Legendary Landfill of 2600 E.T. Games to be Escavated

[treismac]

Alamogordo approves Atari excavation (http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/southeast/alamogordo-approves-atari-excavation#.UanURX20-1U.facebook)

"On Tuesday, Alamogordo's City Commission approved a deal with Canada-based film production and entertainment company Fuel Industries to excavate the Atari dump site and create a documentary surrounding the Alamogordo landfill legend.

According to the contract, Fuel Industries has access to the landfill for the next six months, which would cover the 30-year anniversary of the alleged dump."

Hmmm... this might make for an interesting footnote in video game history.

[bigbacon]

this will turn into the same silliness as Geraldo and Capone's safe.

[JakeM]

Didnt they destroy the games and boxes? Wonder if they crushed them or grinded them up. If they find any intact carts itll be interesting if they still play with some cleaning. Maybe the Nerd will want to go back there to get some footage for a dvd bonus feature?

[Gamevet]

Didnt they destroy the games and boxes? Wonder if they crushed them or grinded them up. If they find any intact carts itll be interesting if they still play with some cleaning. Maybe the Nerd will want to go back there to get some footage for a dvd bonus feature?

I think I'd heard that they were crushed, dumped into a hole and the hole was filled with concrete. It would be pretty hard to excavate such a landfill.

[Greg2600]

They won't find a thing. The only use of the documentary would be to re-interview several of the goofballs who worked at Atari back then.

[Gamevet]

They won't find a thing. The only use of the documentary would be to re-interview several of the goofballs who worked at Atari back then.


Pretty much. Unless they find some guy that was working at the landfill 30 years ago, they'd have a pretty hard time finding the exact location of where it was buried, with so many years of trash layed on top of it.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

wait a minute, isn't the plot of the angry video game movie that's in production?

[Haoie]

Isn't Jimmy Hoffa buried there too?

[treismac]

Pretty much. Unless they find some guy that was working at the landfill 30 years ago, they'd have a pretty hard time finding the exact location of where it was buried, with so many years of trash layed on top of it.

Well, they kinda did.

"Joe Lewandowski, who ran a garbage company at the time, claims he knows where the dump site is in the 100-acre landfill and that he spotted what was in the truck."

Thirty years is more than enough time for the exact location in a 100-acre landfill to become more than a bit hazy. Of course, this Lewandowski fellow might not have the foggiest idea where anything is and he is just getting a kick out of this film crew digging through the dump for nothing.

[Scotterpop]

Man, I would love to be a part of that team! I've always been fascinated by this story. But I propose that, instead of making a documentary about the subject, they instead make a screwball scavenger hunt movie instead! Like Midnight Madness, Scavenger Hunt, Rat Race, or Million Dollar Mystery! Five teams of classic game collectors are given various clues to the location of the landfill and they have to race and outwit each other to find it! We'll get Steven Spielberg and Reese's Pieces to sponsor it! And Eddie Deezen will star, along with David Naughton, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Steve Guttenberg, Bill Murray, Fran Drescher, and Adam West! Fred Ward will play the grizzled, eccentric ex-Atari employee who is the only person that knows the location of the landfill. And of course, wacky hijinks ensue... IT'S GENIUS!!!

What do you think, sirs?

[JakeM]

wait a minute, isn't the plot of the angry video game movie that's in production?

Sorta, except theres some governmental agency who thinks theyre looking for aliens......AND ZOMBIES!

[Superman]

If they were to find a bunch of working titles the price of ET would drop like a rock! lol

[Melf]

It's all a plot for a new movie called "The Big Lewandowski," where Fuel Industries and the AVGN both try to bully him because they think he knows where the carts are, when in fact, all he wants is his rug back.

[Collector_Gaming]

Man, I would love to be a part of that team! I've always been fascinated by this story. But I propose that, instead of making a documentary about the subject, they instead make a screwball scavenger hunt movie instead! Like Midnight Madness, Scavenger Hunt, Rat Race, or Million Dollar Mystery! Five teams of classic game collectors are given various clues to the location of the landfill and they have to race and outwit each other to find it! We'll get Steven Spielberg and Reese's Pieces to sponsor it! And Eddie Deezen will star, along with David Naughton, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Steve Guttenberg, Bill Murray, Fran Drescher, and Adam West! Fred Ward will play the grizzled, eccentric ex-Atari employee who is the only person that knows the location of the landfill. And of course, wacky hijinks ensue... IT'S GENIUS!!!

What do you think, sirs?

No no no.... I hope they don't find this post.... They will turn our past time into a reality tv show where a group of gamers go out and answer questions about video gaming past that will lead them to "scores" in the collecting world and wheeling and dealing them

[Buyatari]

I'm not going anywhere near that pit. You will NEVER get out.

[Urzu402]

I remember hearing somewhere it wasn't unsold ET games that were buried, but rather defective ET games. I don't remember where I heard it, I also don't know if its accurate.

[AceAerosmith]

What a waste of time and effort. And for what? "Hey, I found a 30-year old piece of shit that is still a piece of shit but these pieces of shit are covered with dirt and trash."

Nothing better to do with their lives, huh?

[The Adventurer]

What a waste of time and effort. And for what? "Hey, I found a 30-year old piece of shit that is still a piece of shit but these pieces of shit are covered with dirt and trash."

Nothing better to do with their lives, huh?

Clearly someone doesn't have sense of fun or adventure. That's okay, no one is perfect.

[ProjectCamaro]

I'm not going anywhere near that pit. You will NEVER get out.

Haha, nice.

[treismac]

I'm not going anywhere near that pit. You will NEVER get out.

Hahahahhahaha!!!! AWESOME! :D

Speaking of that wretched programming decision, do you think E.T. would have been considerably better had the pits been omitted? I know they were central to the game, but the game sucked at its core, so I wonder if if the game would have been less unfun if you simply just "ran around" picking up stuff rather than having to fall into those damn-near inescapable holes looking for phone parts.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

This story has always fascinated me, I wonder if they'll actually find anything.....

[Bojay1997]

Pretty much. Unless they find some guy that was working at the landfill 30 years ago, they'd have a pretty hard time finding the exact location of where it was buried, with so many years of trash layed on top of it.

Actually, most landfills keep very meticulous records of what specific cell (i.e. a specifically designated cubic area) was used for dumping of garbage on any given day. There are Federal regulatory reasons for keeping track (for example, someone dumps toxic waste or chemicals there) and the possibility of law enforcement needing to excavate there to locate evidence of a crime including a body. A landfill isn't some random pile of garbage, it's actually a highly regulated and organized place where garbage is placed.

[Gamevet]

Actually, most landfills keep very meticulous records of what specific cell (i.e. a specifically designated cubic area) was used for dumping of garbage on any given day. There are Federal regulatory reasons for keeping track (for example, someone dumps toxic waste or chemicals there) and the possibility of law enforcement needing to excavate there to locate evidence of a crime including a body. A landfill isn't some random pile of garbage, it's actually a highly regulated and organized place where garbage is placed.

That's the if though; We're talking about a small urban area with very lax government authority in place. According to urban legends/stories, the original dump didn't gain much recognition, until local pawn shops started noticing an influx of game consoles and games showing up at their stores, sold by local teens. It was after they reported a mass selling of the hardware that local government stepped in. It's quite possible that even though the local government stepped in to challenge what Atari was doing, that the locals at the dump did nothing more than make sure they were following the demands of the proper disposal of the hardware and nothing else. I grew up in a small urban area, and the one thing I've learned from that experience, is that most people just don't care about what is going on, as long as they collect a paycheck.

[Buyatari]

Hahahahhahaha!!!! AWESOME! :D

Speaking of that wretched programming decision, do you think E.T. would have been considerably better had the pits been omitted? I know they were central to the game, but the game sucked at its core, so I wonder if if the game would have been less unfun if you simply just "ran around" picking up stuff rather than having to fall into those damn-near inescapable holes looking for phone parts.

Of course it would have been better without pits. It makes no sense unless you want to call it ET Moon Adventures.

You should have played as Elliot not as ET with most or all of the game played on his bike. That would have been a quick and easy program to meet the deadline that wouldn't have sucked.

[treismac]

I grew up in a small urban area, and the one thing I've learned from that experience, is that most people just don't care about what is going on, as long as they collect a paycheck.

I thought that was a fairly universal attitude.

[Buyatari]

I thought that was a fairly universal attitude.

This is true. I've worked in many fields including the armed services and seen the very qualified to the guy who can barely function. From the know it all to the village idiot one thing has always been true. EVERYONE knows exactly when they should be paid and how much they should be getting. They might not know much else but they do know this.

[mailman187666]

They just mentioned this story on the morning radio show I listen to out here in MA. They also take listener calls on the show, and one guy called up and spoke of the AVGN movie that has to do with the ET landfill as well. Just figured I would share, because it was funny to hear about it on the radio show I listen to every morning.

[Videogamerdaryll]

If they were to find a bunch of working titles the price of ET would drop like a rock! lol

: )
I figure the price of ET today is almost at a worthless low..but then I see some loose carts bid on and Sealed games at all over the place prices...
I actually have a ET cart on my Fridge with a Magnetic strip on it's back......I also have a Sealed ET Game In Box hanging on the wall in my game closet=never thought about selling it as I never though it would be worth anything after hearing from so many people on how worthless the game is..

Crazy as I liked playing the game..



..................

I think if they actually found a bunch of working titles from the landfill that were documented to be from there ..the price of those ET Games would Sky rocket..


Atleast I would want one...then the price of those might make the not found in landfill ET games maybe rise too as ebay sellers will BS and say this game is from the landfill too..



Or the price of ET sealed in box (or if it's carts only in the landfill) may jump because now collectors want ..'one not found in the landfill on display next to the one from the landfill'...hmmmm..I'm halfway there : )

.................................................. ...............................

Think about it this way ,If they found ONE mint copy in the landfill ,..If put up for sale this game might surpass every other rare games price..
...even the bent crushed copies might fetch thousands..

What game collector that can afford the Most Rare High Pricred games woundn't want the best found copy in their collection..

[Polygon]

Maybe I should but ET now. I want a mint condition one, complete, to display in the game room. I think it's a novelty every retro gamer should have.

[Parodius Duh!]

This is such a stupid legend. Yeah there might be some ET carts in that landfill, but at this point in time, theres probably miles of other shit and garbage over top of them......and even then, chances are Atari incinerated the carts if it was "in the thousands" that they needed to dispose of.

This is up there with the legend of 100s of classic sports cars buried in the Arizona desert, or the warehouse full of old Mego unreleased Logan's Run figures. Its not true. Companies just dont dispose of their fully produced product for the next guy to come garbage pick it and make a profit. Its all destroyed, incinerated, or damaged on purpose.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

Maybe I should but ET now. I want a mint condition one, complete, to display in the game room. I think it's a novelty every retro gamer should have.

I too believe that the game is a classic piece of video gaming history and that every true collector should own a copy of it, if for nothing more than historical purposes. It's importance is greater than many wish to believe. Like I've said before, I grew up with it and I've enjoyed it as a kid and have very fond memories of the game, so maybe my opinion is a bit bias....

[JakeM]

Like I've said before, I grew up with it and I've enjoyed it as a kid and have very fond memories of the game, so maybe my opinion is a bit bias....

you like going in and out of different holes and staying in them long?

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

you like going in and out of different holes and staying in them long?

I've beaten E.T multiple times as a kid and a few times as an adult, but as far as the ditches in the game go I got in and out fairly quickly.

[JakeM]

I've beaten E.T multiple times as a kid and a few times as an adult, but as far as the ditches in the game go I got in and out fairly quickly.

You did get the joke, right?

[tom]

Interview with Curt here:

http://ataribook.com/book/etalamogordo-atari-dump-interview-with-co-author-curt-vendel-on-mclean-in-the-morning/

[bb_hood]

This is such a stupid legend. Yeah there might be some ET carts in that landfill, but at this point in time, theres probably miles of other shit and garbage over top of them......and even then, chances are Atari incinerated the carts if it was "in the thousands" that they needed to dispose of.

This is up there with the legend of 100s of classic sports cars buried in the Arizona desert, or the warehouse full of old Mego unreleased Logan's Run figures. Its not true. Companies just dont dispose of their fully produced product for the next guy to come garbage pick it and make a profit. Its all destroyed, incinerated, or damaged on purpose.

It is a stupid legend. But, I guess its still a 'legend' at that. To me its just a weak excuse to make a documentary. I would assume it would be very expensive to excavate an old landfill, and if they end up finding nothing then the documentary would be pretty stupid. Like, what would the documentary be if they found nothing? Just people talking about how ET diddnt sell and they dumped all the carts. Is there really MORE to the story than that?

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

You did get the joke, right?

Yes, I got the joke.....lol.

[The 1 2 P]

This reminds me of the X-Play episode where they went searching for these carts.

[XYXZYZ]

http://cinemassacre.com/2013/06/04/avgn-movie-teaser-landfill-excavation/

AVGN posted "AVGN Movie teaser - Landfill excavation" a couple days ago. (6/4/13)

[Ed Oscuro]

Actually, most landfills keep very meticulous records of what specific cell (i.e. a specifically designated cubic area) was used for dumping of garbage on any given day. There are Federal regulatory reasons for keeping track (for example, someone dumps toxic waste or chemicals there) and the possibility of law enforcement needing to excavate there to locate evidence of a crime including a body. A landfill isn't some random pile of garbage, it's actually a highly regulated and organized place where garbage is placed.
This, precisely. I visited a landfill back in the early '90s and while that is a while after the ET case, they were already keeping detailed records and using various strategies (plastic layer sandwiches for example) to keep stuff where it was supposed to be.

From what we've always heard about the cartridges it seems unlikely much more than a few data ROMs per pile will really be salvageable. But we'll see.

[tom]

Yeah it's a video game, why should it be easy. You don't always fall into the holes, play and learn is the key here, if you're an average player play Barbie on NES and stop moaning.
ET is an excellent adventure game, but as usual with Atari, ahead of its time, kids just didn't get it.

[CoteRangers]

This might sound like something interesting for a showpiece. Maybe I'll go there one day to see the landfill with E.T. games in it.

[JSoup]

Yeah it's a video game, why should it be easy. You don't always fall into the holes, play and learn is the key here, if you're an average player play Barbie on NES and stop moaning.
ET is an excellent adventure game, but as usual with Atari, ahead of its time, kids just didn't get it.

Um.
ET is a bad game, there is a general agreement from everyone involved on that.
But it's not nearly as bad as people have been making it out to be. It's not Big Mutha Trucka (or whatever that thing is called) or one of those half assed free indie games that are tossed up on XBLA every other day.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

E.T being "bad" is a matter of opinion, not fact. If someone enjoys the game than all the power to them.

[tom]

Well, if were like Godzilla on NES, it would be a bad game, but ET involves strategy, it's not just your mediocre platform and ladders game.
Also, it never contributed to 1984 video game crash, neither did Pac-Man. That's all myth, legend, but it makes good folklore.

[skaar]

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[JSoup]

E.T being "bad" is a matter of opinion, not fact.

Three decades worth of gamers say otherwise. It's only within the last decade that I've been seeing people (mostly younger gamers) stepping forward with "well, it's bad, but...".

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

Cool. They can say what they want. But that doesnt change the fact that whether or not someone views something to be bad or good is strictly a matter of their opinion. Not fact.

I like it and I'm not young, I'm 32 and find it to be a charming game. But my opinion wouldn't matter any less if I was younger, so yeah....

[JSoup]

Here's a thought, instead of using "nuh uh!" as an argument, why don't you share with the class your reasons for finding the game to be more than mediocre at best.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

Here's a thought, instead of using "nuh uh!" as an argument, why don't you share with the class your reasons for finding the game to be more than mediocre at best.

Instead of blindly crapping all over the game why don't to give some examples as to why you hate it so much, or are we afraid to go against the grain just once? And yeah, I never used "nuh uh" as an argument, but yet you have not given any verbal reason as to why the game "sucks". Funny how that works.

For me, as a kid I loved the thought of avoiding the agents and finding the pieces I needed to make the phone. At the time, that was deeper gameplay than just running around a maze or walking in a straight line and avoiding threats. On top of that I loved that you had a timer of sorts that went down as you walked around and the little dots (Reese's Pieces?) were meant to help you along the way to gain some time back, that was kind of a cool addition to the game in my opinion. I also didn't think the graphics were all that bad like others do. Sure, they weren't the best that the system could offer, but all in all they were far from the worst on the 2600 too.

I personally think that the pits were a hassle if someone didn't know how to get out of them quickly, and I think that some of the movements were jerky and that the control wasn't the best, but I don't think the game was responsible for the "crash" as much as people want to believe and I also think it's become "cool" to dump on the game which makes people do so without any real ammo. So there you have it.

[JSoup]

Instead of blindly crapping all over the game why don't to give some examples as to why you hate it so much, or are we afraid to go against the grain just once?

I didn't crap on anything, I stated popular opinion and then admitted that it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.


And yeah, I never used "nuh uh" as an argument

Yes you did. If you're going to be that one kid on the school yard who corrects every term without offering an example, please do us the kindness of owning it (as you did later on in your post, good man).


but yet you have not given any verbal reason as to why the game "sucks". Funny how that works.

No one asked for my personal opinion of the game, beyond the "it's not as bad as people say" line I offered a few posts ago. In fact, I believe I have an opinion on the game posted on these forums in at least two places, one in one of the yearly games beaten topics and one in a random topic specifically about E.T., but I'd have to dig those out. If you're asking to have my opinion on the game, I'd be happy to provide it.


For me, as a kid I loved the thought of avoiding the agents and finding the pieces I needed to make the phone. At the time, that was deeper gameplay than just running around a maze or walking in a straight line and avoiding threats. On top of that I loved that you had a timer of sorts that went down as you walked around and the little dots (Reese's Pieces?) were meant to help you along the way to gain some time back, that was kind of a cool addition to the game in my opinion.

I particularly liked how the suddenness of the agents appearing acts as a mild jump scare, particularly when you're near the edge of a screen. Fell into enough pits on accident while suddenly changing directions. Are the agents particularly predictable, ala Pac-Man? It's been a few years since I last played.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

I particularly liked how the suddenness of the agents appearing acts as a mild jump scare, particularly when you're near the edge of a screen. Fell into enough pits on accident while suddenly changing directions. Are the agents particularly predictable, ala Pac-Man? It's been a few years since I last played.

I don't remember, really. I don't believe they have a pattern or anything but don't quote me on that one since the last time I played I chose the mode without the agents in favor of a quick breeze through due to time restraints.

[Jorpho]

I was skeptical at first – see marty_golderberg's comment at http://boingboing.net/2013/06/01/legendary-atari-cartridge-dump.html – but I understand it's not so much about the ET cartridges as it is about what other obscure Atari curiosities might be down there.


Speaking of that wretched programming decision, do you think E.T. would have been considerably better had the pits been omitted? I know they were central to the game, but the game sucked at its core, so I wonder if if the game would have been less unfun if you simply just "ran around" picking up stuff rather than having to fall into those damn-near inescapable holes looking for phone parts.Someone has in fact come up with a very thorough "bug patch" that fixes the game's worst problems. It's all rigorously documented at http://www.neocomputer.org/projects/et/ .


You should have played as Elliot not as ET with most or all of the game played on his bike. That would have been a quick and easy program to meet the deadline that wouldn't have sucked.Of course it would have sucked. It just would have sucked in a perfectly forgettable way like a large number of other 2600 games.

[gameofyou]

This could be a very interesting documentary. I would definately watch it!

[Parodius Duh!]

Its totally pointless. Its a KNOWN FACT that yes, Atari did dump items at the Alamogordo landfill, not exclusively just ET carts but systems, other games, computers, paper work, etc. after the El Paso Texas storehouse closed. It was covered extensively by the local media. Everything was CRUSHED and buried. So whats the point to the documentary? possibly digging up broken plastic and circuits? who cares!

[Videogamerdaryll]

I've beaten E.T multiple times as a kid and a few times as an adult, but as far as the ditches in the game go I got in and out fairly quickly.

Me too.


.I never was bothered by the ditches.. I got in and out fairly quickly too.

I still enjoy/ed the game no matter how many people hate it..

[Videogamerdaryll]

you like going in and out of different holes and staying in them long?


Ha Ha..that is Great!!!

[Jorpho]

Remember this? There's a reason you haven't heard of it lately.

Atari dig put on hold in Alamogordo by state agency (http://www.alamogordonews.com/alamogordo-news/ci_25380218/atari-dig-put-hold-alamogordo-by-environmental-department)

It's a conspiracy, of course.

[Greg2600]

Lots of chemicals in there. Frankly they should just leave it be. They're not going to find anything substantial, and even if they do, who cares?

[Zama]

Who knows what could be found down there: broken rusty games and systems, wasted cardboard paper, dirt, or even a colony of skynet 1.0 born from the ancient goodness poured into the ground and left to its own devices :onfire:

[DeputyMoniker]

Haha, nice.

I didn't get it until I read your post and gave it a second thought. Lol. Pretty good one.

[Arkanoid_Katamari]

If they were to find anything salvageable, would these games become more valuable then the non-landfill carts?

They did have an interview from the developer of this game in the Videogame Years on Retoware, he defended his game, saying he wanted to do something different then just another Pac Man clone. I think he had some ambitious ideas, probably, but I blame the hardware

[DeputyMoniker]

I don't think it would really be about finding anything salvageable but yeah, I'd like to have an ET cart from the legendary landfill. More than that, though, I just want to know what, if anything, is in there.

[Arkanoid_Katamari]

I don't really think the game is that bad, either. At least he looks like E.T. Its not exactly good, but there are less playable games than E.T. I think the developer just had too ambitious an idea for the Atari 2600. The system is just not powerful enough for a game as complex as E.t. If this had come out on the NES, it may have been way better. They woulda had some hardware that coulda actually handled what the developer wanted to do.

Idk much about adventure games on Atari, I just know what I've played has been confusing messes, and the best things I've played for the 2600 has been the shooters, and some, not all, but some of the arcade ports.

God bless Atari games lol