Pokemon NO GO
The Pokémon Panic of 1997
Benjamin Radford
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 25.3, May / June 2001
The Pokémon Panic of 1997
In 1997, an episode of the cartoon Pokémon allegedly induced seizures and other ailments in thousands of Japanese children. Though popularly attributed to photosensitive epilepsy, the episode has many of the hallmarks of mass hysteria.
Pokémon is everywhere; more than a game, more than a movie, even more than a merchandising juggernaut, it is a phenomenon. It has spawned countless video games, comic books, Web sites, video tapes, magazines, clubs, music CDs, books, trading cards, three films, and, of course, an animated television series. It became such a cultural phenomenon that Time magazine featured Pokémon on the cover of its November 22, 1999, issue.
For kids it’s an engaging pastime; for Nintendo, it’s a multibillion-dollar moneymaker, possibly the largest marketing effort in the history of toys. (The theme song’s refrain contains a catchy ode to merchandising, “Gotta catch 'em all!”) Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri spent six years developing the game and world of Pokémon. Pokémon (a shortening of “Pocket Monsters,” from the original Japanese name Poketto Monsuta) began as a video game for the handheld Nintendo Game Boy system.
The television series centers on young boys and girls who wander the world of Pokémon looking for small creatures (called Pokémon) to capture, befriend, and train for battle against other trainers (and their Pokémon) in the Pokémon League. The ultimate goal is for the kids to collect one of every species and become Pokémon Masters. There are currently more than 150 different Pokémon (with more on the way), and each creature has special powers and individual personalities. The most popular Pokémon, Pikachu, looks something like a yellow rat with a lightning-bolt tail and has the ability to shock its opponents with electricity.
Although it is largely forgotten and rarely mentioned in current news accounts of “Pokemania,” Pokémon wasn't always the benign cartoon whose worst threat was emptying bank accounts. In December 1997, up to 12,000 Japanese children reported illnesses ranging from nausea to seizures after watching an episode of Pokémon.
LINK
Benjamin Radford
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 25.3, May / June 2001
The Pokémon Panic of 1997
In 1997, an episode of the cartoon Pokémon allegedly induced seizures and other ailments in thousands of Japanese children. Though popularly attributed to photosensitive epilepsy, the episode has many of the hallmarks of mass hysteria.
Pokémon is everywhere; more than a game, more than a movie, even more than a merchandising juggernaut, it is a phenomenon. It has spawned countless video games, comic books, Web sites, video tapes, magazines, clubs, music CDs, books, trading cards, three films, and, of course, an animated television series. It became such a cultural phenomenon that Time magazine featured Pokémon on the cover of its November 22, 1999, issue.
For kids it’s an engaging pastime; for Nintendo, it’s a multibillion-dollar moneymaker, possibly the largest marketing effort in the history of toys. (The theme song’s refrain contains a catchy ode to merchandising, “Gotta catch 'em all!”) Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri spent six years developing the game and world of Pokémon. Pokémon (a shortening of “Pocket Monsters,” from the original Japanese name Poketto Monsuta) began as a video game for the handheld Nintendo Game Boy system.
The television series centers on young boys and girls who wander the world of Pokémon looking for small creatures (called Pokémon) to capture, befriend, and train for battle against other trainers (and their Pokémon) in the Pokémon League. The ultimate goal is for the kids to collect one of every species and become Pokémon Masters. There are currently more than 150 different Pokémon (with more on the way), and each creature has special powers and individual personalities. The most popular Pokémon, Pikachu, looks something like a yellow rat with a lightning-bolt tail and has the ability to shock its opponents with electricity.
Although it is largely forgotten and rarely mentioned in current news accounts of “Pokemania,” Pokémon wasn't always the benign cartoon whose worst threat was emptying bank accounts. In December 1997, up to 12,000 Japanese children reported illnesses ranging from nausea to seizures after watching an episode of Pokémon.
LINK
