Film crew to dig up desert in search of millions of copies of E.T. for Atari

A documentary crew has now received approval to dig up a site in New Mexico where Atari allegedly buried millions of unsold Atari 2600 consoles and games.

The urban legend of the desert site has been around for at least two decades, and gamers (and former gamers) will certainly follow the story.

Fuel Industries, a marketing firm, will excavate the site in the next 180 days, before the 30 year anniversary of the supposed burial in September 1983.

That year, the video game industry saw a large downtrend due to greater market factors, leaving Atari with millions of unsold and sealed consoles and games, including over 3 million copies of E.T. The company then, according to the myth, dumped the unsold merchandise in an Alamogordo landfill which was later covered by concrete.

If reports from the New York Times are accurate, there could have been as many as 20 dump trucks full of merchandise dumped in the landfill.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 1 Jun 2013 18:29

Jemborg

Way-hey!

And no-one can confirm the dump site for sure?

Heh, you know ET was one of the most terrible games ever made in the history of gaming... some consider it the absolute worst??? There more to the story than just a "large downtrend" in the industry... that was a truly awful game:

"The game is also considered to be one of the causes of the video game industry crisis of 1983... Poor critical reception and lack of a profitable marketing strategy made this game one of many cited decisions that led Atari to report a $536 million loss in 1983 and led to the company being divided and sold in 1984... the game's poor quality was responsible for ending the product life of the Atari 2600."

That's just a tiny sample from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_E...28video_game%29

Here's some screen footage:
Worst Video Games Ever - ET

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Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

1.6.2013 23:42 #1

KillerBug

So...you can get a 2600 for $15 shipped off ebay...and there is no worry of being outbid...or you can just get an emulator and download all the games ever made in a few minutes (including googling time)...and these people are going to make an expedition to (hopefully) find a some consoles and a bunch of copies of one of the worst games ever made...all presumably buried both above and below rotting garbage? Are there no more ancient tombs?

I've got an idea for a show...just randomly go to people's houses and dig below them. Sure, you would almost never find anything but dirt; but surely decent top soil would be worth more than a bunch of copies of the ET video game...and who knows...if you do it in Philly you might find something valuable.

2.6.2013 01:31 #2

Jemborg

:) Lara Croft goes hunting for the lost ET game...

... finds it... decides it's too "terrible" to inflict on the human race again... decides some things are just better left buried...

... then goes on to host the reality TV hit "America's next top tomb raider"......................... in Philly.

:P

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Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

2.6.2013 02:48 #3

Mysttic

The reason gaming nerds and collectors would care is because although not the most rare console to have, it does have some rare titles for some reason or another collectors value. There's a lot more than ET waiting on the bottom. I've seen people sell complete Atari 2600's for $100+ in front of my eyes, just because it's hard to find complete. There are a lot of people would love the chance to go digging just to find one at the chance it's sealed and new. Still for most of the 2600 collection, you'd be better off collecting pennies for more value: but the fact that anything coming out of there would be from their "gravesite" would likely increase the value even more.... (only for those copies proven it was from there, should it exist.)

2.6.2013 05:26 #4

doowop72

I could almost make a bet Steven Spielberg is behind all this as well.

2.6.2013 09:48 #5

Hrdrk20

This reminds me,years ago living back in Chicago, when Geraldo Rivera had a live-feed camera on a local tv station as he opened what he believed to be a vault owned by Al Capone. Needless to say there was nothing inside for all to see. link

I do believe the story about the 2600 E.T. carts buried in cement. There is also a "urban legend" regarding the toy company LJN and their most popular toy "Gotcha" gun. However I think there is a lot of "Chinese telephone"/misinformation going on. There won't be sealed 2600 console units. I'd be amazed if they actually find the real dump site.

2.6.2013 15:00 #6

megadunderhead

awesome epic but stupid

2.6.2013 18:03 #7

Morreale

Better learn how to solder if you're gonna pick up a 2600... Sealed or not.

*\\\****//\\\***//\\\*****
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***\\\//****\\\ ****\\\****

2.6.2013 22:21 #8

GryphB

Dehydration will get to them before they can manage to dig 1 foot into the ground.

3.6.2013 20:34 #9

LouV68

Originally posted by KillerBug: So...you can get a 2600 for $15 shipped off ebay...and there is no worry of being outbid...or you can just get an emulator and download all the games ever made in a few minutes (including googling time)...and these people are going to make an expedition to (hopefully) find a some consoles and a bunch of copies of one of the worst games ever made...all presumably buried both above and below rotting garbage? Are there no more ancient tombs?

I've got an idea for a show...just randomly go to people's houses and dig below them. Sure, you would almost never find anything but dirt; but surely decent top soil would be worth more than a bunch of copies of the ET video game...and who knows...if you do it in Philly you might find something valuable. If you think playing an emulator without the actual Atari controllers is equivalent, you are sadly mistaken. I had an Atari 2600 growing up, and you have to have the original controllers for it to be authentic. There is no substitute. How are you supposed to play Pong, Super Breakout, or Night Driver with the joystick? You need the paddle or driving controller (two different controllers). I never understood the all in one units you can buy that only include the joystick. ie. http://www.amazon.com/Flashback-Classic.../ref=pd_cp_vg_0 If they had the three separate controllers, I'd buy them.

3.6.2013 21:02 #10

Jemborg

Originally posted by LouV68: Originally posted by KillerBug: So...you can get a 2600 for $15 shipped off ebay...and there is no worry of being outbid...or you can just get an emulator and download all the games ever made in a few minutes (including googling time)...and these people are going to make an expedition to (hopefully) find a some consoles and a bunch of copies of one of the worst games ever made...all presumably buried both above and below rotting garbage? Are there no more ancient tombs?

I've got an idea for a show...just randomly go to people's houses and dig below them. Sure, you would almost never find anything but dirt; but surely decent top soil would be worth more than a bunch of copies of the ET video game...and who knows...if you do it in Philly you might find something valuable. If you think playing an emulator without the actual Atari controllers is equivalent, you are sadly mistaken. I had an Atari 2600 growing up, and you have to have the original controllers for it to be authentic. There is no substitute. How are you supposed to play Pong, Super Breakout, or Night Driver with the joystick? You need the paddle or driving controller (two different controllers). I never understood the all in one units you can buy that only include the joystick. ie. http://www.amazon.com/Flashback-Classic.../ref=pd_cp_vg_0 If they had the three separate controllers, I'd buy them. If you're emulating on a PC you can use Xpadder to map the keyboard & mouse to an Xbox or ps controller (or any controller you desire if you get the drivers). Then you can use their d-pad... ok, so it's not the same thing but better than before.

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Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

3.6.2013 22:49 #11

LouV68

Originally posted by Jemborg:
If you're emulating on a PC you can use Xpadder to map the keyboard & mouse to an Xbox or ps controller (or any controller you desire if you get the drivers). Then you can use their d-pad... ok, so it's not the same thing but better than before. You must me in 30yrs old or younger to believe the Sh!t you are spewing. There is no substitute, period. You probably have never even played a real 2600, I have and owned one with 50+ games. Don't even try to 'guess' that it's the same thing; it's not. If you're not using the original controllers, it's not the same thing. It does not feel the same.

3.6.2013 23:00 #12

Jemborg

Originally posted by LouV68: Originally posted by Jemborg:
If you're emulating on a PC you can use Xpadder to map the keyboard & mouse to an Xbox or ps controller (or any controller you desire if you get the drivers). Then you can use their d-pad... ok, so it's not the same thing but better than before. You must me in 30yrs old or younger to believe the Sh!t you are spewing. There is no substitute, period. You probably have never even played a real 2600, I have and owned one with 50+ games. Don't even try to 'guess' that it's the same thing; it's not. If you're not using the original controllers, it's not the same thing. It does not feel the same. Well, you have the manners of an adolescent. Chill out...

I meant better than a keyboard.

PS: I'm way older than you think btw.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

3.6.2013 23:10 #13

LouV68

Originally posted by Jemborg: Originally posted by LouV68: Originally posted by Jemborg:
If you're emulating on a PC you can use Xpadder to map the keyboard & mouse to an Xbox or ps controller (or any controller you desire if you get the drivers). Then you can use their d-pad... ok, so it's not the same thing but better than before. You must me in 30yrs old or younger to believe the Sh!t you are spewing. There is no substitute, period. You probably have never even played a real 2600, I have and owned one with 50+ games. Don't even try to 'guess' that it's the same thing; it's not. If you're not using the original controllers, it's not the same thing. It does not feel the same. Well, you have the manners of an adolescent. Chill out...

I meant better than a keyboard.

PS: I'm way older than you think btw.
Chill out? I was a video game addict when I was a kid in the early 80's. I now enjoy playing video games probably once every 2 yrs or so now, only because I have a much younger brother. I'm just stating a fact that I honestly do not believe you know what you are saying. If you in fact owned and played a 2600, then you know what I'm talking about. It obviously was not about graphics, but about game play. If the controls don't feel right, it's not the same thing. Why don't you chill out.

3.6.2013 23:30 #14

KillerBug

You can connect the original controllers to a pc if you want to use them, you can even convert them to usb...a good idea since you will probably want to clean up the internals anyway. The emulation is perfect for 99% of the titles, many titles such as ET have modded versions that actually work, and you can set most emulators to simulate the crummy appearance of an old tv. You can even save game states! Other than the controllers (which are not really rare) the only reason to have 2600 stuff is as a collection...like old stamps or pennies or something...or maybe if you are a super nerd hacker type that wants to try to port *nux to the thing...

4.6.2013 03:33 #15

Jemborg

Like KB said you can use the original controllers and drivers for them if you want and you can use something like Xpadder to map keys/mouse to it. Hell, you can use a Guitar Hero controller for it.

My first computer game was Pong at the bowling ally, arcades did not exist at the time.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

4.6.2013 04:31 #16

pcrazy99

People will watch it. Just look at all the garbage on tv nowadays.

4.6.2013 13:34 #17

Mysttic

I have to admit though on some games that controller pad worked well... Especially for Activision titles which in my mind had way better titles than Atari themselves ever got on the shelf. Most of my Atari 2600 collection is Activision. Although I have the emulators to play my fav '2600 games on it from time to time I do enjoy hooking up my console to use the original paddle to control games like Frostbite or Plaque Attack, even Oink. Oink was kind of more annoying using a keyboard, and using my 360 controller was even worse.

4.6.2013 15:30 #18

JOHNSTARR

If it weren't for that Decathlon game, I'd still have like 4 working controllers!!!

No time for Leap frog!!!

5.6.2013 00:37 #19

IguanaC64

ET was a decent game once you figured out wtf was going on. I'm willing to bet nobody complaining about it ever actually finished it.

If you liked Adventure, Superman, or Haunted House...it was very similar in structure.

Epyx 500 joystick was the best joystick for the Atari...

5.6.2013 15:54 #20

Jemborg

Originally posted by IguanaC64: ET was a decent game once you figured out wtf was going on. I'm willing to bet nobody complaining about it ever actually finished it. That would be a LOT of people then.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

5.6.2013 21:12 #21

IguanaC64

http://www.techbliss.org/threads/howto-...atari-2600.339/

I don't like ET this much...

6.6.2013 10:00 #22

Jemborg

Originally posted by IguanaC64: http://www.techbliss.org/threads/howto-fix-worst-video-game-ever-e-t-for-atari-2600.339/

I don't like ET this much... Nice find.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

6.6.2013 10:39 #23

KillerBug

Originally posted by Jemborg: Like KB said you can use the original controllers and drivers for them if you want and you can use something like Xpadder to map keys/mouse to it. Hell, you can use a Guitar Hero controller for it.

My first computer game was Pong at the bowling ally, arcades did not exist at the time. My first computer game was a pinball game...it had a digital score, so technically it was computerized.

6.6.2013 20:04 #24

Jemborg

Originally posted by KillerBug: Originally posted by Jemborg: My first computer game was Pong at the bowling ally, arcades did not exist at the time. My first computer game was a pinball game...it had a digital score, so technically it was computerized. Haha

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

6.6.2013 22:36 #25

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