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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Kid plays too much Xbox, argues with parents, runs away. MS offers reward.

famousringo on 26 October 2008
JaggedSac said:
MontanaHatchet said:
Microsoft is a gigantic company consisting of thousands of employees. Which part of Microsoft doesn't care about this kid?

 

I think people tend to disregard the human elements of coorporations.  Apparently there is nothing but heartless people that work at M$. LOL.  Of course the parents should have handled the situation differently, but that is the cause and they are trying to solve the effect right now and worry about the cause after the kid is found.  If you for one second think that money is more important than trying to find a kid that could be in danger, you have some serious problems.

 

I would say it's justified. Corporations are enormous mechanisms for avoiding responsibility and distancing people from the consequences of their decisions. Thousands of people who are "doing what's best for the company" and "just doing their jobs." Eliminating human elements is one of the key functions of many institutions.

And that's why it's important to respect what Microsoft is doing here. Sure, it is just PR, and Microsoft the institution has little reason to care what happens to this kid, regardless of how much Microsoft's staff may care. The only reason they're doing this is to earn the goodwill and favourable opinion of potential customers. If MS doesn't get that goodwill, there's little incentive for it to make an investment like this in the future.

$50,000 is a pretty cheap ad campaign, and I hope it's far more effective than the $300 million Seinfeld campaign.



"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event."  — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.

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arsenicazure on 06 November 2008

 

famousringo said:

This seems like strange PR to me. I'm not faulting it, I just think it's weird.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081025.wreward1025/BNStory/National/home

Microsoft doubles reward for missing Ontario boy

The Canadian Press

October 25, 2008 at 10:44 PM EDT

ORO-MEDONTE, Ont. — Rain, mud and chilly weather did not deter some 400 people from joining the ground search for missing Ontario boy Brandon Crisp.

The volunteers embarked Saturday on a second day of searching for the 15-year-old from Barrie, Ont., as software giant Microsoft doubled the reward money for information on his whereabouts to $50,000.

Public search organizer Charmaine Nolan, who works with Brandon's mother, said school bus loads of volunteers are scouring dense bush area and fields.

Barrie police, who are on day seven of their own search just southwest of the civilians, say no meaningful clues have turned up yet.

Sergeant Dave Goodbrand says people from Miami to British Columbia have offered assistance, including search and rescue expert Terry Grant, host of Canadian reality show Mantracker, who flew in to help.

The teen ran away from home Oct. 13 after fighting with his parents about his Microsoft Xbox game system, which they say he is addicted to. A blue-checkered jacket, tent, crackers and full bag of chips were all turned up Friday as a sprawling ground search got under way for a missing Ontario boy, but investigators aren't drawing any conclusions as to whether they're signs Brandon Crisp is still in the area.

The 15-year-old disappeared after leaving his Barrie, Ont., home Oct. 13 following an argument with his parents over his excessive use of his XBox video game system.

“I think that the ... disappearance of Brandon has hit a lot of us,” Ms. Nolan said on Friday, the first day of the public search. “Whether we actually know the family or not, it hits close to home.

Debbie Halikas, a colleague and close friend of Brandon's mother, said on Friday that those who know the family are having a rough time emotionally.

“You're numb. You have your good moments and your bad moments,” she said.

“But I'm confident that I think we might find out something this weekend.”

 

http://kotaku.com/5077313/body-discovered-feared-to-be-that-of-missing-teen-gamer

 

Unfortunately, the worst most people feared has probably come true.

Sad.

 

 



Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.

owner of : atari 2600, commodore 64, NES,gameboy,atari lynx, genesis, saturn,neogeo,DC,PS2,GC,X360, Wii

5 THINGS I'd like to see before i knock out:

a. a AAA 3D sonic title

b. a nintendo developed game that has a "M rating"

c. redesgined PS controller

d. SEGA back in the console business

e. M$ out of the OS business

NYANKS on 06 November 2008

Yeah, if everyone hasn't heard yet, the police believe thay found the kids body. Really sad, I can't imagine how the parent's feel, it must be beyond comprehension. Just thinking about it is ridiculous...



NYANKS on 06 November 2008
axumblade said:
natural selection....

 

 Or miscommunication.  I would probably go with that.  But damn that is a stupid reason to run away......



V-r0cK on 06 November 2008

Its been reported that his body has been found.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/brandon-crisps-body-found-pray-his-family



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PSXtreme on 06 November 2008

I am all for kids playing games, but I do think that parents need to enforce practical limits. The fact that this kids identity was based on his online persona rather than his real life is very sad IMO.

My kids have a weekly 'screentime' limit that they can split between TV and/or games. When that limit is up, they need to find something else to do (visit friends, swim, build hovercraft, whatever).



konnichiwa on 06 November 2008

Auch.






famousringo on 06 November 2008

Poor kid must have been suffering from depression or similar emotional issues. Happens to many teens every year, this story just had a video game angle. :(



"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event."  — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.

NeoRatt on 06 November 2008

I find linking specific addictions to life events are ridiculous.

When I was 12, a friend hung himself to death one weekend after his parents wouldn't let him stay and play baseball on a Friday evening after school. Does that make baseball an addiction and bad?

The reality was that there was much more wrong. The evening that he couldn't play baseball was the final straw not the only straw that in this case cost him his life.

Where were the parents when they started to first notice the kid was spending longer and longer on CoD? It sounds like they waited too long before they took action. I have 2 kids as well, I hope I don't make that kind of mistake.



twesterm on 06 November 2008

To all you jerks saying the kid is an idiot or the parents are horrible-- lay off.

The parents know they made a mistake and they are really going through a horrible time right now. Please don't be so insensitive about an actual missing person, especially now that they they think they found his dead body.