Atari E.T. cartridge excavation back on track after delay
There are games that earn a negative tone in their word-of-mouth buzz, and then there are games that have truckloads of unsold copies buried in a landfill. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600 is, according to legend, in the latter category. Curiosity makes people do strange things though, and Alamogordo News reports that Fuel Industries' plans to document an excavation for the supposedly buried cartridges is moving forward after the New Mexico Environment Department requested a more specific dig plan.
Alamogordo News notes that Xbox Entertainment Studios and LightBox Entertainment are producing Fuel's dig for treasure, the story of which is planned to eventually air on Xbox. A Microsoft representative told Alamorgordo News that moves to begin digging up portions of the landfill are still being finalized.
We admit that we'll probably watch the final product, but we can't help but wonder what they'll do with the truckloads of cartridges should they find them. Maybe they'll assemble a replica of the movie's spaceship? Perhaps they'll replace walkie-talkies in an alternate remastering of the film, where agents hurl the cartridges at Elliott to knock him off his bike and capture his extra-terrestrial friend.
[Image: Shutterstock, Atari]
