You Could Soon Own One Of The Legendary New Mexico Landfill Atari ‘E.T.’ Cartridges

The legend of the E.T. landfill continues to thrive, this time thanks to the thrifty folks of New Mexico. A lot of the carts are already on their way to the Smithsonian, people related to the game or movie production, and a stint at the New Mexico Museum Of Space History. That leaves a hefty portion of the leftovers that are going to be sold to the general public alongside some other unearthed classics. From Engadget:

The details are still being worked out by city officials, but you could soon own a piece of gaming garbage history. The carts that will be commanding the most money will clearly be the 171 copies of E.T. that were unearthed, but titles like Centipede, Missile Command and Asteroids have also been dug up. There are still over 700,000 games buried the in landfill outside of Alamogordo, NM, but they’ll stay there… for now. The hole has been refilled, and the cartridges going on sale will be priced to reflect their rarity.

The report also states that you’ll get a nice certificate of authenticity with your purchase, but doesn’t mention the swift kick in the ass you deserve in conjunction. There was a reason these games were buried so long ago.

I guess if the money goes to a good enough cause or fixes a few potholes, that’s a great reason to buy a copy. But if you’re just out to own a black mark on video game history, I have to question your motivations. Spend that money on a nice dinner, something with some substance to it.

(Via Engadget)

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