Men of the cloth accuse Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles of promoting the occult
Publisher Capcom has defended Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles from accusations that it glamorises violence and promotes the occult.
Bishop Bryant of Jarrow, Archdeacon Brian Smith and Rt Rev John Goddard have all accused the game of promoting such interests amongst the UK’s youth, with the latter stating: “If we dabble in this area we open ourselves to influences and put ourselves at risk. I would regard any encouragement for children to be drawn into this behaviour with extreme horror.”
Capcom spokesperson Leo Tan, however, is less convinced about the proposed risk: “This is scaremongering and typical religious hysteria. You cannot blame society’s ills on video games. It’s just absurd.
“Most games (and movies) like Resident Evil show characters fighting evil not supporting it. Unfortunately the clergy is showing a lack of understanding of the video games industry and is too quick to splash the holy water and lump video games players into stereotypical boxes.
“Video games are entertainment and like horror movies or other scary films they are covered by a ratings system. Resident Evil for example is a 15 and not suitable for anyone under that age. Parents have to be trusted to adhere to these age restrictions and use common sense.”
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Comments
This IS absurd!
I am a Christian & occult has nothing to do w/this game or evilness. How ridiculous!
look closely
Look closely. The Right Rev is not blaming video games for societies ills. The rebuttal is a non-sequeter.
He says 'if we dabble, we are open to influence'.
The question is (and the denial should come from): is this dabbling in the occult?
Probably not, but get your arguments right first.
hyperhypocracy
proper response from Capcom should be...
"better to imply occultism than practice pedophilia"
Lol
Isn't it funny how, today's religion used to be considered a cult way back then. And today's occults are typically spin-offs of today's religion.
Bad practice
In case you are interested in facts, at least some of this report on 'men of the cloth' is fictitious ....
Archdeacon Brian Smith was asked his view by a ‘journalist’ who telephoned; he declined to comment. He referred her to people in other parts of the Church of England with knowledge of the occult. His alleged criticism of the game must therefore be a figment of her or someone else’s imagination.
It subsequently turned out that the ‘journalist’ is associated in some way with the PR company promoting the game ~ who are now publishing a carefully phrased statement 'in response' to the churchmen by Leo Tang of Capcom, slagging off the church.
Certainly Ven Brian Smith didn’t make the criticism ascribed to him. Maybe Leo Tang of Capcom never said what he’s quoted as saying either.
It’s all just good PR … isn’t it?
My personal view is that this is a model of disreputable practice.
Religion vs Cult
Tell me the difference? It's all the same nonsense to me. Christianity might as well be Scientology. A belief is a belief, it doesn't need to be labeled.
In regards to this article, I'll never understand why people with no understanding of video games are so quick to place blame on them. I'd love to hear his reactions to the Christian game Left Behind where even nut job Jack Thompson pulled his backing from it because:
Thompson claimed "The game is about killing people for their lack of faith in Jesus,"
Capcom Responds to Clergy Criticism
I never could grasp how a Christian could complain about something needing to be banned or restricted for having violent or dark content.
The content of their Bible is more twisted and violent than most video games and movies. I feel more confortable with a child playing a violent video game than reading The Old Testament, for example:
When the men of Sodom demanded to take the angels in Lot's house:
"Bring them out to us, so that we may know them." They weren't talking about chit-chat.
Capcom not telling the truth - this is spin
The majority of people posting on here have been "played like a piano" by Capcom PR machine.
Unlike Mcvuk - Totalvideogames actually checked the accuracy of this story. Click the total video games link to find out how there was no article by these members of the clergy and all of them didn't actually comment. It's just spin and a PR campaign made easy by journalists and bloggers not checking the facts.
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