Landfill Dig For Atari 2600 Game E.T. Put On Hold

It has more or less been unanimously agreed that “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” video game for the Atari 2600 console has been designated as the worst Atari video game – ever. That has led to the game cartridge allegedly dumped into the Alamogordo landfill in New Mexico in the 1980s (boy, isn’t that a whole long time ago?), and it seems that there are efforts being made to dig up this rumored cache. New Mexico Environment Department spokesman Jim Winchester, however, did mention that an approved waste excavation plan, or WEP for short, is required prior to any dig kicking off.

In Winchester’s own words, “A WEP must be approved in advance of any excavation, and that includes even the city of Alamogordo.” While Alamogordo city commissioners did approve of the search in June, Winchester mentioned that state environmental officials have full control of the WEP’s final approval, and it rejected this proposal at the end of last month.

I say let sleeping dogs lie, and this video game is not a reflection of Steven Spielberg’s brilliance in the movie. I suppose this is a prime example on how movies should not be translated into video games, although there have been exceptions to the rule. Taking the opposite route, too, has had its flops. Mortal Kombat, anyone?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: atari