Excavating the Atari E.T. Video Game Burial Site (Alamogordo: 2014, buy)

[Poncho_NM]

Published on Apr 26, 2014 - In 1983 after the critical and commercial failure of Atari's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial video game, the company allegedly dumped millions of cartridges into a landfill in Alamogordo, N.M. Now, more than 30 years later, the site is being excavated and filmed for an upcoming docu-series by The Incredible Hulk screenwriter Zak Penn. The day before the big dig we headed south to talk with Penn about the urban legend. Plus, check out our exclusive first look at the excavation site.




Excavating the Atari E.T. Video Game Burial Site
Part 1-Game|Life-WIRED - YouTube


Excavating the Atari E.T. Video Game Burial Site
Part 2-Game|Life-WIRED - YouTube

[Craziaskowboi]

I used to have an Atari 2600 when I was very young, and I'll never forget how easy it was for E.T. to fall in those holes. I had fun with it, though, falling in, lifting back out, and then immediately and deliberately falling back in again.

In the late 1980's I got a Nintendo, and while it took the Atari's place on the color TV in the basement, I had a smaller black-and-white TV on the same stand with the Atari hooked to it, and I'd alternate between the two.

[ABQConvict]

It is kind of hard to believe what a (relatively) big deal this story is.

A game failed.

Unsold copies were buried in a remote part of a remote state.

We just dug them up.

People are cheering.

Our culture is a weird thing :-)

[The Berzerker]

Here are some news articles on the whole thing, if anyone is interested..

Awesome Photos From The Atari Landfill
E.T. Found In New Mexico Landfill
Hundreds of Atari
E.T. cartridges found in infamous Atari landfill | Polygon

I argue that they should put some of the recovered artifacts in a gaming museum, or sell some of them on EBAY to see if anyone would even buy them lol