Atari Landfill Excavation on April 26

[segamer]

UPDATE: So, I just got back from the dig site. It looks like the excavation is all over the internet already. So, I'm not sure I can tell you anything new. There were tons of games of all types, Atari consoles and the city of Alamogordo wouldn't let us take anything. Some of the game that were buried with E.T. were Pac-Man, Defender, Warlords, Centipede, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and more. Some of the games looked like they'd been in a landfill for 30 years and some look mint.

UPDATE 2: This is my last little update to this tread, a video I took while out at the burial site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALHSZA9MrbA










I live here in New Mexico. I'll be attending this Atari Landfill Excavation. I'll be recording it and taking pictures for you guys. So stay tuned!



http://news.xbox.com/2014/04/ent-attend-atari-landfill-excavation

[Blueprint]

I live here in New Mexico. I'll be attending this Atari Landfill Excavation. I'll be recording it and taking pictures for you guys. So stay tuned!



http://news.xbox.com/2014/04/ent-attend-atari-landfill-excavation

LOL

Make sure you bring back lots of carts home and put them on ebay for $$$ 

[TDIRunner]

Keep an eye out for the AVGN since his movie is about that site!!!!

[quickfingers818]

yeah when I heard about this I was pretty stoked. I am really curious if they end up finding the e.t. carts. that would be awesome if you kept us updated segamer. it would be sweet if you could get your hands on one if they end up finding them! 

[Dr.Agon]

i always thought that was a myth...

[quickfingers818]

i always thought that was a myth...

I did too for the longest time so I guess we will find out

[TDIRunner]

i always thought that was a myth...

I did too for the longest time so I guess we will find out

I'm curious too.  I wasn't expecting much until I read the article.  It sounds like it sort of a big deal with the documentary crew and all.

[TyrannicalFascist]

This should be interesting!

[Dr.Agon]

the thing is, whilst i could sort of believe that they buried the carts, i also read somewhere that after a few years, maybe 10 or so, they went back and dug them up and properly disposed of/destroyed/recycled them...

[Ozzy_98]

I don't see why people think it's so hard to believe.  They made way to many ET and pac-man carts, so they needed to dispose of them.  They produced 12 million Pac-Man games, when there were 10 million Atari 2600s.  So how should they dispose of them?  Landfills were the cheapest way.

One thing that always gets me, anti-fanboys who claim ET is such a bad game. If you think ET is even in the top 10 worst games, just on the 2600, you've lived a sheltered life. There's games the AVGN hasn't even come close to touching (And a lot of them live on the PC Engine for some odd reason...).  ET was actually a damn good game for the time, heck, it had a title screen.  But people don't know how to play, don't read the instructions so they don't understand what each symbol does, and they can't figure out the getting out of holes thing. 

[Oobgarm]

I'm not sure what to make of this whole thing. It's a neat piece of lore, but I really think that excavating this isn't going to really yield anything. Weren't the contents crushed and covered in cement? I completely believe they're buried there, though.

If anything, this will lay the story to rest, finally.

One thing that always gets me, anti-fanboys who claim ET is such a bad game. If you think ET is even in the top 10 worst games, just on the 2600, you've lived a sheltered life. There's games the AVGN hasn't even come close to touching (And a lot of them live on the PC Engine for some odd reason...).  ET was actually a damn good game for the time, heck, it had a title screen.  But people don't know how to play, don't read the instructions so they don't understand what each symbol does, and they can't figure out the getting out of holes thing. 

I wouldn't say that it's anti-fanboys saying this, as it's kinda become retconned into the system's legacy. Most of the gaming populace think it's truth, but there are those of us in the collecting circle that know it's not the case.

[Dr.Agon]

I don't see why people think it's so hard to believe.  They made way to many ET and pac-man carts, so they needed to dispose of them.  They produced 12 million Pac-Man games, when there were 10 million Atari 2600s.  So how should they dispose of them?  Landfills were the cheapest way.

why not just recycle them into other, more popular games?

[Oobgarm]

I don't see why people think it's so hard to believe.  They made way to many ET and pac-man carts, so they needed to dispose of them.  They produced 12 million Pac-Man games, when there were 10 million Atari 2600s.  So how should they dispose of them?  Landfills were the cheapest way.

why not just recycle them into other, more popular games?

When the market crashed, no one was buying anything. They couldn't have recycled them into anything, really.

[Ozzy_98]

They were cutting back by that time, and to reuse them, you'd need something to desolder all the roms, take apart the cases, ect.  I'm betting it's cheaper to dump the cases and make new than open them up, remove the label, and return them to existing assembly line machines. Besides, they had plenty of new cases to use up, and with their over projected sales figures, and time warner dumping them, they'd have to scramble to find use for them.

[wiggy]

E.T. is a terrible game.  Not the worst, but terrible none-the-less.  That is all.