By Agence France-Presse
OTTAWA — 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.
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.
November 1st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
i think the problem is not the game itself, its how the father deal with the situation. he should talk to his son and explain to him the mistakes the son is doing instead of just taking the device immediately. imho, the problem sometimes with parents is that they are busy with their lives and they live to the game consoles all the parenting stuff. Then they will just surprise when they found out their child as a stranger.
October 31st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Now that is soo sad.
This is also a clear example of the divide between Parents and the Modern-Gaming Generation.
It also serves as an example to all the parents out there, including future parents, to be a little careful when dealing with today’s generation. Their thinking and mindsets are different.
They are so different, if given a chance, they will simply say this: “It is better for me to be addicted to gaming than to illegal drugs.” Which is morally correct but philosophically wrong.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
[...] — US software behemoth Microsoft has doubled a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of a Canadian boy who ran away from [...]