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05-31-2013, 07:20 PM
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/130531et.png (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/)
A planned excavation will soon give closure to a long-standing video game urban legend, and may provide new insight into the industry's crash in 1983.
Canada-based film production company Fuel Industries has obtained permission from the City Commission of Alamogordo, New Mexico to excavate a landfill containing (http://www.snopes.com/business/market/atari.asp) a large quantity of unsold Atari 2600 games, for the purpose of filming a documentary. Local news outlet KRQE reports (http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/southeast/alamogordo-approves-atari-excavation) that Fuel Industries will have access to the site over the next six months.
According to reports (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_video_game_burial#Burial) in 1983, between 10 and 20 semi-trailer trucks filled with unsold, inoperable, and prototype Atari hardware and software were dispatched from an El Paso, Texas storehouse to a landfill in Alamogordo. The cargo was reportedly dumped, crushed, and encased in concrete.
Urban legends state that the film-licensed game E.T. comprised a significant chunk of the dumped material. While E.T.'s gameplay quality is up for debate (some say it's one of the worst games of all time; others claim that it's a misunderstood (http://www.neocomputer.org/projects/et/) mediocrity), it was a notoriously poor seller, and played a role in Atari, Inc.'s decision to close and split its assets in 1984.
Given the layers of concrete involved, the excavators have a lot of work ahead of them. Recovering these cartridges - or anything recognizable, really - is going to require a lot more than a roadtrip and some shovels (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rt_3_bQVJU).http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.joystiq.com)Documentary filmmakers to excavate infamous Atari E.T. landfill (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/) originally appeared on Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com) on Fri, 31 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/) | Email this (http://www.joystiq.com/forward/20595051/) | Comments (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/#comments)
A planned excavation will soon give closure to a long-standing video game urban legend, and may provide new insight into the industry's crash in 1983.
Canada-based film production company Fuel Industries has obtained permission from the City Commission of Alamogordo, New Mexico to excavate a landfill containing (http://www.snopes.com/business/market/atari.asp) a large quantity of unsold Atari 2600 games, for the purpose of filming a documentary. Local news outlet KRQE reports (http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/southeast/alamogordo-approves-atari-excavation) that Fuel Industries will have access to the site over the next six months.
According to reports (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_video_game_burial#Burial) in 1983, between 10 and 20 semi-trailer trucks filled with unsold, inoperable, and prototype Atari hardware and software were dispatched from an El Paso, Texas storehouse to a landfill in Alamogordo. The cargo was reportedly dumped, crushed, and encased in concrete.
Urban legends state that the film-licensed game E.T. comprised a significant chunk of the dumped material. While E.T.'s gameplay quality is up for debate (some say it's one of the worst games of all time; others claim that it's a misunderstood (http://www.neocomputer.org/projects/et/) mediocrity), it was a notoriously poor seller, and played a role in Atari, Inc.'s decision to close and split its assets in 1984.
Given the layers of concrete involved, the excavators have a lot of work ahead of them. Recovering these cartridges - or anything recognizable, really - is going to require a lot more than a roadtrip and some shovels (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rt_3_bQVJU).http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.joystiq.com)Documentary filmmakers to excavate infamous Atari E.T. landfill (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/) originally appeared on Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com) on Fri, 31 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/) | Email this (http://www.joystiq.com/forward/20595051/) | Comments (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/documentary-filmmakers-to-excavate-infamous-atari-e-t-landfill/#comments)