<s>
Polybius	B-Application
is	O
a	O
fictitious	O
1981	O
arcade	O
game	O
that	O
is	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
urban	O
legend	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allegedly	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
Polybius	B-Application
arcade	O
machines	O
disappeared	O
from	O
the	O
arcade	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
supposedly	O
suffered	O
from	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
unpleasant	O
side	O
effects	O
,	O
including	O
seizures	O
,	O
amnesia	B-Application
,	O
insomnia	O
,	O
night	O
terrors	O
,	O
and	O
hallucinations	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Approximately	O
one	O
month	O
after	O
its	O
supposed	O
release	O
in	O
1981	O
,	O
Polybius	B-Application
is	O
said	O
to	O
have	O
disappeared	O
without	O
a	O
trace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
named	O
in	O
most	O
accounts	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
Sinneslöschen	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
German	O
term	O
of	O
actual	O
use	O
,	O
"	O
Sinneslöschen	B-Application
"	O
would	O
be	O
pronounced	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
as	O
the	O
classical	O
Greek	O
historian	O
Polybius	B-Application
,	O
born	O
in	O
Arcadia	O
and	O
known	O
for	O
his	O
assertion	O
that	O
historians	O
should	O
never	O
report	O
what	O
they	O
cannot	O
verify	O
through	O
interviews	O
with	O
eyewitnesses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
anecdotal	O
accounts	O
claim	O
that	O
the	O
legend	O
originated	O
on	O
Usenet	B-Application
circa	O
1994	O
,	O
or	O
earlier	O
through	O
offline	O
word	O
of	O
mouth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
entry	O
mentions	O
the	O
name	O
Polybius	B-Application
and	O
a	O
copyright	O
date	O
of	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
author	O
of	O
the	O
entry	O
claims	O
in	O
the	O
description	O
to	O
be	O
in	O
possession	O
of	O
a	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
have	O
extracted	O
fragments	O
of	O
text	O
from	O
it	O
,	O
including	O
"	O
1981	O
Sinneslöschen	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
time	O
prior	O
to	O
September	O
2003	O
,	O
Kurt	O
Koller	O
,	O
owner	O
of	O
coinop.org,	O
submitted	O
a	O
message	O
to	O
the	O
American	O
video	O
game	O
magazine	O
GamePro	O
about	O
Polybius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Polybius	B-Application
then	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
September	O
2003	O
issue	O
of	O
GamePro	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
feature	O
story	O
on	O
video	O
games	O
called	O
"	O
Secrets	O
and	O
Lies	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
appearance	O
in	O
GamePro	O
magazine	O
,	O
several	O
people	O
claimed	O
to	O
have	O
some	O
involvement	O
with	O
Polybius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
alleged	O
original	O
Polybius	B-Application
arcade	O
game	O
does	O
not	O
exist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magazines	O
and	O
mainstream	O
news	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
make	O
no	O
mention	O
of	O
Polybius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Still	O
,	O
Polybius	B-Application
has	O
enjoyed	O
cult-like	O
status	O
as	O
a	O
throwback	O
to	O
a	O
more	O
technologically	O
paranoid	O
era.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Skeptics	O
and	O
researchers	O
have	O
differing	O
ideas	O
on	O
when	O
,	O
how	O
and	O
why	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
Polybius	B-Application
began	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
American	O
producer	O
and	O
author	O
Brian	O
Dunning	O
believes	O
Polybius	B-Application
to	O
be	O
an	O
urban	O
legend	O
that	O
grew	O
out	O
of	O
a	O
mixture	O
of	O
influences	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
notes	O
that	O
two	O
players	O
fell	O
ill	O
in	O
Portland	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
day	O
in	O
1981	O
,	O
one	O
collapsing	O
with	O
a	O
migraine	O
headache	O
after	O
playing	O
Tempest	B-Application
,	O
and	O
another	O
suffering	O
from	O
stomach	O
pain	O
after	O
playing	O
Asteroids	B-Application
for	O
28	O
hours	O
in	O
a	O
filmed	O
attempt	O
to	O
break	O
a	O
world	O
record	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
arcade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
believes	O
that	O
such	O
a	O
myth	O
must	O
have	O
been	O
established	O
by	O
1984	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
influenced	O
the	O
plot	O
of	O
the	O
film	O
The	B-Device
Last	I-Device
Starfighter	I-Device
,	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
teenager	O
is	O
recruited	O
by	O
aliens	O
who	O
monitor	O
him	O
playing	O
a	O
covertly-developed	O
arcade	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dunning	O
considers	O
"	O
Sinneslöschen	B-Application
"	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
kind	O
of	O
name	O
that	O
a	O
non-German	O
speaker	O
would	O
generate	O
if	O
they	O
tried	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
compound	O
word	O
using	O
an	O
English-to-German	O
dictionary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
writer	O
Patrick	O
Kellogg	O
believes	O
that	O
players	O
claiming	O
to	O
remember	O
having	O
played	O
or	O
seen	O
Polybius	B-Application
as	O
early	O
as	O
the	O
1980s	O
may	O
actually	O
be	O
recalling	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
Cube	B-Application
Quest	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cube	B-Application
Quest	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
arcades	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
shooting	O
game	O
which	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
laserdisc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
British	O
filmmaker	O
and	O
video	O
game	O
journalist	O
Stuart	O
Brown	O
concludes	O
that	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
legend	O
began	O
no	O
earlier	O
than	O
2000	O
,	O
arguing	O
against	O
the	O
purported	O
1980s	O
origin	O
for	O
the	O
myth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
legend	O
's	O
history	O
,	O
Brown	O
states	O
his	O
conclusion	O
that	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
story	O
began	O
as	O
an	O
intentional	O
hoax	O
in	O
2000	O
by	O
Kurt	O
Koller	O
,	O
owner	O
of	O
coinop.org,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
drive	O
traffic	O
to	O
his	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brown	O
states	O
that	O
he	O
did	O
not	O
find	O
any	O
evidence	O
of	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
myth	O
existing	O
until	O
the	O
year	O
2000	O
,	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
Brown	O
concludes	O
marked	O
the	O
first	O
appearance	O
of	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
article	O
on	O
Koller	O
's	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brown	O
further	O
theorizes	O
that	O
people	O
recalling	O
discussion	O
of	O
Polybius	B-Application
on	O
Usenet	B-Application
in	O
1994	O
were	O
misremembering	O
articles	O
on	O
the	O
Pink	O
Floyd-related	O
Publius	O
Enigma	O
puzzle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Per	O
Brown	O
,	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
hoax	O
capitalized	O
on	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
conspiracy	O
theories	O
and	O
the	O
highly	O
viral	O
nature	O
of	O
other	O
Internet	O
hoaxes	O
in	O
,	O
or	O
just	O
before	O
,	O
the	O
year	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brown	O
also	O
notes	O
striking	O
similarities	O
between	O
the	O
fonts	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
supposed	O
title	O
screen	O
,	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
image	O
on	O
coinop.org	O
in	O
2000	O
,	O
and	O
those	O
used	O
for	O
two	O
Williams	O
Electronics	O
arcade	O
video	O
games	O
:	O
Bubbles	B-Application
and	O
Robotron	B-Application
:	I-Application
2084	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
concludes	O
that	O
the	O
5-pixel	O
text	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
credit	O
counter	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Robotron	B-Application
:	I-Application
2084	I-Application
and	O
that	O
the	O
font	O
that	O
reads	O
"	O
Sinneslöschen	B-Application
"	O
is	O
almost	O
identical	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Bubbles	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
only	O
differences	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
O	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
mirror-image	O
reversal	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
H	O
"	O
along	O
a	O
central	O
vertical	O
axis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brown	O
states	O
that	O
this	O
could	O
be	O
the	O
work	O
of	O
a	O
copycat	O
fan	O
of	O
Williams	O
Electronics	O
;	O
both	O
Bubbles	B-Application
and	O
Robotron	B-Application
:	I-Application
2084	I-Application
were	O
made	O
by	O
Williams	O
and	O
both	O
were	O
released	O
only	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
than	O
when	O
Polybius	B-Application
was	O
said	O
to	O
first	O
appear	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
freeware	B-License
developers	O
and	O
arcade	O
constructors	O
Rogue	O
Synapse	O
registered	O
the	O
domain	O
"	O
sinnesloschen.com	O
 "	O
and	O
offered	O
a	O
free	O
downloadable	O
game	O
titled	O
Polybius	B-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
design	O
is	O
partly	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
contested	O
description	O
of	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
arcade	O
machine	O
posted	O
on	O
a	O
forum	O
by	O
an	O
individual	O
named	O
Steven	O
Roach	O
who	O
had	O
claimed	O
to	O
have	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rogue	O
Synapse	O
's	O
Polybius	B-Application
is	O
a	O
2D	O
shooter	O
resembling	O
Star	B-Application
Castle	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
transferred	O
to	O
it	O
the	O
"	O
Rogue	O
Synapse	O
"	O
trademark	O
and	O
a	O
newly	O
registered	O
trademark	O
on	O
"	O
Polybius	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
website	O
says	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
an	O
"	O
attempt	O
to	O
recreate	O
the	O
Polybius	B-Application
game	O
as	O
it	O
might	O
have	O
existed	O
in	O
1981	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Llamasoft	O
announced	O
a	O
game	O
called	O
Polybius	B-Application
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
PlayStation	I-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
with	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
VR	I-Device
,	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	O
store	O
on	O
Tuesday	O
,	O
May	O
9	O
,	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
marketing	O
,	O
co-author	O
Jeff	O
Minter	O
claimed	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
permitted	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
original	O
Polybius	B-Application
arcade	O
machine	O
in	O
a	O
warehouse	O
in	O
Basingstoke	B-Application
,	O
England	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
first	O
episode	O
of	O
Paper	O
Girls	O
(	O
2022	O
)	O
,	O
Polybius	B-Application
runs	O
on	O
a	O
home	O
game	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
fifth	O
episode	O
of	O
season	O
1	O
of	O
the	O
Loki	O
television	O
series	O
(	O
2021	O
)	O
,	O
when	O
Loki	O
is	O
in	O
The	O
Void	O
,	O
a	O
Polybius	B-Application
cabinet	O
is	O
seen	O
in	O
the	O
background	O
of	O
the	O
Loki	O
variants	O
 '	O
hideout	O
.	O
</s>
