February 2012
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When “Pokemon” was first released in Japan, there was an odd phenomenon between children ages 7-12, particularly in those using headphones to listen to the sound effects. Increase of nosebleeds, irritability, insomnia, and addiction to the game, playing for hours and hours on end and crying to the point of vomiting when the opportunity was taken away.
Roughly 70% of these cases ended in suicide.
In almost every case of the aforementioned symptoms, despite gameplay time recorded to the limit of the internal clock, the game had not progressed further than “Lavender Town”.
A closer analysis of the game revealed a tone in the audio of the music for “Lavender Town” at a pitch undetectable by fully developed human ear drums. Within weeks every unsold copy of the “first edition” the game were recalled silently and the game was re-released with re-mastered audio for “Lavender Town”.
The widely known version is said to be missing three extra tones, as well as the unique, binaural tone of the first edition, although this is unconfirmed due to the rarity of working first edition copies; in the known few that remain, the internal clock and ‘battery save’ have all timed out and ceased function, and in many cases the game will freeze upon entering any battle.
The audio post above is the original file that was heard by these children.
