Polybius: Myth or Government Mind Control Arcade Game

As someone interested in video games I've been looking into this. It's possible that this urban legend came about and evolved over time because of a couple of incidents of people falling ill in arcades in Portland, Oregon. One was someone who started feeling ill after playing Asteroids for 28 hours straight, trying to break a record. The other one was someone that suffered a migraine after playing Tempest. Just a short while later the FBI was also in the area investigating claims of gambling going on in the area.

I have a couple of fan-made versions of Polybius, one on my computer and one on my phone.

Jeff Minter of Tempest 2000, Space Giraffe and TxK fame is developing a game called Polybius for the Playstation VR.

Anyway here's an article about how this legend probably came about:

skeptoid.com...

Here's some gameplay video of Jeff Minter's Polybius:

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

That was by far the best documentary about something I have never heard of or had no interest in I have ever seen.

a reply to: nonspecific

Always happy to expand horizons.

I know this is an old topic but due to my curiosity I decided to research it again.
many (including alot of posters here) seem convinced its an urban legend or some feel a mis-representation of incidents that happened in the 1980s of video games.
I am not convinced of this.

Lets look at some issues surrounding the video game industry at that time and of the government in general

The 1980s video game industry.

the 1980s (especially in the later part) was considered the "golden age" of video games.
there wasn't the cut throat "sue everyone" mentality back then.
add to that arcade video games were the hot item/in thing.
people could not get enough of them.
so there was alot of new games coming out back then.
along with alot of small run, knock offs, specialty made and many companies trying to get a piece of this very large pie.
One only has to go to sites like arcade museum.com to see all the titles (many that alot of people didnt remember or seen before).
Also games were EVERYWHERE.
Not only in dedicated arcades but also pizza joints (some dedicated to games), ice cream shops, restaurants of all types, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, amusement parks, ball parks, ect.
In short about anywhere people came had at least one game.
It didn't matter if it was a major city or some small one horse town out in the sticks.
So the idea of some small store having a limited run game did happen.
Also given that we didn't have the internet to easily see what games were made and what was out in circulation was found out either by seeing it in person , by an advertising blitz, a magazine or word of mouth.
Look at the list at multiple websites of games back then you will see a bunch you probably never seen, remember and/or much less played.


The government
The government back in the 1980s (hell even today) was doing all sorts of experiments on people with or without their knowledge. Be it psychological , biological, propaganda, aviation, technology of all types, ect.
We know of projects like MKULTRA, chemical warfare tests in SF, releasing mosquitoes down south, and other more sinister projects like the Tuskegee experiments. To which we don't know the full story of most of what we have found out.

Now we do know of a true case where the government used video games to test and arguably in some way train people
They had atari (much to the protest of programmers back then which is kinda hypocritical since they made games of in essence war , blowing quano up, ect however another issue ) make a modified battle zone that resembled (for the tech back then) bradley fighting vehicle. Where you engaged not alien vehicles but actual helicopters, tanks, and apc's with controls and weapons (again remember tech for the day) the actually used.
they were put in officers and enlisted clubs (ft knox I believe was one place) and the soldiers using their own money played them alot. This game made the national news.
They made only a reported only two were made ( a person claimed to find a gutted third one) with only one claimed to still exist...

The atari game does fit some of the criteria (limited number, limited use and used to test people) as the polybius game story but it existed and proven.

So why would the government not take advantage of the arcade video game craze to produce a few games to test / experiment on people and put it in some remote area then when all done just take them out.

you have people willing to play it alot, they will pay for it, and ultimate deniability .
Add to that the time that has gone by and that they don't have to deny anything or discredit anyone.


Look I am not saying that Polybius definitely existed or that it could not be an urban myth.

But given all the facts we do know exist on the golden age of video games , the government past black (and not exactly ethical ) programs, and the arcade game the government DID MAKE and limit placement in public .

One cannot dismiss Poybius as not existing.

Scrounger