I was more surprised when the logging industry did an hour long special on CNN about the dangers of falling out of a tree. Those evil trees must be stopped, their bloodlust is unquenchable. Nature is wicked. Like the loggers say, "Fell a forest, save a life".
I was on an MLG clan a while back, if anyone remembers THEWRONGKIND on the COD4 Hardcore ladder....
We were in the top 10 for around a month, getting paid and all, and I was NEVER addicted to the game. If I couldn't play a match cause I had to do my homework, there were always at least two people that were able to back me up. I didn't care if I missed an entire week due to school work.
I hate to say this, but Crisp was a total loser. If you get addicted to video games, you have no real friends. If all you can think about 24/7 is video games, you might as well just pack it in right there. To have your entire life revolve around you holding a white controller in your hands and sitting in a chair.... wow.
I love video games, but his entire story, and the way CBC chose to cover it, is full of fail. I never play video games in hopes to make a ton of money. Sure, it would be nice, but I play them to have fun, just like all other games.
@Oggy: thats a little harsh. he just really enjoyed it. as it said, he was too small for sports and likely grew up in a smaller town with not much to do. i cant understand why he enjoyed it too much and it is more the parents fault than the game developers. they just now see his addiction after his death? come on....he over reacted that is all there is to it
@Hoytzilla: Barrie isn't as small a town as it is made it. Its like a mini Toronto. There is plenty to do there. But I agree, there are more to blame then just games, including the parents, and many other things.
HAHAHAHA. The Fifth Estate is always extremely biased in it's stories. They take a position on an issue and skew all the information towards that viewpoint. It's awful.
Don't worry though, noone watches The Fifth Estate.
@Cerabret100: I could care less if anybody, anywhere watched The Fifth Estate. It's just a Canadian news broadcast along the same lines as maybe 60 Minutes or 20/20. It has a much lower budget and often covers less important issues though.
@Quilt: What's extremely sad is our Canadian government helps fund the CBC and indirectly (or directly depending who you ask) sponsors this bullshit tripe.
It's extremely bothersome to know my tax dollars are going toward paying these idiots salaries and providing money to churn out biased sensationalist news propaganda.
And it's not even things like the Crisp story, the fifth estate and CBC in general have created some of the most asinine "reporting" I've ever seen. It's a damn shame.
@Duin: Are you serious? Usually the Fifth Estate is very, very good. Their coverage of international events are second to none (ok, well, maybe the BBC).
I watched this piece in its entirety and there were 1 or 2 good points raised, but the entire premise was false.
One fundamental question that she didn't confront the parents on is why they didn't set parental controls on the 360, and why they bought that game for their son.
But to knock the Fifth Estate because of this one bad piece, is somewhat ignorant.
@nrXic: You're an ignorant prick for tossing the word ignorant around all willy nilly. I could name off numerous times they have done things in poor taste and have spread false information with a blatant agenda apparent.
One of the most egregious examples was their Chris Benoit debacle from a couple years ago.
Sensationalism, slanted reporting and fallacious claims all coupled with leading questions to interviewees and non-creditable 'specialists' go toward my problem with the show and CBC.
Did you even bother to read my second to last sentence before spouting off? Here, for you reading pleasure again, "and it's not even things like the Crisp story, the fifth estate and CBC in general have created some of the most asinine "reporting" I've ever seen"
Like someone else in another thread said, I know plenty of teenage girls who would run away from home if you took away their Twilight novels or told them they couldn't use the phone or internet anymore or something.
How about we take away all the fuckin' cell phones, huh? This is ridiculous. We should buy Cuba and turn it into a gamer country. Nothing would get done... So we'd have to build robots.
Other than occasionally reminding us that they'll give us all cancer (but then, what doesn't?) they ertainly don't want to start a crusade that will result in taking away something they enjoy.
Games are just the latest target in a long line of things teens like that get blamed for things parents don't like. Previous targets, such as comic books, rock and roll, rap, and music videos have all taken their lumps and then eventually became a de facto part of life for people of all ages. It wasn't so long ago that comic books were blamed for children causing mayhem, or that rap started Tipper Gore's "war" on music that resulted in the "Parental Advisory" sticker we now take for granted. Or, God forbid, the Beatles' long hair and Elvis's disgusting hip gyrations. These things are now all largely considered non-issues, except insofar as parents need to take an interest in their childrens' habits.
Video games, even though not new, are certianly more common, interactive, immersive and realistic, and are an easy target for a generation who did not grow up with them. As that generation slowly fades away, so too will the demonization of games and the onus of fault for societies ills.
As gamers, our responsibility is to be responsible individuals, and when necessary, offer reasonable and informed commentary on why games are simply a fun and harmless form of entertainment. Vote when needed to avoid having games become unfairly and needlessly regulated.
@NutZero: And that seems to be the point almost everyone discussing the story and what every single person reporting on it seems to miss.
He climbed a tree. He fell out of the tree. He died from his injuries.
That has dick all to do with video games, sports, his parents, drugs, sex, pornography, kittens, double peppermint pizza flavoured cookie dough iced cream, or anything else.
He climbed a tree, fell and died.
Sure, he ran away and it was a direct result of him being pissed at his parents for taking away his Xbox. Professional 'gaming', addiction, etc. had nothing to truly do with it. He could have aspired to be a ping pong player and had his paddle taken away for the same reasons and the result would be the same.
Making it anymore than it is, a kid accidentally falling out of a tree, is completely missing the point and sensationalizing something for the sake of it.
Nothing except his own foolishness in climbing a tree lead to his death.
A horrible accident, but that's all it truly was, an accident.
I'm debating whether to even look at this linked story or not. I find myself easily aggravated by these sorts of things but I feel the need to stay informed at the same time. I'll feel it out first :/
@woons: There are enough things that make me angry everywhere without subjecting myself to the umpteenth dishonest story about how video games/RPGs/music/TV/movies/comic books are destroying the moral foundation of society...
Also, while I know that what I do won't make a difference, I'd rather not give page hits to that kind of website.
I can't stop them from being fear-mongerers, but at least I won't increase their traffic and add revenue.
@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under): I would say no...I'm sure there are more worthwhile pursuits for you and your enormous intellect today than to sit and waste 9 mins of your life on some exploitative fear-mongering report targeted at the most ignorant members of our society. If its information you seek, you won't find it there Okenny!
@RhodesNK: My thoughts exactly. Parent's fault, 100%. I quote, "If you're going to run away, make sure to take a warm coat". And they blame videogames. Wow...
@Elfgrin: I've now watched the first 9 minutes (which is basically everything leading up to the runaway) and have reevaluated my stance on the story.
It's clear that Crisp was addicted to the game and that he was not playing it "responsibly"; he didn't go out with his friends, he was playing at all hours, even missing school because of it.
His parents tried to deal with the issue by taking away the game; I don't think that they can be blamed for this attempt at solving the problem, but it clearly wasn't the right thing to do. I think that a more hands-on, interactive approach probably would have been more beneficial than the jarring, upsetting cold-turkey method they used.
That being said, I can't blame the parents. They could have done better, but information about how to deal with addiction in children isn't common knowledge; they did their best as parents. I think the father said it best, "I just never realized how important it was to him."
Clearly they could have been more in-touch with their child, and clearly, both in hindsight and through the more informed eyes of others, they could have done things better, but were they bad parents? I don't think so. Parents are people, too, fallible and accident-prone like the rest of us; they did the best they could based on their knowledge at the time.
Now, should they be scape-goating video games? Of course not, but that's another issue entirely, one that doesn't even need discussing.
If he hadn't spent so much time gaming inside, maybe he would have been better at climbing trees.
...but seriously, dark side of gaming? This has nothing to do with gaming. Since time immemorial, children have been running away when parents do something they don't like, like grounding them, taking away their right to use toy X, etc. This is just the same shit.
This is a really sad case of a truly accidental death being exploited.
Kids run away all the time for all kinds of reasons. Nine times out of ten they come back, this case was an unfortunate exception where the kid died, most likely from an accidental fall.
What if the boy had run away for another reason, like his parents wouldn't take him to the zoo? Would we now be calling for all zoos to be closed because they kill children?
@QualityJeverage: Yeah, I think the fact that the kid liked playing video games is kind of superfluous. A lot of kids are kind of lost at 15. At that age, you are still trying to figure out who you are, how to relate to your parents, how to prioritize your life vs. how others are trying to prioritize your life for you. In this case, videogames became the scape goat for what I imagine were broader, coming-of-age problems in this kid's life.
talk about invasion of the bodysnatchers; look at those fucking aliens in that picture! anyway, sounds like cbs is in need of a ratings boost. :it's totally call of duty's fault that kid ran away and fell out of a tree".... maybe his gaming addiction was a direct result of some other issue... you know how cocaine doesn't make you snort it to ruin your life. usually you've got some other issue that influenced your decision to do it.
@Kinburn: I'd say he's judging the excerpt that says "His disappearance, and death, became a national news story as it revealed a dark side to what many thought was a harmless entertainment".
Which is pretty fair to say that the show is seeking to blame video games for akid running away and falling out of a tree.
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Thanks CBC!
03/07/09
So many errors.
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We were in the top 10 for around a month, getting paid and all, and I was NEVER addicted to the game. If I couldn't play a match cause I had to do my homework, there were always at least two people that were able to back me up. I didn't care if I missed an entire week due to school work.
I hate to say this, but Crisp was a total loser. If you get addicted to video games, you have no real friends. If all you can think about 24/7 is video games, you might as well just pack it in right there. To have your entire life revolve around you holding a white controller in your hands and sitting in a chair.... wow.
I love video games, but his entire story, and the way CBC chose to cover it, is full of fail. I never play video games in hopes to make a ton of money. Sure, it would be nice, but I play them to have fun, just like all other games.
03/07/09
03/07/09
03/07/09
Don't worry though, noone watches The Fifth Estate.
03/07/09
Never heard of the Fifth Estate before though. What the hell is the title about/mean/reference anyway?
03/07/09
03/07/09
It's extremely bothersome to know my tax dollars are going toward paying these idiots salaries and providing money to churn out biased sensationalist news propaganda.
And it's not even things like the Crisp story, the fifth estate and CBC in general have created some of the most asinine "reporting" I've ever seen. It's a damn shame.
03/07/09
I watched this piece in its entirety and there were 1 or 2 good points raised, but the entire premise was false.
One fundamental question that she didn't confront the parents on is why they didn't set parental controls on the 360, and why they bought that game for their son.
But to knock the Fifth Estate because of this one bad piece, is somewhat ignorant.
03/08/09
One of the most egregious examples was their Chris Benoit debacle from a couple years ago.
Sensationalism, slanted reporting and fallacious claims all coupled with leading questions to interviewees and non-creditable 'specialists' go toward my problem with the show and CBC.
Did you even bother to read my second to last sentence before spouting off? Here, for you reading pleasure again, "and it's not even things like the Crisp story, the fifth estate and CBC in general have created some of the most asinine "reporting" I've ever seen"
03/07/09
This is bullshit.
03/07/09
How about we take away all the fuckin' cell phones, huh? This is ridiculous. We should buy Cuba and turn it into a gamer country. Nothing would get done... So we'd have to build robots.
03/07/09
Thats fucked, and a completely good example of video games taking the blame for stupid shit, when really, its just *stupid shit*.
03/07/09
Other than occasionally reminding us that they'll give us all cancer (but then, what doesn't?) they ertainly don't want to start a crusade that will result in taking away something they enjoy.
Games are just the latest target in a long line of things teens like that get blamed for things parents don't like. Previous targets, such as comic books, rock and roll, rap, and music videos have all taken their lumps and then eventually became a de facto part of life for people of all ages. It wasn't so long ago that comic books were blamed for children causing mayhem, or that rap started Tipper Gore's "war" on music that resulted in the "Parental Advisory" sticker we now take for granted. Or, God forbid, the Beatles' long hair and Elvis's disgusting hip gyrations. These things are now all largely considered non-issues, except insofar as parents need to take an interest in their childrens' habits.
Video games, even though not new, are certianly more common, interactive, immersive and realistic, and are an easy target for a generation who did not grow up with them. As that generation slowly fades away, so too will the demonization of games and the onus of fault for societies ills.
As gamers, our responsibility is to be responsible individuals, and when necessary, offer reasonable and informed commentary on why games are simply a fun and harmless form of entertainment. Vote when needed to avoid having games become unfairly and needlessly regulated.
03/07/09
03/07/09
He climbed a tree. He fell out of the tree. He died from his injuries.
That has dick all to do with video games, sports, his parents, drugs, sex, pornography, kittens, double peppermint pizza flavoured cookie dough iced cream, or anything else.
He climbed a tree, fell and died.
Sure, he ran away and it was a direct result of him being pissed at his parents for taking away his Xbox. Professional 'gaming', addiction, etc. had nothing to truly do with it. He could have aspired to be a ping pong player and had his paddle taken away for the same reasons and the result would be the same.
Making it anymore than it is, a kid accidentally falling out of a tree, is completely missing the point and sensationalizing something for the sake of it.
Nothing except his own foolishness in climbing a tree lead to his death.
A horrible accident, but that's all it truly was, an accident.
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03/07/09
I'm not going to look ... there's no point, surely?
There's enough things that make me angry on the internet without any effort on my part, without me forcing another on myself voluntarily.
03/07/09
Also, while I know that what I do won't make a difference, I'd rather not give page hits to that kind of website.
I can't stop them from being fear-mongerers, but at least I won't increase their traffic and add revenue.
03/08/09
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03/07/09
It's clear that Crisp was addicted to the game and that he was not playing it "responsibly"; he didn't go out with his friends, he was playing at all hours, even missing school because of it.
His parents tried to deal with the issue by taking away the game; I don't think that they can be blamed for this attempt at solving the problem, but it clearly wasn't the right thing to do. I think that a more hands-on, interactive approach probably would have been more beneficial than the jarring, upsetting cold-turkey method they used.
That being said, I can't blame the parents. They could have done better, but information about how to deal with addiction in children isn't common knowledge; they did their best as parents. I think the father said it best, "I just never realized how important it was to him."
Clearly they could have been more in-touch with their child, and clearly, both in hindsight and through the more informed eyes of others, they could have done things better, but were they bad parents? I don't think so. Parents are people, too, fallible and accident-prone like the rest of us; they did the best they could based on their knowledge at the time.
Now, should they be scape-goating video games? Of course not, but that's another issue entirely, one that doesn't even need discussing.
03/05/09
...but seriously, dark side of gaming? This has nothing to do with gaming. Since time immemorial, children have been running away when parents do something they don't like, like grounding them, taking away their right to use toy X, etc. This is just the same shit.
Fucking media.
03/05/09
Kids run away all the time for all kinds of reasons. Nine times out of ten they come back, this case was an unfortunate exception where the kid died, most likely from an accidental fall.
What if the boy had run away for another reason, like his parents wouldn't take him to the zoo? Would we now be calling for all zoos to be closed because they kill children?
03/05/09
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Which is pretty fair to say that the show is seeking to blame video games for akid running away and falling out of a tree.
Do you see any other rational conclusion?
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