It all started with an article by Seanbaby (who, by the way, rules) that I read in EGM. “The 20 Worst Video Games of All Time”. And there, at the very top of this pile of abominable rubbish, was E.T. the Extraterrestrial for the Atari 2600.
The film version of E.T. was actually the first movie I ever saw in the theaters as a child. I was considering this lately, and it occured to me that this movie may have had a deeper impact on my psyche than I have ever been aware of. Think about it (well, those who know me..) The movie features this misunderstood creature from outer space that bonds with this kid. Outer space….I wanted to be an astronaut when I was little….Aliens…I later became obsessed with X-Files….mis-guided government….well, we all know my current opinions on the government. I mean, come on…the movie opens with a Dungeons & Dragons game! And features Drew Barrymore! (Ok, so she wasn’t hot yet, but you see what I mean.) Clearly, this film was a major formative experience for me and all these years, I never even realized it.
So you can see how seeing E.T. there in infamy as the worst game ever made would strike a nerve. Even more intriguing was the story accompanying the article that millions of copies of this game were buried in a New Mexico landfill. A mysterious gamer legend spread out before me. Somewhere, in the deserts of New Mexico, lay 5 million copies of the worst game ever made. Though the idea tickled my fancy at the time, it wasn’t until recently* I made the actual decision that I would find this site, and excavate this terrible tribute to my childhood hero.
My first stop was Seanbaby’s web-site, to find the digital version of his EGM article. Here it is, and it is a truly brilliant and insightful piece of writing. My excitement mounted when I saw the link at the bottom that took me to a more detailed account of the E.T. story. Unfortunately, this page filled me in on the sad fact that not only were these cartridges REALLY buried, they were also REALLY crushed by a steam-roller and then REALLY covered with cement.
My hopes at first were dampened, but I realized many questions remained…
Even though it seems I will not be able to actually excavate copies of E.T. from the landfill, I can still pursue these questions. The answers, of course, will appear here. Someday.
The truth is out there….stay tuned….
Some links:
Apparently there was someone who didn’t actually return the cartridge.
*By “recently” I here mean 2004. It gets less recent all the time.