Geek Moms Rejoice! Microsoft Finally Begins Landfill Dig To Unearth ‘The Worst Game Ever Made’
Ask a gamer (mom-gamer or otherwise) what the worst video game ever made is and I bet you a million bucks and all my SNAX that they will say “Atari’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Of course, that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t give up our first born to play it, which is why 80’s geek moms like me are excited at the prospect that a million copies that might be buried in a New Mexico landfill. I would love to get my hands on one of these suckers…for the kids (WINK).
According to Internet video game legend, Atari discarded millions of copies of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial into New Mexico’s Alamogordo landfill back in 1983. Back then the game was considered a phenomenal flop, which was a hard pill for the game company to swallow after spending an Earth-shattering $22 million dollars to acquire the rights to release it. After years of rumors and discussion, digging will finally begin this weekend under the supervision of Microsoft officials.
The Atari E.T. game was produced in just six weeks, and when I tell you it was bad, I mean BAD. Just awful. I can’t stress this enough. But in spite of it’s craptastic-ness, it was still one of the Atari 2600’s best-selling games, simply because over two million copies were sold before anyone had the presence of mind to actually play it and realize it was an abomination. Remember, these were pre-Internet days, so word got out slowly. Nowadays this game wouldn’t have had a chance in hell. Once people realized how bad the game was, sales dried up and another three million copies were left unsold.
Ironically, due to how rare they are, buying a copy of Atari’s E.T. monstrosity NOW can be difficult. Beat up copies can go for as much as $50, and a brand new, still in the packaging copy can be even more.
This information age archaeological dig will be open to public viewing (you know, if the thought of digging through trash excites you). In addition to Microsoft, LightBox Interactive and Fuel Entertainment have joined the festivities and the three companies are making a documentary about the project to be released on Xbox One. I think I should be ashamed at how excited I am to potentially get my hands on filthy copy (you know, “for my kids”) but I’m not. This just rocks my socks.
(Photo: Paxton Holley)
