Atari E.T. Landfill was True!

[Hayduke Lives]

WOW!

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/04/landfill-excavation-unearths-years-of-crushed-atari-treasure/

[sealocan]

Not only do I remember it but I have a story that is similar but actually more sad for men than kids.

a friend I knew who had no reason to lie had worked for a high end tool making company.
I will just say that their name rhymes with
" nap-on tools "
told me of a story where the tools that were returned & most that only had very slight defects like chips in the plating or minor stuff that people complained about were loaded into the back of a big rig and buried deep so no one would resell them on the secondary / blackblack market.
which of course would have devalued and competed with their market. ( it also occurs to me that melting them down might have been harder here in the US due their plating materials and emissions controls and if they ship them overseas could they really trust that they would be melted.)

someday in the future and archaeologist is going to discover them and he's going to think.
"wow! I never have to buy another tool again."

but to answer your question yes I had her E.T.rumors and I believed it from the very start.

[blazeaglory]

I never doubted the story for a second...

When I was younger, I played many Atari games and never realized that the crappy games were the result of all of this mess. I just thought they were stupid games...This story is bigger than the land fill and people should read it to know what happens when big business ruins it for the little guys.

ET did really suck though. Raiders of the lost ark was also lacking. Even as a young kid, who thoughts that Tanks was the best game ever played thought that ET and ROTLA sucked! Reading below, I am glad that I was not the only 8 year old that didnt read the instruction manuals...lol

The game was punishing and complex. Playing as E.T., you would constantly find yourself stuck in pits that were nearly impossible to get out of. Warshaw maintains that the game wasn’t all that hard if you read the instructions, but what eight-year-old wanted to do that? (It should be noted that decades later, an enthusiast created a simple patch that eliminated a lot of the bugs and made the game more playable—and even enjoyable according to some of our commenters.)

Looking at all of those boxes and cartridges brings me back. I can still smell them new out of the box...GOOD TIMES!

Today, everything is new and plastic. In the 80's, as kids, we still lived an played around and in furniture and lifestyles from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and the new Atari contrasting against the old wood and old natural smells, mixed with plastic and futuristic devices, was really memorable and engaging. Now, everything sucks because it is all new and the same. You get a new Xbox and it smells like everything else in your room.

[bohoki]

of course it was true

the big videogame crash was just our first experience with videogame obsolecence since then about every 6 years a new generation comes and the old is abandoned but then everybody was running around freaking out


its funny because atari was able to milk the 2600 till like '91

[CessnaDriver]

Also, if you've heard of James Rolfe, AKA The Angry Video Game Nerd, He should have his movie out this year that centers on this very thing.
And even has the actual programmer of the game appear in the film.

[rdfact]

So that stuff is considered "treasure" now?!? I still have some Atari stuff in my garage in original boxes.

[Don the savage]

Thanks for the link. The legend has always interested me.

[sl0re10]

of course it was true

the big videogame crash was just our first experience with videogame obsolecence since then about every 6 years a new generation comes and the old is abandoned but then everybody was running around freaking out


its funny because atari was able to milk the 2600 till like '91

I don't think that planned obsolescence was what happened. Too many people put too many crappy games into the 2600 market and people responded (to being burned) by sitting on their hands. Also; a flooded market just lowered the value of the games in people's minds. So; they didn't want to pay $30 for a 2600 game.

The early third party 2600 games were as good or better than Atari's. It helped the 2600 market.