The segment of Fifth Estate aired last night and is now available to watch on their website. It is as frustrating as you might expect it to be.

Top Gun [CBC]

Crisp, 15, ran away from his home on Oct. 14, 2008 after his parents took away his Xbox 360. He had been playing too much Call of Duty 4 and his grades were slipping.

After being told he would lose his gaming privileges, the teen told his father he was running away. His body was discovered in November. An autopsy later determined that he died of chest injuries sustained in a fall, likely from a tree.

In Top Gun, The Fifth Estate looks at the "dark side of what many thought was harmless entertainment." You hear that librarians? Gaming has a dark side!

From the show's site:

When Brandon Crisp's parents took away his Xbox, they had no idea that their attempt to restrict their son's video gaming would lead to tragedy. In retaliation, Brandon ran away. His body was found three weeks later. His disappearance, and death, became a national news story as it revealed a dark side to what many thought was a harmless entertainment. Gillian Findlay investigates how a video gaming obsession can turn to addiction and a pro gaming circuit with thousands of dollars in potential winnings, experts say, can fuel the need to play.

I hope the Fifth Estate doesn't stumble upon this thing called professional sports, they could really blow the lid off that scandal.

Coming up on the fifth estate: Friday, March 6, 2009 at 9 p.m.

I’ll give you a hint: it’s not game addiction. It’s media coverage.

That’s not to say that 17-year-olds have been committing matricide since time immemorial. Or that the American Psychiatric Association won’t enter video game addiction into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders when review time comes up in 2012. Or that it’s somehow normal to log 100 hours of World of Warcraft in a week.

But I submit that just 10 years ago, Petric’s murder trial would not have gotten this kind of attention from the media. We wouldn’t have headlines like “X-Box Slaying” or “Mortal Kombat Murder.” It would just be “Teen Commits Murder Over Toy” with a quote about how he (or she) seemed like such a nice kid.

So why has the press shifted toward highlighting video games in connection with crime or tragedy? And why are they calling compulsive gaming an “addiction” when the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association haven’t named it so (yet)? Is it because the public really thinks that video games are dangerous?

Or maybe the press is looking for easy headlines. For a little experiment, check out how many hits the razor blade story got this morning. Then check out the murder trial’s hits. And lastly, sit back and see how many hits this page gets.

If we pay this much attention to the topic, it’s no wonder that politicians and lawyers are doing it, too. That scares me because too much attention could legitimize something that might not even be real. Think of the Twinkie Defense in Dan White's murder trial – if politicians, psychologists and TV anchors had bought into it, people might well get away with murder if they can cram down a couple of boxes before getting out their gun.

For more reading on the idea of game addiction (you know, with actual science and stuff), check out:
The Daedalus Project
Stanford School of Medicine’s Recent Study
The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry's Reaction to AMA Recommendations on Video Games

The family blames "video game addiction" for Brandon's disappearance, so the message here is clear. Turn off the console, get outside, and play with friends in a real game, in the real world. And we should.

Microsoft Canada assisted authorities and pledged reward money during the search for Brandon. Not sure if they're making a donation — not sure if it'd even be accepted, given the family's grief. One would think they would, though, to show that the games community sympathizes and laments this horrible tragedy as well.

Brandon's funeral mass will be Friday in his home town of Barrie, Ontario. More than 1,000 are expected to attend.

Grieving Family of Brandon Crisp Establishes Foundation in His Memory [Canadian Press]

The story continues to bring out experts and notable persons to make some sort of commentaryon "video game addiction" which is what Brandon's father says is partly, or at least proximately, responsible for this tragedy. In a Canadian Press story, Vance Wallace, lead designer of Tomb Raider: Underworld, makes the common sense declaration that yes, games should be enjoyed in moderation, the same as anything else consumed for pleasure. Wallace also said the scapegoating of games is a reaction that predates even video games.

"I think that video games are the new Jazz music or TV," he told the CP at Festival Arcadia, described as Canada's premier gaming event.

"Whenever there's something that's understood by one generation and not understood by another, it becomes a scapegoat for people and they just say 'Oh that's obviously the problem."'

Elsewhere, the games-addiction storyline is still accepted at face value, which is a great message to send to parents who lack an understanding of video games and might overhear chatter that a cool title is engineered for a 420-hour experience. Says the Globe and Mail of Toronto:

Stephen Kline, a researcher with Simon Fraser University who has studied youth and compulsive gaming, said the sad ending to Brandon's life will make it difficult for parents to act if they see their children growing increasingly preoccupied with gaming.

“Coming out of this, I think a lot of parents will say, ‘Well, what can I do? I can't take the game away. I think my kid will do a bump,” he said. “There's a deep lack of information about what to do.”

I'm not sold on "addiction" here. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist; does mean it should be or should have been professionally diagnosed. Why can't this just be a case of a typically messed-up teenager who did something rash, and instead of it ending with hugs and a good cry, his parents are bearing the anguish of his decision forever? When I was 15 I was obsessed with the idea of becoming a professional baseball player and had a screaming match with mother when she told me that was never gonna happen. Doesn't mean I was addicted to the thought or the game, and I didn't run away to play it, but I was definitely in my own world.

Autopsy Shows Brandon Crisp Died From Fall [Globe and Mail, Toronto]
Lara Croft Video Game Designer Says Moderation Key to Avoiding Addiction [Canadian Press]

The company had planned midnight launch parties for the game's release. Stores in both cities will still be open at midnight, but the celebrations will not now be taking place. Future Shop issued the following statement through their PR agency.

Future Shop and our vendor partner have decided to cancel promotional activities prior to the midnight release of Gears of War 2 in Toronto and Vancouver out of respect for the family and friends of Brandon Crisp. The game will still be available to the thousands of customers anticipating this release at Future Shop stores across the country at midnight on November 7, 2008. All stores in Quebec and Sudbury, Ontario will offer the game at 8:00 a.m.

Gears Of War 2 launch events cancelled out of respect for Brandon Crisp [Load This]

"At this point we believe it to be Brandon, and we're still obviously in the early stages of our investigation," Sgt. Dave Goodbrand told CTV. "It's not confirmed because nothing's confirmed until we have pathology, but we believe it to be Brandon."

Crisp's parents say he ran away from Barrie home in Canada on Oct. 14 after they took away his Xbox 360. He had been playing Call of Duty 4 and his grades were slipping, his parents told ABC.

After being told he would lose his gaming privileges the 15-year-old told his father that he was running away. He was last seen biking on a trail about 5:45 p.m. The reward for information about the missing boy had reached $41,776.

According to the brief television report the body of the missing boy was found on Fifth Line in the Barrie area.A blue-checkered jacket, tent, crackers and full bag of chips were found on the trail on Oct. 24. No other details were given and police have yet to confirm the information.

Our hearts go out to Crisp's parents.

Missing Barrie boy Brandon Crisp found dead

ABC News has an informative two-page article up about the teen’s disappearance, talking to the family about the moments leading up to the disappearance. After being told that he was losing his Xbox 360 permanently Crisp told his parents he was leaving home.

Calling his son's bluff, Crisp said he advised him to take warm clothes when he saw Brandon loading things into a backpack. He then watched as his only son rode away on his bicycle. The family, which includes Brandon's twin sister and older sister, figured he'd blow off some steam with friends and be back that evening.

Crisp was last seen on a heavily traveled trail about 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 10. Microsoft Canada has been cooperating with the investigation trying to ping people who have been in contact with the teen in his favorite game: Call of Duty 4. But with no luck. In fact local police think the 360 is a dead alley.

Microsoft has also matched existing rewards for information leading to Brandon’s return, bumping it up to $41,776.

Family hope that their son broke into a nearby holiday cottage and is holed up there, but they also fear he may have been abducted or fled to the U.S. His home in Barrie is about 2 ½ hours from Buffalo, New York.

If you’ve had any contact with Crisp or know his whereabouts please contact authorities. I can’t even imagine what the parents are going through right now.

Microsoft Offering Reward for Return of Gaming Addicted Teen

[Update]: His body may have been found.

Crisp left his home on October 13th after an argument with his parents over a confiscated Xbox 360. He has been missing ever since. His father, Steve Crisp, says he is convinced that Brandon's disappearance may be connected to someone he met while gaming online.

TV show America's Most Wanted has posted a profile of the missing boy on its website, describing him as "an avid online gamer who specifically plays 1st person shooters."

Missing Ont. teen may not be in Canada: police [CBC]

That said, Toronto's National Post has a story up this weekend that does a good job at knocking this down from a sensational video game controversy story to what it really is — a disturbed kid gone missing and terrifying his parents. The lead to the story:

Blaming video games for the woes of teens such as Brandon Crisp, who disappeared after his parents confiscated his Xbox, might be missing a bigger point, child psychologists warn. Obsessive behaviour in any form, combined with sudden shifts in habits, could indicate deeper, emotional turmoil that often eludes many parents.

The reporters, Craig Offman and Natalie Alcoba, then seek out Harvard psychologist Dr. Lawrence Kutner, whose book Grand Theft Childhood had a provocative title but really gave an evenhanded, well researched look at child behavior and video games.

Dr. Kutner said the overwhelming majority of children who play video games do not suffer any psychological damage. If anything, he added, the consoles provide an effective means to be burn off excess adolescent energy and anxiety.

"In essence, it's a way of self-medicating," he said. "Kids play for a variety of reasons: for the fun of it, for the challenge. Or they play for emotional regulation. They can get their anger out."

Of course, "self-medicating" is the watchword. One can self-medicate with alcohol, pot, or other behaviors. It doesn't completely exempt gaming; it remains associated. But it's interesting to see a newspaper of record and an authoritative source combining to back this story away from hysteria.

Teens' Video Game Habits Part of Larger Issue: Experts [National Post]