Resistance nomination rubs salt into CoE's wound, probably hurts like hell

Nice to see that the BAFTA isn't relenting to the Church of England's propaganda effort. Already managing to get two apologies from Sony who did nothing wrong by including a polygonised version of Manchester Cathedral (which design is in the public domain) in Insomniac's console FPS Resistance: Fall of Man, an upset Church yesterday demanded that Sony sign up to some sort of weird digital something, attempting to police a self regulating industry. The church is also demanding a substantial 'donation' for their silence troubles.

Meanwhile the UK government has launched a new study of the effect of video games with violent content on children who should never have played them in the first place. The ELSPA said that it would co-operate, but echoing other gamers views, it has also stated that our hobbies has too often been blamed for society's ills.

Take the Beeb's The One Show for example, which was recently aired here. The programme highlights the easiness in which young children were able to obtained 18 certificate video games from entertainment stores. But rather than blaming the stores for lack of enforcement, the programme went on to chastise video games and how easily it can corrupt the young minds and even lead to murder (the Manhunt case was cited, with wrong facts).

Why are video games made scapegoats then when stores are also floating the law by selling 18 rated DVDs to minors? It is simple. As a media format, like the web, it is still new and young. Remember when books, genre music, even films, were made scapegoats by morally oppressive regimes? As genre music and films become more acceptable in mainstream media, something has to take the fall whenever a sensationalist headline needs to be crafted for middle England. New media has often been made scapegoats, and video games is facing a similar situation first with violent content, pretty soon in general.

Let's hope not. On the other hand I can't wait for 23 October. Maybe, just maybe (however unlikely), Resistance will win an award.