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>Newsreels rebroadcasting the clips for context actually made the situation wore, as people who had not seen the episode were exposed to the same sequence and began to experience symptoms of their own
>It was the only incident of mass epilespy in history and only possible because of the technology of mass broadcasting and the popularity of one show that happened to use exactly the wrong technique. The mass media industry was completely unprepared for this type of situation.
>The "Pokemon Shocks" triggered emergency meetings by Japan's Ministry of Health and an investigation by the national police agency
>Nintendo's stock shares fell 5% in 24 hours. Many thought the Pokemon anime would be cancelled.
>The Pokemon Shocks set off a complete reform of Japanese broadcast standards. Following this, all TV anime featured warnings at the beginning of episodes, telling viewers to watch in brightly lit rooms while at an adequate distance away from the TV. The amount of flicker that could be instituted in a one-second period was formally limited by TV stations, and the kinds of shapes and flashes that could used in TV anime were strictly regulated to prevent a repeat incident.
>Even video games were affected, as the subsequent implementation of epilepsy testing on products eventually led Nintendo to artificially darken their re-releases of older games and remove flashing effects.
>The cultural impact of the shocks would endear for many years more, inspiring the fictional "Deadly Flash Virus" in the .Hack franchise and numerous parodies in the western world.
