Controversy Over The Use of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man - Aftermath

Aftermath

During the controversy, Resistance: Fall of Man rose from 40th place in the United Kingdom's top 40 Full Priced video games chart to 22nd place for the week of 17 July to 23 July. It remained in the top 30 through the next week falling to 27th place, and to 36th place in the next week. In November 2009, IGN.com placed the incident in their "Top 10 Gaming Controversies". It was also selected as a finalist along with six other games in the BAFTA British Academy Video Game Awards for the "PC World Gamers Award", which is the only category based on sales and public reception. The Dean of Manchester Cathedral, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, criticised the selection, stating that "BAFTA should not be seen condoning such behaviour unless they are saying it is acceptable for producers to walk into historic buildings and film interiors – ignoring contracts, rights and liability", asking for either BAFTA or Sony to withdraw the game from the award. Neither withdrew it, but it ultimately lost to Football Manager 2007.

Resistance: Fall of Man has been highly successful despite the controversy, and has resulted in the production of multiple products, including three sequels titled Resistance 2, Resistance 3 and Resistance: Retribution. Resistance developer, Ted Price, commented that there would be more "churches, mosques, and synagogues" in Resistance 2 before its release. While it was not known whether he was joking, he admitted to being Episcopalian, and considers the Church of England to be the mother ship. However, Sony pledged to not include the Cathedral in another game.

Despite the Cathedral's reaction to its usage in Resistance: Fall of Man, the controversy has resulted in a significant increase in its visitor numbers according to David Marshall, director of communications for the Diocese of Manchester, writing in the Official PlayStation Magazine. Teachers tell him that teenagers in particular are interested to see a building which they thought was fictional. He adds that tourism has increased since the broadcast of pictures taken inside the Cathedral.