Microsoft offers reward for missing XBox gamer

[iXenon]

US software behemoth Microsoft has doubled a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of a Canadian boy who ran away from home after his father took away his Xbox game console, it said Tuesday.

Brandon Crisp, 15, took off on his bicycle from his Barrie, Ontario home on October 13 -- Canada's Thanksgiving holiday -- and rode east along an old rail line.

He has not been seen since.

His father told local media he had removed Brandon's Xbox, built by Microsoft, after noticing changes in behavior since Brandon started playing "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" online.

The boy started skipping school, stealing money and ignoring his studies, his father said.

A local newspaper, the family's Internet service provider and Child Find offered a 25,000-dollar (19,500-dollar US) reward for information leading to his return.

SEE THE NEW CALL OF DUTY GAME

Microsoft topped it up with another 25,000 dollars, the company said Tuesday in an email to AFP, "hoping for his swift return."

"Like everyone, we are deeply worried about the disappearance of Brandon Crisp," the company said.

Exhaustive searches have not turned up a single clue beyond the boy's bicycle, found last week with a flat tire.

Police are said to be examining who Brandon played with online. "Law enforcement has contacted Microsoft about this matter and we are cooperating fully with them," said Microsoft.

On Sunday, 1,600 volunteer searchers packed up their reflective vests and ended their efforts to find him, while police stopped their air and water search.

In an interview with the daily Globe and Mail, the boy's father, Steve Crisp, said he had not known how important the gaming system was to his son and how he would react when it was taken away

Experts commented that gamers may form bonds with fellow online players.

"This had become his identity, and I didn't realize how in-depth this was until I took his Xbox away," Steve Crisp told the Globe and Mail. "That's like cutting his legs off."

"This is such an issue that hits every parent out there, with video games that are starting to control our kids' lives," he said.

"I just took away his identity, so I can understand why he got so mad and took off. Before, I couldn't understand why he was taking off for taking his game away."

Now, Brandon's father says he just wants his son to come home.

I think its silly how parents blame video games as a factor to their child's behavior. If your child is easily influenced by a musician or an artist, you have failed as a parent, in my opinion.

[Kairi19]

Originally Posted by iXenon

I think its silly how parents blame video games as a factor to their child's behavior. If your child is easily influenced by a musician or an artist, you have failed as a parent, in my opinion.

i think that cuz da parents r suppose look after their kids

[Cloud3514]

Maybe if they would spend time with the kid instead of buying him video games....

[Larxene]

His father told local media he had removed Brandon's Xbox, built by Microsoft, after noticing changes in behavior since Brandon started playing "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" online.

The boy started skipping school, stealing money and ignoring his studies, his father said.

I'm not ruling out the great influence games have on people..

but maybe call of duty... he should take a break from sometime if he just started doing that stuff since playing the game.. then again, he COULD have found a gang at scholl.... buuuuut....

[daleluck1313]

"Blame games" seems to be the basic answer for everything nowadays. They just don't want to accept that their children are probably having an extremely crap life at school, or in general, and that games are in fact a haven away from the nightmare that is the Earth. In that sense, games were actually HELPING him.

Got bad marks? Blame games.
Got no girlfriend? Blame games.
Found out you've got cancer at a too late stage to take any action? Blame games.

People should actually research the child's life before instantly blaming the first thing that they see.

[Cloud3514]

Originally Posted by daleluck1313

"Blame games" seems to be the basic answer for everything nowadays. They just don't want to accept that their children are probably having an extremely crap life at school, or in general, and that games are in fact a haven away from the nightmare that is the Earth. In that sense, games were actually HELPING him.

Got bad marks? Blame games.
Got no girlfriend? Blame games.
Found out you've got cancer at a too late stage to take any action? Blame games.

People should actually research the child's life before instantly blaming the first thing that they see.

Tell that to Fox News.

[iXenon]

Originally Posted by daleluck1313

"Blame games" seems to be the basic answer for everything nowadays. They just don't want to accept that their children are probably having an extremely crap life at school, or in general, and that games are in fact a haven away from the nightmare that is the Earth. In that sense, games were actually HELPING him.

Got bad marks? Blame games.
Got no girlfriend? Blame games.
Found out you've got cancer at a too late stage to take any action? Blame games.

People should actually research the child's life before instantly blaming the first thing that they see.

I'm so putting that quote in my sig. Kudos...

[PBass]

The most important thing a parent can teach a child is self discipline. That child was not taught.

[daleluck1313]

Originally Posted by Cloud3514

Tell that to Fox News.

I lol'd. Even the Simpsons take the piss out of them, and they're the people that aired the show, or something (I never quite know why Fox is credited).

Originally Posted by iXenon

I'm so putting that quote in my sig. Kudos...

Around here people tend to call it QFT.

Originally Posted by PBass

The most important thing a parent can teach a child is self discipline. That child was not taught.

Too right. I actually want to know how crap his life was to be so attached to a machine that it becomes a necessary part of his life.

And while on that subject...

"This had become his identity, and I didn't realize how in-depth this was until I took his Xbox away," Steve Crisp told the Globe and Mail. "That's like cutting his legs off."

What kind of screwed up opinion is THAT? I'd love to have XBox legs, but christ almighty, since when can you compare a machine that reads disks to your own legs? It actually doesn't make sense, because if they DID cut his legs off the little git couldn't have ran away at all.

Probably shuffle slowly to the door, but no further than that.