'Resistance: Fall of Man' is about a battle between humans and an invading hostile alien force. Read: Battle for survival of the human race. Now by all means I would not support gun crime in any shape or form and neither would an extremely large corporate electronics conglomerate. There is no evidence suggesting this either. Is a building that is hundreds of years old even considered a religious personal intellectual property? That is very very screwed up if this is the case.

Colin, Pine Grove, California, USA

Sony apologized.

If the church cannot forgive, what's the point? Or are they just holding out for a monetary settlement?

Chad, California, United States

I don't get it. So... there was a church in a video game and now the church wants an apology, a promise they'll never do it again, the promise to sign on to a new set of rules, and a lot of money? I might be missing something here, but that's asking for a lot for something so simple.

Wasn't the church supposed to be the ones advocating forgiveness? This seems rather hypocritical to me, and sounds more like the people in charge of the church have gotten way too used to having their way.

While I'm sure that the idea of people fending off aliens who've decided to attack a church offends some people (well, there are a lot of different types of people out there... right?), we should also look into the fact that it's very likely the company that created the game (Insomniac, not actually Sony, so it seems to me like the church is demanding things from the wrong people) did not mean any offense at all. Why would they mean offense?

This seems much too wrong to me. Abuse of power.

JXT, Irvine, USA

Is this some sort of moral blackmail from Manchester Cathedral? Sony and Insomniac Games have no obligation whatsoever to Manchester Cathedral. If they want to feature the cathedral in a sci-fi video game, they can. You can' t copyright or trademark the interior or exterior of a centuries old landmark and the fact that it happens to be a place of worship is completely besides the point. It looks to me like the Dean is trying to ride the anti-videogame sentiment by demanding not only an apology but also financial contributions. Sony has already apologized, I hope they'll return any other indignant messages from the Manchester Cathedral unanswered.

Miranda Vink, Amsterdam, NL

As a committed Christian, I find it quite embarrassing that the church is kicking up a fuss about this.

I hate to point out, but in WW2 people fought in churches for a just and valid reason. In this game the same happened, only against alien creatures. In fact, the section refered to includes only ONE alien gunman and many small face hugger like creatures. I really wish people would actually view what they are writing about.

It is fictional, it was good fighting evil, they are not even humans. What is the problem?

And what about Manchester Cathedral being used to film the Da Vinchi code? Why do they have no issues with that? Because they got paid.. all about money.

Resistance is a fantastic and atmospheric game, how dare they insist it be removed. Gamers have been killing aliens in games since the 1970s, it's not real!

Ian, Liverpool,

Given the absence of any comment from God, I guess he's not bothered about it.

“We asked Sony to make a donation to community groups
nominated by the Cathedral. They have not responded.”
Damn right, neither Sony - nor any business - should ever respond to attempts to extort money from them, whatever the implied threat.

This "Give us money or else" approach is outrageous.

JonB, Glasgow, UK

As a christian I am outraged that a commercial enterprise should seek to make profit form the use of a place of worship, especially in a product that glorifies killing. In my view nothing short of a complete withdrawl of the offending material and a charitable donation equvalent to the profits gained together with an assurance that noting of this type will happen again will be sufficient. Until this happens I for one will be boycotting all Sony products and I expect that my family will follow suit. How about it fellow christians everywhere - make your voice heard - hit them in the pocket, its the only language they understand.

George, Loughborogh, UK

Dean of Manchester, the Very Rev Rogers Govender, said: "We asked Sony to make a donation to community groups nominated by the Cathedral. They have not responded.”

They could send a PS3 with a soccer game to Man City - teach them how to play football. It'll certainly do a better job of it than Sven will...

Rod Munch, Northampton, UK

Sony appear to be embracing the free use of intellectual property without the need for prior consent. Should we all follow their lead in this approach?

David Masu, Zürich,

Yeah, on one level, sure, Sony didn't have permission and they were hugely insensitive about the gun crime. But I really can't imagine this much hoohah if it was a book or a film describing a shootout in the same cathedral. And since when has a building been "copyrighted?!" And it's not like this was the first religious building to have been used in a game.

And as for shooter games not being made anymore, yeah, good one....

To all people who automatically write games off - actually PLAY some first before kneejerking. You won't turn into homicidal maniacs, I promise.

Martin , St Andrews, Scotland