News

As the search for Brandon Crisp intensified over the weekend, Microsoft Corp. said it would match a $25,000 reward being offered for information on his whereabouts, bringing it to $50,000.

Police say the 15-year-old vanished after running away from his parents' Barrie, Ont., home on Oct. 13. His parents say he left home after an argument stemming from his obsessive playing of the Xbox video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Microsoft - which manufactures the Xbox video game console and runs the Xbox Live network that Brandon was using to chat with other players - said it could not comment on its reasons for contributing to the reward, saying only that the company was working with police and hoping for Brandon's swift return.

"Like everyone, we are deeply worried about the disappearance of Brandon Crisp," a Microsoft spokesman said in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail.

"Law enforcement has contacted Microsoft about this matter and we are co-operating fully with them. We are unable to comment further on the nature of our co-operation because of the ongoing investigation."

Brandon's father, Steve Crisp, cautioned yesterday he doesn't blame Microsoft or its Xbox. "I'm not on a witch hunt. I just want my son back," he said.

Brandon's mother Angelika said her son was "obsessed" with Call of Duty, that it had been "a constant battle for the last two years" and that she would often hear her son talking to other players over the Xbox Live network through a headset in the middle of the night.

Over the past few years, there have been several cases where parents have sued video game companies for consequences arising from obsessive gaming among children and teens.

Although these lawsuits occur frequently in the United States, they are usually unsuccessful and the chances of winning a similar lawsuit in Canada are unlikely, said Chris Bennett, a Vancouver-based lawyer who runs the Video Games & Interactive Entertainment Law blog.

"If [Brandon] ran away because the parents took away his favourite bike, I doubt the parents would win in a lawsuit against the bike manufacturer," he said. "The same should be true about games, too."

Mr. Bennett said that parents are ultimately responsible for what their kids are watching on television and playing on their video game consoles. Call Of Duty 4 is rated "M" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, indicating that it's not suitable for children under the age of 17, he added.