According to earlier reports, Brandon told his parents he would run away if his system was not returned and, in an effort to "call his bluff," his father helped the teen pack his belongings. Brandon's parents now fear that he has been "lured by gamers" through the Xbox Live gaming service, "It could be organized crime or someone involved in Internet gambling. Pedophiles can stalk kids through these games," Brandon's father told The Star.
While it's easy to argue how Xbox Live is being misrepresented in this situation the fact remains that Brandon, who purchased Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- an M Rated title intended for gamers 17 and above -- with his own Christmas money, is still missing and his family is completely distraught. We hope for his safe return home.
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
10-24-2008 @ 10:54AM
Ian Murray said...
You lost me at "Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend".
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10-24-2008 @ 10:48PM
HoPhoSho said...
Yay! Another ignorant American who thinks they invented everything! Fact: Canadians were celebrating Thanksgiving before the US was. Another fact: Europeans beat us both.
Next time try not to be a jackass!
10-24-2008 @ 10:58AM
dunnypop said...
he's from Barrie. fuck him!
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10-24-2008 @ 11:04AM
SVirus said...
First, i do feel bad that this kid ran away and hope that he returns safely. But seriously, this is just absurd to blame this on the game/Xbox. Take some responsibility parents.
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10-24-2008 @ 11:06AM
themizarkshow said...
guys, don't blame his shitty parents or the evil videogame industry. NO!
BLAME CANADA!!!
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10-24-2008 @ 11:28AM
PimpDaddy Stevan said...
If they lived in America, they'd find SOMETHING to charge that dumb-ass kid's dumb-ass father with.
This is a whole family of dumb-asses.
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10-24-2008 @ 11:28AM
horngreen said...
It's the kids fault. He's not 4 years old an unable to think for himself. He made all these descisions on his own. So what if they helped him pack he decided to leave. I doubt the game ruined his social skills I this his lack of social skills is what drew him to become fixated on COD. The fact that he is still gone is troubling though. I remember "running away" with a buddy when I was about 10 or so. We went up to the public pool on the corner and hung out by the creek for a few hours. This was of course what we did most Saturdays anyways but I'm SURE my parents learned a lesson LOL.
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10-24-2008 @ 11:33AM
SoNaive said...
You are all missing the point. a boy is missing, he has been gone for over two weeks. when someone has been gone for that long, it is very rare that there will be good news. who cares who is to blame. i'm sure the parents just used the xbox angle so that it would be picked up in more newspapers. the mother herself works for a newspaper. and to dunnypop: what the fuck is wrong with you? if you were missing would you want people to say "oh, he's a troll, fuck him" it's very rude to say something like that.
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10-24-2008 @ 11:39AM
x silence x said...
I sent this story to you guys on Monday...
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10-24-2008 @ 11:40AM
ryan said...
As long as the father packed him a ghillie suit and survival knife, I think that kids gonna be ok. :D
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10-24-2008 @ 11:40AM
chase said...
ROTFLMAO that is the first time I sad/done that.
I hope he comes back soon. To his mom and pop. If all he dose is play games what did you think would happen? the LIVE mafia stuffs him in a bag, or he runaway to the closest Xbox 360 to him.
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10-24-2008 @ 11:40AM
jukeboxhero141 said...
Looks like his UV jammer is working.
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10-24-2008 @ 4:53PM
Scott Summers said...
ROFL. Good show sir.
Stealth perk ftw.
10-24-2008 @ 11:52AM
txshurricane said...
Go easy on the "bad parenting" comments. I guarantee that EVERYONE who has bashed the parents so far has no clue what being a parent is about.
It's not an easy task, okay? You have to maintain discipline, but you can't force your child to do anything. If the kid wants to run away from home, what do you expect his dad to do: chain him to the bed? Then we'd be reading about...you guessed it - bad parenting. They just can't win.
Letting him play a Mature-rated game so often and helping him pack his bags were mistakes in retrospect, I agree. Stupid.
But what do you expect? Mature games don't make criminals, so why does it matter? If the kid's making good grades and behaving, then let him play - there are far worse things to subject a child to.
The parents did the RIGHT thing by taking away the Xbox when he started misbehaving. And if you read the article, they're NOT blaming the game: they're blaming the Xbox Live community, which for all its glory is still full of absolute retards and hoodlums.
So give the parents a break. They lost their kid, and they've admitted their faults. Now they just want him back, and they don't want other parents to make the same mistakes (i.e. letting a 15-year-old play Live unsupervised).
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10-24-2008 @ 12:01PM
ryan said...
I think a couple of parents on this blog have commented on these being bad parents already. It all started, I'm assuming, with not giving the child any boundaries as far as how much time he spends gaming and the games he plays. And it just trickled down from that slip up.
10-24-2008 @ 2:11PM
txshurricane said...
Setting a rule isn't a cut-and-dry thing, though. Some rules work great, and some not at all. He may have had a time limit every night. No one knows.
10-24-2008 @ 12:00PM
blakbuzzrd said...
I wonder if they tried seeing whether the kid has recovered his gamertag to another machine. If he is safe, and he's that much of a junkie, you'd think he'd have found someplace to land where he can support his habit.
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10-24-2008 @ 12:03PM
blakbuzzrd said...
Never mind. It's being done already.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=199856
10-24-2008 @ 12:32PM
yolarrydabomb said...
Lol at this comment...
*clicks* on Xbox.com* Still no sign of the little ******, back to the donuts and hardcore porn guys!
10-24-2008 @ 12:28PM
Highimpact1 said...
These parents are absolute morons. No matter what if the child runs away from home... IT'S THE PARENTS FAULT. Just look at that picture, do they look like kind, understanding parents who nurtured their child until he just disappeared? NO, they look like parents who don't have time for extra things like "parenting" or talking to their kid instead of packing his bags when he tells them he's running away.
I bet it didn't even occur to them to tell the kid uh why they actually didn't want him to play the game. I would bet hundreds of dollars the conversation pretty much went like this.
"CRISP GET UP HERE AND GET A GIRLFRIEND BOY!"
"Dad I'm actually enjoying myself for once in my life, why can't you just let me be happy?"
"CRISP... I WILL PACK YOUR BAGS FOR YOU IF YOU PULL ANYMORE OF THAT SHIT!"
"Fine, if you pack my bags I don't need you guys, this game's brought me more happiness than either of you ever did!"
But it's the game's fault? I don't think so.
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