The father of a 15-year-old boy who has been missing for a week said that his son's disappearance was triggered by a family dispute over his video game play.
As reported by the Toronto Star, Brandon Crisp left home last Monday and hasn't been seen since. From the newspaper account:
"He left because we took his Xbox away," said Steve Crisp, Brandon's father. He says his son was losing sleep because he spent so much time playing Call of Duty, a World War II-themed shooting game. "This was his addiction."
...Although police have determined that he hasn't logged onto his Xbox since he left, they are still trying to track down anyone he might have met playing Call of Duty.
"My personal feeling is that he's met someone online through this game," said Steve. "As a parent, you fear the worst when you don't hear anything for seven days."
Brandon's parents had tried to limit his Xbox use, but it didn't work, prompting them to take the console away.
"(Kids) play these games and it becomes an addiction. It becomes their whole life," he said.
GP: Anyone who has seen Brandon is asked to contact the Barrie Police Department at 705-725-7025 Barrie P.D. has more about the investigation on its website.
Comments
Re: Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game
Oh, there you are Jack. Stalking this 'irrelevent' site until something you like comes across it so you can toot your horn.
You should realise by now, Mr. Thompson, but ANY pleasurable activity can become an addiction. Period. People can become obsessed with hunting, creating ships in bottles, collecting novelties, gambling, movies, music, eating, religion. (Ring a bell? You're the one claiming everyone is after you because you're a christian...) What do you propose we do, ban all hobbies? You seem to be obsessed with putting your name in print. It's the same bloody thing.
"Obama says health care insurance is adequate. He's right."
What happened to trying to elect Sarah Palin two weeks ago, Mr. Thompson?
"The American Psychiatric Association is set to treat video game addiction as a mental disorder, so good luck with the notion that games are really addictive."
Says you, not them.
"Here's an idea: How about you get off your video game-playing butt and write the makers of the game and ask them to put a warning label on the game that some kids playing it might develop an addiction to it?"
Then you'd have to put it on every game, every piece of media on the planet. Not just Call of Duty is grounds for 'obsession,' Mr. Thompson.
"Then you can say you actually did something in your life to help someone."
You first, Mr. Thompson. Try winning a case for once. (You have 6 days, by the way) Getting on 60 minutes didn't help ANYONE but further your own ego.
David "DavCube" Gagnon, Mature Human Being, and You're Not.
PS: I haven't played video games in weeks, because i'm a full-time college student right now, maintaining a Dean's Sholarship. I help people by actually doing IMPORTANT things, not prancing around saying i'm more important than Hurricane Katrina like you.
Re: Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game
Congrats on the scholarship man.
I missed the whole, actually help someone thing, haha.
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I do that all of the time. Help someone get their car unstuck when they get it stuck in mud or in a ditch, help someone get somewhere because of this or that, or call 911 when someone is in a car wreck (also provided CPR once on someone who needed it because of a car crash), getting beat, drunk driving, or even when an animal/pet is in the middle of an interstate in the middle of the night (man that was a big dog once...), helping someone change a flat tire or make other minor repairs on their car, help someone figure out where to get help for things I cant like religious needs (I don't believe in God, but I do not discount the value of religion in society), medical, or psychological, like Mr. Thompson needs.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Re: Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game
He has less than 5 days (according to the firefox plugin)
Re: Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game
Dead man walkin'. Walkin' the green mile.
Re: Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game
Yeah, I see that warning sticker on lots of things...alcohol, tobacco products, casinos, television programs, porn sites, twinkees, the peanut butter jelly time video, the cat flushing a toilet video........I can go on and on.........
BTW, Jack, it is a PARENTING problem, not a gaming problem. There's more to this story than what they report.
Re: Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game
Because DIPSHIT, for every small kid who shouldn't be playing this game anyway (it's MATURE rated, again, parental issue) there are hundreds of normal, socially well-adjusted people like myself who are perfectly capable of limiting our gaming time ourselves. Videogames are NOT addictive in the same way as alcohol or cigarettes, when was the ast time you saw someone getting withdrawals from not playing CounterStrike?